Get your "A" in gear!

They're today's most popular study guides-with everything you need to succeed in school. Written by Harvard students for students, since its inception SparkNotes ™ has developed a loyal community of dedicated users and become a major education brand. Consumer demand has been so strong that the guides have expanded to over 150 titles. SparkNotes '™ motto is Smarter, Better, Faster because:

· They feature the most current ideas and themes, written by experts.

· They're easier to understand, because the same people who use them have also written them.

· The clear writing style and edited content enables students to read through the material quickly, saving valuable time.

And with everything covered--context; plot overview; character lists; themes, motifs, and symbols; summary and analysis, key facts; study questions and essay topics; and reviews and resources--you don't have to go anywhere else!

亨利克·易卜生（1928-1906），是挪威人民引以自豪的戏剧大师、欧洲近代戏剧新纪元的开创者，他在戏剧史上享有同莎士比亚和莫里哀一样不朽的声誉。

易卜生出生于挪威海滨一个小城斯基恩。少年时期，因父亲破产，家道中落，没有进成大学，不满十六岁就到一家药店当学徒。社会的势利，生活的艰辛，培养了他的愤世嫉俗的性格和个人奋斗的意志。在繁重而琐碎的学徒作之余，他刻苦读书求知，并学习文艺写作。1848年欧洲的革命浪潮和挪威国内的民族解放运动，激发了青年易卜生的政治热情和民族意识，他开始写了一些歌颂历史英雄的富有浪漫色彩的剧作。接着，他先后在卑尔根和奥斯陆被剧院聘为导演和经理，达十余年之久。这段经历加深了他对挪威社会政治的失望，于是愤而出国，在意大利和德国度过二十七年（1863－91）的侨居生活，同时在创作上取得了辉煌的成就，晚年才回奥斯陆。易卜生一生共写了二十多部剧作，除早期那些浪漫抒情诗剧外，主要是现实主义的散文剧即话剧。这些散文剧大都以习见而又重大的社会问题为题材，通常被称为“社会问题剧”。《社会支柱》（1877）、《玩偶之家》（1879）、《群鬼》

（1881）和《人民公敌》（1882）是其中最著名的代表作。