Tímarit Máls og menningar - 01.06.2013, Page 53
Þ e g a r I b s e n o f b a u ð M a t t a
TMM 2013 · 2 53
soon as possible. The date was 11th September, 2001 and two planes had just hit the
World Trade Centre in New York. In the space of a moment, the play I was preparing
to teach changed its meaning entirely, and not only for the teacher but also for the
stunned class that quietly assembled afterwards. There was now little talk of tragic
heroism. In its place came hushed discussions of Ibsen’s valid depiction of the real
anguish and horror that any blind religious faith can bring. In short, the words of
the narrative were exactly the same as they had been half an hour previously, but the
received meaning had altered radically. (Bls. 11–12).
Þessi reynslusaga Terrys gefur reyndar fullt tilefni til þess að spyrja sig: Var
það kannski einmitt skilningur mannúðarprestsins Matthíasar Jochums-
sonar sem varð honum erfiður í Brandi? Skáldið sem orti:
Dæm svo mildan dauða,
Drottinn, þínu barni, –
eins og léttu laufi
lyfti blær frá hjarni, –
eins og lítill lækur
ljúki sínu hjali
þar sem lygn í leyni
liggur marinn svali.
(Ljóðmæli 1936:216)
átti fjarska lítið sameiginlegt með þeim ofsatrúarmanni sem Ibsen lýsti.
Kannski var það sem sagt ekki rímlistar-manér Ibsens heldur kenning
Brands sem varð erfiðust.
Til kvæða Ibsens er vitnað eftir netútgáfu en borið saman við Hundreårsutgaven,
texti Brands er sóttur í „billigudgave“ 1962, II bindi af Ibsens samlede verker.