Brand (play)

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Brand is a play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It is a verse tragedy, written in 1865 and first performed in Stockholm, Sweden on 24 March 1867.

Brand is a priest who accepts the consequence of his choices, and is deeply bound to doing the "right thing". He believes primarily in the will of man, and lives by the belief "all or nothing". To make compromises is therefore difficult, or questionable. Brand's beliefs render him lonely, because those around him, when put to the test, generally cannot or will not follow his example. He is a young idealist whose main purpose is to save the world, or at least people's souls, but his judgment of others is harsh and unfair.

The word brand means "fire" in Norwegian (in the spelling of Ibsen's lifetime, spelled "brann" today), Danish, Swedish, German and Dutch. However Brand, Brandt, Brant and similar names are also known as surnames in Scandinavia, Germany and other countries, derived from the Germanic personal name Brando ("sword").