Henrik Johan Ibsen, according to critics and historians of literature the father of modern drama, was born on 20 March 1828, as the eldest son of merchant Knud Ibsen and his wife Marichen Altenburg in the small coastal town of Skien in the southern part of Norway. The family originally belonged to the upper middle class, but suffered an economic and social decline when Henrik was a child. According to local tradition the boy took pleasure in presenting puppet shows to the children in the neighbourhood. He attended local schools and studied such subjects as religion, history, German and Latin. After Christmas of 1843, Henrik, aged 15, left his family in Skien and traveled to Grimstad, an even smaller coastal town farther south. A position had been found for him as a pharmacy apprentice. He…
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Citation: Aarseth, Asbjorn. "Henrik Ibsen". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 September 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2291, accessed 23 November 2024.]
