Early Plays | Page 3

discusses the relation of Olaf Liljekrans to the earlier form of the
play. Three years intervened between the first and final versions of
_The Warrior's Barrow_. Professor A. M. Sturtevant maintains
(Journal of English and Germanic Philology, XII, 407 ff.) that
although "the influence of Ochlenschlaeger upon both versions of _The
Warrior's Barrow_ is unmistakable," yet "the two versions differ so
widely from each other ... that it may be assumed that ... Ibsen had
begun to free himself from the thraldom of Ochlenschlaeger's romantic
conception of the viking character." He points out the influence of
Welhaven and Heiberg on the second version, elaborates upon the
superior character-delineation, and shows in considerable detail the
"inner necessity ... which brings about the change of heart in Gandalf
and his warriors."
The revision of Catiline came twenty-five years after the original
version, and consisted largely of linguistic changes. Ibsen seems never
to have completely disowned this play; it has been included in all the

complete editions, whereas _The Warrior's Barrow_ and Olaf
Liljekrans appear only in the first complete edition, and were even then
relegated to a supplementary volume. In suggesting the revision of
Catiline, Ibsen proposed "to make no change in the thought and ideas,
but only in the language in which these are expressed; for the verses are,
as Brandes has somewhere remarked, bad,--one reason being that the
book was printed from my first rough uncorrected draft." He had at that
time not developed his careful craftsmanship, and sought in the
revision merely to put the drama into the form which he had originally
had in mind, but which at that time he had been unable to achieve. The
changes that were actually made are summarized by D. A. Seip (Ibsen,
Samlede Digter Verker, 1918, VII, 114) who quotes Halvdan Koht and
Julius Elias (Ibsen, Efterladte Skrifter, III): "The two editions 'agree in
the sequence of tenses, with a few exceptions also in the sequence of
speeches, and on the whole even in the sequence of lines. The changes
involve principally the poetic expression itself; after the second act they
become more and more extensive, and the last two acts have been
augmented with 100 lines.' ... Not infrequently there appear words and
expressions which are suggestive of Ibsen's later works."
These plays now appear for the first time in English translation. A.
Johnstone published in _Translations from the Norse, by a B. S. S._
(Gloucester, about 1876), an English rendering of the first act of
Catiline and a synopsis of the last two acts. William Archer explains at
length his omission of Catiline from his edition of Ibsen. "A great part
of the interest lies in the very crudities of its style, which it would be a
thankless task to reproduce in translation. Moreover, the poet impaired
even its biographical value by largely rewriting it before publication.
He did not make it, or attempt to make it, a better play, but he in some
measure corrected its juvenility of expression. Which version, then,
should a translator choose? To go back to the original would seem a
deliberate disregard of the poet's wishes; while, on the other hand, the
retouched version is clearly of far inferior interest. It seems advisable,
therefore, to leave the play alone, as far as this edition is concerned."
Olaf Liljekrans and _The Warrior's Barrow_ were acted in English in
London in 1911 and 1912 respectively, but the English renderings used
in these presentations have never appeared in print.

The text of Catiline in the present translation is that of the revised
version as given in the edition of 1906-07; the text of the other two
plays is that of the edition of 1898-1902. The meters of the original
have been carefully reproduced. The great difficulty of rendering the
ballad and lyrical meters of Ibsen into adequate English verse has made
some stylistic changes necessary, such as the substitution of masculine
for feminine rhymes, and the occasional alteration of the sense in slight
measure.
I take this opportunity to acknowledge my gratitude to Professor O. W.
Firkins, now of The Weekly Review, who suggested the translating of
these plays and who offered from time to time invaluable criticisms; to
Professor Howard M. Jones, of the University of Texas, Professor S. B.
Hustvedt, of the University of Minnesota, and Professor W. W.
Lawrence, of Columbia University, who read all or parts of these
translations and made many helpful suggestions; and to Professor G. P.
Krapp, of Columbia University, and my wife, who were of assistance in
various ways.
ANDERS ORBECK.
_New York, January 3, 1921._
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CATILINE

A Drama in Three Acts

185O
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PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
The drama Catiline, with which I entered upon my