Brand

By Henrik Ibsen

Book Overview

Brand is a play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It is a verse tragedy, written in 1865 and first performed in Stockholm, Sweden on 24 March 1867. Brand was an intellectual play that provoked much original thought.Brand is a priest who wants to take consequence of his choices, and is therefore deeply bound to doing the "right thing". He believes primarily in the will of man, and lives by the device "all or nothing". To make compromises is therefore difficult, or by his moral standards questionable at best. His picture of God is clearly derived from the Old Testament. His beliefs render him lonely in the end, as people around him, when put to the test, as a rule can not or will not follow his example. Brand is arguably a young idealist with a main purpose: to save the world, or at least Man's soul. His visions are great, but his judgment of others may seem harsh and unfair.The word "Brand" means fire in Danish, Norwegian and Swedish.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1535302887
• ISBN13: 9781535302883
• Release Date: July 2016
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 0.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.5" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Patience hardens

This is unmistakeably Hill's _Brand_: the technical grace of his Englishing of Ibsen shows an acute awareness of the responsibility of the translator to both the original text and the language into which it is to be translated. Hill's translation enriches not only the English language but the ability of English (and non-Norwegian) speakers to appreciate Ibsen's brooding, symbolically charged drama of the challenge of faith in the midst of common life. Is Brand's fidelity to his "dear Christ hurt with thorns" obdurate or obstinate? In this play, the repudiation of social morality in the name of higher things is put to the question: what if devotion to such "higher things" also leads to, or becomes a mask for, moral isolation, the cauterization of social feeling? Uncompromising and yet compromised, Brand is a caution, and _Brand_ a cautionary tale...

One of the best books I have read....

This book captures the essence of humanity. I recommend to anyone who wants to find themself.