Karkurit

Aleksis Kivi

"When Aleksis Kivi?s (1834?1872) Finnish tragedy Karkurit (?The Escapees?) was originally published in 1867 it was considered better than his two former plays, the Kalevalaic tragedy Kullervo (1864) and the comedy Nummisuutarit (?Heath Cobblers?, 1864). Soon these encouraging views, however, turned completely opposite. Dismissing attitudes towards Kivi?s play were dominant until the 1960s when new theatre productions made its artistic merits worthy of consideration again. The critical edition of Karkurit gives a new and more versatile image of Aleksis Kivi as a playwright and helps to understand his tragedy in the light of the changing artistic ideals of different periods and generations. The edition contains a scholarly edited and richly annotated text of the tragedy?s first edition. Expert introductions by leading authorities illuminate the multidimensional dramaturgy of the play...