Yangke He
Arts School, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, Hubei, China.
*Corresponding author: Yangke He
Abstract
Lars Norén (1944-2021), the representative figure of contemporary Swedish drama, was also a poet, authored 80 plays and 19 poetry collections, along with numerous television dramas, radio plays, and essays in his lifetime. Unlike the idealized image of Sweden as a “high-welfare society” that we think, Norén reveals an undercurrent of bloodshed, violence, mental illness, poverty, and depression. in his works. In other words, through his writing, Norén depicts a kind of life that is akin to “hell,” and infiltrates it into every aspect of daily existence. Deeply influenced by well-known playwrights such as Ibsen, O’Neill, and Arthur Miller, and also shaped by his own life experiences, Norén’s works resonate with bleak realism, which might be the foundation of his creation. This article is focused on his 2012 play Fragment, trying to explore Norén’s portrayal of the “hell” and the pathways through which it becomes intertwined with the everyday. The ultimate aim is to discover a deeper and richer understanding of Norén’s creative vision and stylistic approach.
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How to cite this paper
The Everyday Hell in Lars Norén’s Play Fragment
How to cite this paper: Yangke He. (2025) The Everyday Hell in Lars Norén’s Play Fragment. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science, 9(9), 1836-1841.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2025.09.024