Plays by August Strindberg, First Series

"Plays by August Strindberg, First Series" by August Strindberg is a collection of theatrical works written in the late 19th century. This volume features three significant plays: "The Dream Play," "The Link," and "The Dance of Death," demonstrating Strindberg's exploration of themes such as love, existential despair, and the complexities of human relationships. The characters often reflect Strindberg’s own struggles with identity and societal norms, making for a deeply introspective and dramatic experience. The opening portion introduces "The Dream Play," establishing a surreal and dreamy atmosphere as it portrays the celestial daughter of the god Indra on her descent to Earth to understand human experiences. The prologue hints at the disjointed yet seemingly logical nature of dreams, creating a narrative where time and space are fluid. As the daughter encounters characters below who are marked by both the beauty and anguish of existence, the dialogue suggests a deep inquiry into human suffering and joy. Thus, this initial segment sets the stage for a rich tapestry of human emotions explored throughout the play, highlighting Strindberg's distinct blend of realism and symbolism. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Johan August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography, history, cultural analysis, and politics during his career, which spanned four decades. A bold experimenter and iconoclast throughout his life, he explored a wide range of dramatic methods and purposes, from naturalistic tragedy, monodrama, and historical plays to his anticipations of expressionist and surrealist dramatic techniques. From his earliest work, Strindberg developed innovative forms of dramatic action, language, and visual composition. He is considered the "father" of modern Swedish literature and his The Red Room (1879) has frequently been described as the first modern Swedish novel. In Sweden, Strindberg is known as an essayist, painter, poet, and especially novelist and playwright, but in other countries he is known mostly as a playwright.