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The Plays, Vol. 2: The Storm / The Burned Site / The Ghost Sonata / The Pelican
Includes: The Chamber Plays (The Storm, The Burned Site, The Ghost Sonata, The Pelican, The Black Glove) and The Ghost Highway. Gregory Motton’s translations combine an unprecedented faithfulness to Strindberg’s original texts with the natural fluency of one of our most linguistically able contemporary playwrights.
302 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1907
About the author
August Strindberg
2,027 books803 followersJohan August Strindberg, a Swede, wrote psychological realism of noted novels and plays, including
Miss Julie
(1888) and
The Dance of Death
(1901).
Johan August Strindberg painted. He alongside Henrik Ibsen, Søren Kierkegaard, Selma Lagerlöf, Hans Christian Andersen, and Snorri Sturluson arguably most influenced of all famous Scandinavian authors. People know this father of modern theatre. His work falls into major literary movements of naturalism and expressionism. People widely read him internationally to this day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_...
Johan August Strindberg painted. He alongside Henrik Ibsen, Søren Kierkegaard, Selma Lagerlöf, Hans Christian Andersen, and Snorri Sturluson arguably most influenced of all famous Scandinavian authors. People know this father of modern theatre. His work falls into major literary movements of naturalism and expressionism. People widely read him internationally to this day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_...
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 28, 2016
The four Chamber Plays are “Storm Weather,” “The Burned House,” “The Ghost Sonata,” and “The Pelican”. According to the introduction, they supposedly all deal with death.
The statement is slightly misleading.
The Chamber Plays have more to do with returns that bring change. For the most part, the women characters do not come across too well – it is easy to see why Strindberg’s former wife was upset by “Storm Weather,” but then again neither do the men. Give me the former wife in “Storm Weather” over the father who doesn’t care any day of the week, and twice on Sundays. If anything, Strindberg as a damaged view of all humanity.
Yet, it is a realistic view of the how most of humanity is damaged.
Of the plays, so the introduction tells me, “The Ghost Sonata,” a magic realist play that makes one think of Dark Shadows minus the traditional vampires. After all, one or two characters have something vampire about them. Like “The Pelican”, “Sonata” tackles also the question of sleeping though life, though the outcome to that question is a bit different.
For the most, the women seem to fall into the virgin/whore dichotomy, even with the virgins being too good to last in the word. Even those women who are quiet and seemingly too insane (such as Mummy in Ghost Sonata, and think of both definitions of that word) also fit this choice. Yet, the women are also the characters who seem most aware of the roles that humanity plays.
The most powerful of the plays is “The Pelican,” no doubt because there is a level of reality in the play that in some ways the others lack.
The statement is slightly misleading.
The Chamber Plays have more to do with returns that bring change. For the most part, the women characters do not come across too well – it is easy to see why Strindberg’s former wife was upset by “Storm Weather,” but then again neither do the men. Give me the former wife in “Storm Weather” over the father who doesn’t care any day of the week, and twice on Sundays. If anything, Strindberg as a damaged view of all humanity.
Yet, it is a realistic view of the how most of humanity is damaged.
Of the plays, so the introduction tells me, “The Ghost Sonata,” a magic realist play that makes one think of Dark Shadows minus the traditional vampires. After all, one or two characters have something vampire about them. Like “The Pelican”, “Sonata” tackles also the question of sleeping though life, though the outcome to that question is a bit different.
For the most, the women seem to fall into the virgin/whore dichotomy, even with the virgins being too good to last in the word. Even those women who are quiet and seemingly too insane (such as Mummy in Ghost Sonata, and think of both definitions of that word) also fit this choice. Yet, the women are also the characters who seem most aware of the roles that humanity plays.
The most powerful of the plays is “The Pelican,” no doubt because there is a level of reality in the play that in some ways the others lack.
July 5, 2020
Gruppo di testi teatrali scritti nell'arco di pochi mesi per un teatro di Stoccolma. Queste opere hanno avuto poco successo e non c'è da stupirsene: sono lugubri, tristi, a volte anche un po' criptiche. Tema comune quello dell'inganno perpetrato all'interno della famiglia o tra conoscenti.
Quelle che ho preferito sono Pellicano e Il guanto nero.
Maltempo o Temporale
Un uomo divorato, il Signore, reincontra dopo 5 anni la ex-moglie, risposata ad un briccone che cerca di rapirle la figlia e fuggire con la figlia dei vicini. La solitudine, la vecchiaia, l'inganno (o forse l'auto-inganno), i temi toccati in questo testo. Nonostante tutto il tema della fuga, la narrazione ha qualcosa di immobile, come il Signore incapace di lasciare la sua casa neanche per una vacanza.
Casa bruciata
Una casa brucia e l'indagine per scoprire chi sia il colpevole conduce alla rivelazione di una serie di inganni che hanno condizionato in malo modo la vita dei protagonisti.
Una ambientazione soffocante, una via dove tutti si conoscono, non esistono segreti che rimangano davvero tali e i rapporti non sono mai quelli che sembrano.
Sonata di fantasmi
Strano testo in cui nulla è ciò che sembra e la narrazione non lineare rende difficile comprendere il messaggio di Strindberg. Nessuno è chi dice di essere, tutti sono disonesti e pronti ad ingannare e l'unica soluzione sembra
Pellicano
Al momento il dramma che ho preferito, più semplice e lineare nello svolgimento, ma sempre tragico nella descrizione di come una famiglia possa andare a rotoli. Anche in questo caso inganni su inganni condizionano i protagonisti, fino al finale bruciante
L'isola dei morti
Breve quadro allegorico in cui l'anima di un morto incontra un fantomatico maestro che gli fa ripercorrere la propria vita e ne mostra le ipocrisie e le falsificazioni.
Guanto nero
Meno lugubre rispetto agli altri drammi da camera, ha l'andamento di una fiaba con un folletto dispettoso ed un angelo che intervengono sul Natale in una casa povera.
La morale è che la felicità non deve essere egoista. Ne fa le spese una signora che dimentica la generosità basandosi nella propria gioia.
Quelle che ho preferito sono Pellicano e Il guanto nero.
Maltempo o Temporale
Un uomo divorato, il Signore, reincontra dopo 5 anni la ex-moglie, risposata ad un briccone che cerca di rapirle la figlia e fuggire con la figlia dei vicini. La solitudine, la vecchiaia, l'inganno (o forse l'auto-inganno), i temi toccati in questo testo. Nonostante tutto il tema della fuga, la narrazione ha qualcosa di immobile, come il Signore incapace di lasciare la sua casa neanche per una vacanza.
Casa bruciata
Una casa brucia e l'indagine per scoprire chi sia il colpevole conduce alla rivelazione di una serie di inganni che hanno condizionato in malo modo la vita dei protagonisti.
Una ambientazione soffocante, una via dove tutti si conoscono, non esistono segreti che rimangano davvero tali e i rapporti non sono mai quelli che sembrano.
Sonata di fantasmi
Strano testo in cui nulla è ciò che sembra e la narrazione non lineare rende difficile comprendere il messaggio di Strindberg. Nessuno è chi dice di essere, tutti sono disonesti e pronti ad ingannare e l'unica soluzione sembra
Pellicano
Al momento il dramma che ho preferito, più semplice e lineare nello svolgimento, ma sempre tragico nella descrizione di come una famiglia possa andare a rotoli. Anche in questo caso inganni su inganni condizionano i protagonisti, fino al finale bruciante
L'isola dei morti
Breve quadro allegorico in cui l'anima di un morto incontra un fantomatico maestro che gli fa ripercorrere la propria vita e ne mostra le ipocrisie e le falsificazioni.
Guanto nero
Meno lugubre rispetto agli altri drammi da camera, ha l'andamento di una fiaba con un folletto dispettoso ed un angelo che intervengono sul Natale in una casa povera.
La morale è che la felicità non deve essere egoista. Ne fa le spese una signora che dimentica la generosità basandosi nella propria gioia.
December 9, 2014
To start this off, I want to clarify that I am going to be reviewing The Pelican, which I could not find any other edition of on this website.
This play mainly deals with the uncovering of a mother's crimes towards her children, including deliberate malnourishment and an affair with her daughter's fiance. That is all I could really glaen from it; while it was interesting, I also was apt to get kind of lost in some places as well. It did not hold my interest as much as I would have liked it to.
I'm taking a break form Strindberg for a while, mainly because I have grown weary of his works and I am embarking now on a bigger project, which is, of course, The Canterbury Tales.
This play mainly deals with the uncovering of a mother's crimes towards her children, including deliberate malnourishment and an affair with her daughter's fiance. That is all I could really glaen from it; while it was interesting, I also was apt to get kind of lost in some places as well. It did not hold my interest as much as I would have liked it to.
I'm taking a break form Strindberg for a while, mainly because I have grown weary of his works and I am embarking now on a bigger project, which is, of course, The Canterbury Tales.
September 21, 2018
"Miss Julie" may be the play that first comes to mind for Strindberg but I really enjoy his chamber plays which, though still fueled by a certain amount of fury at times, feel tempered by age. Sometimes, they're corny; sometimes, they're odd; but a sense of compassion regularly surfaces, too, as well as a desire for a better future. I wouldn't quite call it hope. The playwright's essay on the art of acting is also included and has some timeless bits of advice therein.
July 7, 2018
I thoroughly enjoyed this volume of clear and modern (without being anachronistic) translations of Strindberg's Chamber Plays. Helpful notes, but not too many, accompany the text. The dust was blown off these plays and they were not only readable but interested me in seeing them on stage. Bravo to Paul Walsh!
February 21, 2022
Lu en français : La Maison brûlée
Dans le cadre d’un cours de littérature comparée sur le thème « revenir d’exil ».
Je n’aime pas spécialement le théâtre, donc je n’ai pas forcément apprécié cette pièce qui m’a semblé superficielle, vide de sens, les quelques références philosophiques n’étant pas très profondes.
Dans le cadre d’un cours de littérature comparée sur le thème « revenir d’exil ».
Je n’aime pas spécialement le théâtre, donc je n’ai pas forcément apprécié cette pièce qui m’a semblé superficielle, vide de sens, les quelques références philosophiques n’étant pas très profondes.
Read
March 25, 2023Cuatro obras como cuatro viajes al fondo de la noche, cuatro formas de contar una misma situación (un recuerdo repentino, deudas y ruina económica, el poder limitado de las narraciones propias o ajenas, una casa sombría y ajado cuando no ruinosa, un reencuentro en el que la linealidad del tiempo permanece alterada y a ratos cuestionada). Strindberg era un genio.
December 28, 2021
Temporale 3.5/5
Casa bruciata 4/5
Sonata di fantasmi 3/5
Il pellicano 3/5
L’isola dei morti 3.5/5
Il guanto nero 2/5
Tot: 3.17/5
Casa bruciata 4/5
Sonata di fantasmi 3/5
Il pellicano 3/5
L’isola dei morti 3.5/5
Il guanto nero 2/5
Tot: 3.17/5
November 29, 2024
Coming back to finally review this: most of these plays suck. 2/5 stars because only 2 of the 5 plays (Burned House and Pelican) were any good
April 19, 2026
Solo “Temporale” (3 stelle) e “Il pellicano” (5 stelle).
October 26, 2009
Lesser known works by Strindberg that probably should remain unperformed, as many were intended to only be read and their innate melodrama (fueled by Strindberg's ever present bitterness and woman-hatred/worship) would make them difficult to sit through when performed. All good for a rainy day in November, but not exactly the kind of thing you're going to be happy you read afterwards.
Want to Read
March 24, 2013want to get knowledge abou chamber plays
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews