John Northam

John Northam (died on 5 July 2004) was a professor emeritus of literature and drama, ranked among the foremost Ibsen scholars in the world.

Northam entered Clare College, Cambridge to read Classics from 1941 to 1942, then English between 1946 and 1948. He was made a Fellow of Clare College in 1950. In 1953 Northam was awarded a Ph.D. and a lectureship in the Faculty of English at Cambridge. In 1972 he left Cambridge to become a Professor of Modern and Comparative Drama at the University of Bristol.

His books "Ibsen’s Dramatic Method" (1953), in which he notably outlines the hidden visual suggestions and parallel characterisations used by the playwright, and "Ibsen: A Critical Study" (1973), are still counted as standard works. He has been celebrated for capturing the poetry, humour and wisdom of "Ibsen's Poems" (1871) and verse drama "Peer Gynt" (1867); for his remarkable translations of the "Epic Brand", a long epic poem unfinished from the playwright’s hand, and also the dramatic 1866 play "Brand".

HIs son is the award-winning actor Jeremy Northam famed for his performance as Ivor Novello in Robert Altman's Gisford Park.

Bibliography

*"Ibsen’s Dramatic Method. A Study of the Prose Dramas". Faber and Faber. London 1953.
*"Ibsen’s Dramatic Method. A Study of the Prose Dramas". (2nd Edition). Universitetsforlaget. Oslo 1971.
*"Ibsen: A Critical Study". London 1973.

Translations

*"Ibsen’s Poems". Scandinavian University Press. Oslo 1986. ISBN 82-00-07455-2.
*"Peer Gynt. A Dramatic Poem". Scandinavian University Press. Oslo 1995. ISBN 82-00-22496-1.

External links

* [http://ibsen.net/asset/34498/1/34498_1.pdf The Collected Poems of Henrik Ibsen] in John Northam’s translation, or rather recreation.