Crossword Genius

Dramatist is being soft, examining no left-wingers (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ibsen

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'dramatist' is the definition.
(Henrik Ibsen, 1828-1906)

'is being soft examining no left-wingers' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'soft' could be 'b' (black, as opposed to H for hard in pencils) and 'b' is present in the answer.
'is' is found in the answer.
'no' could be 'n' (common abbreviation y/n) and 'n' is located in the answer.
A single letter 'e' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ibsen that I've seen before include "Norwegian dramatist, Henrik (1828-1906)" , "Norwegian dramatist, d. 1906" , "'Doll's House' playwright" , "famous Norwegian" , "'Ghosts' writer" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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