life.

Seen as a whole the trilogy marks a turning point in Strindberg's
dramatic production. The logical, calculated concentration of his
naturalistic work of the 1880's has given way to a freer form of
composition, in which the atmosphere has come to mean more than the
dialogue, the musical and dreamlike qualities more than
conciseness. _The Road to Damascus_ abounds with details from real
life, reproduced in sharply naturalistic manner, but these are not,
as things were in his earlier works viewed by the author _a priori_
as reality but become wrapped in dreamlike mystery. Just as with
_Lady Julia_ and _The Father_ Strindberg ushered in the naturalistic
drama of the 1880's, so in the years around the turn of the century
he was, with his symbolist cycle _The Road to Damascus_, to break
new ground for European drama which had gradually become stuck in
fixed formulas. _The Road to Damascus_ became a landmark in world
literature both as a brilliant work of art and as bearer of new
stage technique.

GUNNAR OLLEN

Translated by
ESTHER JOHANSON