Det moderne dramatiske - Eller: “If the kids are still alive at five, I’ve done my job”

Samenvatting

Modern dramatic works seem frequently to differ substantially from the classical, aristotelean concept of “the dramatic”. The new term post-dramatic (Lehmann) is a clear signification of this. But already at the end of the 19^th century we find that the old concept of drama found itself in a crisis. Many critics abjected works of naturalist dramatist such as Ibsen, Strindberg and Tjekov, stating that their work missed the concept of fate, character and plot. The article discusses concepts of fate, character and plot in modern film (Altman, Fly) and modern danish drama (e.g. Saalbach, Rohde, Knutzon). Sociologists such as Beck, Ziehe and Giddens are used to show dominant contemporary concepts of “character” and are used as an offset for a closer examination of the reason why many modern dramatic works have become post-dramatic in their way of handling the old concepts of fate, character and plot.