"
Two years later appeared "The King, which is in many
respects Bjornson's greatest modern masterpiece in dramatic
form. He had by this time become a convinced republican,
but he was also an evolutionist, and he knew that republics
are not created by fiat. He believed the tendency toward
republicanism to be irresistible, but he believed also that
there must be intermediate stages in the transition from
monarchy. Absolutism is succeeded by constitutionalism,
and that by parliamentarism, and that in the end must
be succeeded by a republicanism that will free itself from
all the traditional forms of symbol and ceremonial. He had
also a special belief that the smaller peoples were better
fitted for development in this direction than the larger and
more complex societies, although, on the other hand, he thought
that the process of growth into full self-government was likely
to be slower among the Germanic than among the Latin races.
In the deeply moving play now to be considered, we have, in
the character of the titular king, an extraordinary piece of
psychological analysis. The king, is young, physically
delicate, and of highly sensitive organization.
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