Analysis of "A Dolls House" Essay

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Pages: 5

Write a paper that explains how history is portrayed in a particular play emphasizing what a certain historical event, personage, or situation enables the playwright to communicate. Discuss what effect the playwright's transformation of historical reality has on an audience. Henrik Ibsen's widely regarded work, A Doll's House, was first introduced in 1879 as a theatrical presentation of human rights. Today, Ibsen's work remains as such, although often conveyed as more focused on women's rights. The Norwegian playwright's vision of a seemingly common home is quickly translated through Ibsen's use of symbolism, setting, and diction. Symbolism is a key aspect in much of Ibsen's writing, much of which can be dually interpreted as …show more content…
Such a realistic world thus captivates the audience, particularly the audience of the plays time period, and gives reason for deeper insight. Finally, Ibsen manipulates a combination of diction and syntax in order to purposefully convey each characters attitude and in turn show the audience each character's feelings and opinions. In every act, Torvald's phrases are peppered with flowery vocabulary and cute monikers for his "little wife." however, in the third act, where Nora explains Krogstad's letter, the words Torvald uses are negative, bitter, yet still long and flowing. Nora's dialogue goes from short little bursts of speech that occur only when spoke to, later developing into longer tirades, filled by intelligent thoughts and a strong word choice that immediately shows the audience the importance of her discovering she has yet to find herself and that she has been living in disguise for her entire life. As well, in the beginning of the play, the audience notices the power Torvald appears to exert over Nora through his wording as well as her repetitive, unanswered pleas. At the end, Torvald is left stuttering, begging for Nora to return, for she wields the power in the relationship that once was. Torvald's reaction to Nora's decision to leave is punctuated with dashes, question marks, and exclamation points, showing his difficulty in letting her go, as