An Essay Toward a History of Shakespeare in Norway

Martin B. Ruud wrote An Essay Toward a History of Shakespeare in Norway, which the opening presents as "A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND LITERATURE IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY". The contents list, among others, chapters on Shakespeare translations in Norway, Shakespeare criticism in Norway and performances of Shakespeare's plays in Norway, plus an appendix that is a register of Shakespearean performances in Norway. The essay says one translation amounts to a paraphrase, in good, respectable Danish untouched by genius.

The text gives the lines "Now lies he there, And none so poor to do him reverence" and says they "are rendered in the thoroughly matter-of-fact words, appropriate for a letter or a newspaper". The text states that Julius Caesar is the last new play to be presented at Christiania Theater or at the National Theater, which replaced the old Christiania Theater in 1899. A section on Bergen says that up to a few years ago the only theater of consequence in Norway outside of the capital was at Bergen.