Strindberg: The Pioneer Of Contemporary Drama

Strindberg was one of the three pioneers of European contemporary drama. His distinguished dramas played an important role in the drama circle of the whole world. They greatly influenced and promoted the innovation and development of drama in many other countries. This paper is to analyze from three points of view: his contemporary drama theory, his innovation of drama writing, and his initiation of the new drama schools. In this way, we can see how he became the pioneer of contemporary drama.The whole paper can be divided into five sections.The first one is the introduction. Strindberg, as a playwright, and his drama are briefly introduced. A failing experience as a trial actor made Strindberg saw his drama and later began his writing career. From his writing and practice, he got rich experience on drama. Consequently he could write a great deal of distinguished plays.The second section concerns Strindberg's drama theory. It based on his criticism of the traditional dramas. He criticized them from three angles: art of performance, the subjects and characters, and the role of traditional writers. Meanwhile he raised his own theory, which played a positive role in the innovation and development of contemporary drama.The third one is about the language and structure in Strindberg's drama. The language was beyond traditional. They seemed ordinary. But behind them, the playwright's intention could be found. In this way, he broke through language's function of expression and turned to the function of meaning. The structure of his drama was annular and symmetry. This kind of structure emphasized cycling, symmetry and turning, which were related to his philosophical thought of life.In the fourth section, Strindberg's contribution to the initiation of psychological naturalism, expressionism and absurd drama is introduced. Strindberg accepted Zola's naturalism, but at the time he was concerned at the characters' inner world and consciousness. Therefore he overstepped naturalism and started psychological naturalism. His own tragic experience and knowledge of the orient religion philosophy affected his turning from naturalism to expressionism. The main part of his drama was the characters' mind. The whole atmosphere was like a drama. These features made his dramas alsobelong to expressionism. Further more, he showed the dreams on the stage, which helped the birth of absurd drama school.In the end, Strindberg's influence to Chinese drama creation and the study of him in China are briefly introduced.