Ibsen’s early years as a playwright were not lucrative, but he did gain valuable experience during this time. In 1866, Ibsen published his first major theatrical success, a lyric drama called Brand. He followed it with another well-received verse play, Peer Gynt. These two works helped solidify Ibsen’s reputation as one of the premier Norwegian dramatists of his era. In 1879, while living in Italy, Ibsen published his masterpiece, A Doll’s House. Unlike Peer Gynt and Brand, A Doll’s House was written in prose. It is widely considered a landmark in the development of what soon became a highly prevalent genre of theater—realism, which strives to portray life accurately and shuns idealized visions of it. In A Doll’s House, Ibsen employs the themes and structures of classical tragedy while writing in prose about everyday, unexceptional people. A Doll’s House also manifests Ibsen’s concern for women’s rights, and for human rights in general.