Ibsen’s Danse Macabre: The importance of auditory elements in Henrik Ibsen’s drama John Gabriel Borkman

• Main Author: Todić Sofija
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts - Institute of Musicology of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts 2012-01-01
• Series: Muzikologija
• Subjects: literature; piano; Henrik Ibsen; John Gabriel Borkman; Danse Macabre
• Online Access: http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/1450-9814/2012/1450-98141200017T.pdf

In the drama John Gabriel Borkman Ibsen attributes great importance to sounds. The contrast between presence and absence of sounds, other sound effects and especially the Danse Macabre played on the piano emphasize the drama’s eerie atmosphere. Danse Macabre can be also seen as the drama’s key metaphor, and it connects the first and the second acts and creates unity of time and action. The allegorical meanings of this composition can serve as a paradigm in the interpretation of each character, their relations, and the whole dramatic action even. The focus of this work is on the auditory layer of the drama, emphasizing the important function of the auditory included in a dramatic work.