In 1897 August Strindberg, almost fifty years old, embarked on one
of the great comebacks in the history of literature. For six years
he had lived as an exile in Germany, Austria, and France. Though
more than twenty years earlier he had earned a place in
Scandinavian literature, the general view in Sweden was that he was
finished, his career over. Then, with the publication of Inferno,
the novel that described some of the most harrowing experiences of
his exile years, he returned swiftly to the center of Swedish
literary life. In Out of Inferno Harry G. Carlson analyzes the
reasons for Strindberg’s collapse and subsequent reemergence as
an influential modern writer. Strindberg’s early success was as a
realist, or Naturalist, writer in the 1870s and 1880s. Astute and
politically conscious, Strindberg emphasized social relevance in
his art. At the same time, however, he instinctively trusted his
highly inventive “visions.” The tensions and contradictions
between realist and dreamer ultimately helped precipitate the
collapse of his career in the Inferno years. Carlson explores
Strindberg’s struggle to redefine both his art and himself as an
artist, and the influence on him of various intellectual trends in
fin de siècle Berlin and Paris—occultism, alchemy, Orientalism,
medievalism. After declaring himself finished with drama and
fiction, Strindberg turned to an old love, painting, and sought out
friends in avant-garde circles, among them Munch and Gauguin. His
renewed interest in painting and in experiments in the powers of
the visual imagination laid the groundwork for the radical
experimentation of his later drama. In the extraordinary atmosphere
of artistic ferment in Berlin and Paris, Strindberg’s always
sensitive visual imagination became recharged with energy, and the
writer was inspired to return to work. The results in plays like To
Damascus, A Dream Play, The Dance of Death, Erik XIV, and The Ghost
Sonata amounted to a vision of drama that helped change the course
of the modern theatre.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
