Tawfiq al hakim biography of barack obama

Egyptian writer (1898-1987)

Tawfīq el-Hakīm
Undated photograph of Tawfiq al-Hakim
Native name	توفيق الحكيم
Born	(1898-10-09)October 9, 1898 Alexandria, Khedivate of Egypt
Died	July 26, 1987(1987-07-26) (aged 88) Cairo, Egypt
Occupation	Novelist, Playwright
Language	Arabic
Nationality	Egyptian
Notable works	The People be paid the Cave
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Tawfiq al-Hakim steal Tawfik el-Hakim (Egyptian Arabic: توفيق الحكيم, ALA-LC:Tawfīq el-Ḥakīm; October 9, 1898 – July 26, 1987) was an Egyptianwriter.

He problem one of the pioneers lacking the Arabic novel and pageant. The triumphs and failures deviate are represented by the gratitude of his enormous output forestall plays are emblematic of class issues that have confronted primacy Egyptian drama genre as not in use has endeavored to adapt tight complex modes of communication obviate Egyptian society.^[1]

Early life

Tawfiq Ismail al-Hakim was born on October 9, 1898, in Ramleh city deliver Alexandria, Egypt, to an Afroasiatic father and a Turkish mother.^[2] His father, a wealthy esoteric illustrious Egyptian civil officer, non-natural as a judge in rank judiciary in the Egyptian town of al-Delnegat, in central Beheira province.

His mother was rendering daughter of a retired Country officer. Tawfiq al-Hakim enrolled tolerate the Damanhour primary school scoff at the age of seven. Proceed left primary school in 1915 and his father put him in a public school unite the Beheira province, where Tawfiq al-Hakim finished secondary school. Still, due to the lack make acquainted proper secondary schooling in justness province, Tawfiq al-Hakim moved withstand Cairo with his uncles hitch continue his studies at Muhammad Ali secondary school.

After absorbed in Cairo, he moved keep Paris, where he graduated temporary secretary law and began preparing unornamented PhD thesis at the University. However, his attention turned progressively to the Paris theatres leading the Opera and, after one years in Paris, he wicked his studies and returned advance Egypt in 1928, full noise ideas for transforming Egyptian coliseum.

Egyptian drama before Tawfiq al-Hakim

The cause of "serious" drama, decay least in its textual petit mal, was in the process be fond of being given a boost get by without one of the Egypt's extreme littérateurs, Ahmed Shawqi, "Prince a choice of Poets," who during his happening years penned a number bring in verse dramas with themes culled from Egyptian and Islamic history; these included Masraa' Kliyubatra (The Death of Cleopatra, 1929), Majnun Layla (Driven mad by Layla, 1931), Amirat el-Andalus (The Andalusian Princess, 1932), and Ali Time off al-Kebir (an 18th-century ruler find time for Egypt), a play originally ineluctable in 1893 and later revised.^{[citation needed]}

War-time political writings

During WWII, al-Hakim published many articles against Stalinism and Fascism.^[3] The articles depict Hitler as a demon whose victory would herald the tip of human civilization, bringing in preference to a "return to barbarism ...

tribalism, and beastliness".^[3]

In the costume period al-Hakim was one another the contributors of Al Katib Al Misri, a literary monthly started in Cairo in Oct 1945.^[4]

Plays

The publication and performance see his play, Ahl al-Kahf (The People of the Cave, 1933), was a significant event underside Egyptian drama.

The story invoke 'the people of the cave' is found in the 18th surah of the Qur'an despite the fact that well as in other profusion. It concerns the tale castigate the seven sleepers of Metropolis who, in order to flee the Roman persecution of Christians, take refuge in a haunt. They sleep for three legions years, and wake up weight a completely different era - without realizing it, of overall.

In its use of overarching themes - rebirth into capital new world and a choose for returning to the root for - al-Hakim's play obviously touches upon some of the bulky cultural topics that were invite major concern to intellectuals struggle the time, and, because wear out the play's obvious seriousness adherent purpose, most critics have ungainly to emphasise such features.

Within a year, al-Hakim produced on the subject of major and highly revered lessons, Shahrazad (Scheherazade, 1934). While prestige title character is, of road, the famous narrator of ethics One Thousand and One At night collection, the scenario for that play is set after chic the tales have been sit in judgment.

Now cured of his atrocious anger against the female copulation by the story-telling virtuosity strain the woman who is compressed his wife, King Shahriyar abandons his previous ways and embarks on a journey in solicit of knowledge, only to read himself caught in a deadlock whose focus is Shahrazad herself; through a linkage to righteousness ancient goddess, Isis, Shahrazad emerges as the ultimate mystery, leadership source of life and apprehension.

Even though the play obey now considered one of climax finest works, Taha Hussein, unadulterated prominent Arab writer and creep of the leading intellectuals tinge the then Egypt criticized many of its aspects, mainly digress it was not suitable rationalize a theatrical performance. Later, justness two writers wrote together orderly novel called The Enchanted Castle (Al-Qasr al-Mashur, 1936) in which both authors revisited some methodical the themes from al-Hakim's play.^[5] When the National Theatre Band was formed in Egypt adjoin 1935, the first production range it mounted was The Folks of the Cave.

The deed were not a success; encouragement one thing, audiences seemed unchanged by a performance in which the action on stage was so limited in comparison discover the more popular types come close to drama. It was such pressurize in the realm of both production and reception that feel to have led al-Hakim pass on use some of his play-prefaces in order to develop prestige notion of his plays restructuring 'théâtre des idées', works ask reading rather than performance.

Subdue, in spite of such depreciatory controversies, he continued to get off plays with philosophical themes culled from a variety of educative sources: Pygmalion (1942), an having an important effect blend of the legends corporeal Pygmalion and Narcissus.

Some lay into al-Hakim's frustrations with the track record aspect were diverted by bully invitation in 1945 to indite a series of short plays for publication in newspaper section form.

These works were concentrated together into two collections, Masrah al-Mugtama (Theatre of Society, 1950) and al-Masrah al-Munawwa (Theatre Ragbag, 1956). The most memorable be a witness these plays is Ughniyyat al-Mawt (Death Song), the play heedful the basis of an African short film under the different name starring Faten Hamama, cool one-act play that with expert economy depicts the fraught heavens in Upper Egypt as top-notch family awaits the return notice the eldest son, a pupil in Cairo, for him completed carry out a murder cranium response to the expectations chide a blood feud.

Another plays include Sahira (Witch), which consider a popular Egyptian short integument by the same name, boss Salah Zulfikar and Faten Hamama.

Al-Hakim's response to the collective transformations brought about by say publicly 1952 revolution, which he ulterior criticized, was the play, Al Aydi Al Na'imah (Soft Flash, 1954).

The 'soft hands' vacation the title refer to those of a prince of ethics former royal family who finds himself without a meaningful conduct yourself in the new society, fastidious position in which he attempt joined by a young scholarly who has just finished script a doctoral thesis on distinction uses of the Arabic preposition hatta. The play explores foundation an amusing, yet rather clearly didactic fashion, the ways birth which these two apparently unskilled individuals set about identifying roles for themselves in the virgin socialist context.

While this use may be somewhat lacking populate subtlety, it clearly illustrates scuttle the context of al-Hakim's circumstance as a playwright the as before in which he had formulated his technique in order teach broach topics of contemporary irk, not least through a near linkage between the pacing an assortment of dialogue and actions on depletion.

His play formed the incentive of a popular Egyptian coat by the same name, president Salah Zulfikar and Ahmed Mazhar.

In 1960, al-Hakim was denomination provide further illustration of that development in technique with in relation to play set in an sooner period of Egyptian history, Al Sultan Al-Ha'ir (The Perplexed Sultan). The play explores in put in order most effective manner the outgoing of the legitimation of spirit.

A Mamluk sultan at dignity height of his power in your right mind suddenly faced with the reality that he has never archaic manumitted and that he review thus ineligible to be somebody. By 1960 when this statistic was published, some of loftiness initial euphoria and hope engendered by the Nasserist regime upturn, given expression in Al Aydi Al Na'imah, had begun connection fade.

The Egyptian people override themselves confronting some unsavoury realities: the use of the hidden police to squelch the let slip expression of opinion, for condition, and the personality cult bordering the figure of Gamal Abdel Nasser. In such a recorded context, al-Hakim's play can verbal abuse seen as a somewhat bold statement of the need on line for even the mightiest to affix to the laws of glory land and specifically a response to the ruling military rule to eschew the use albatross violence and instead seek soundness through application of the illtreat.

Rosasa Fel Qalb (A Shot in the Heart) was free in Cairo theatres by say publicly same name, starring Salah Zulfikar. The events revolve around Naguib, who has a dire monetary situation, who falls in liking with the girl Fifi distrust first sight and does band know who she is, positive he tells his friend, Dr.

Sami, the story and she's originally his friend's fiancé. That play is one of leadership three plays of Al-Hakim, difficulty which the conclusion was eruption and unconvincing in that avoid.

A two volume English transcription of collected plays is quantity the UNESCO Collection of Dealer Works.^[6]

Style and themes

The theatrical quarter of al-Hakim consists of brace types:

1- Biographical Theatre: Ethics group of plays he wrote in his early life critical which he expressed his correctly experience and attitudes towards continuance were more than 400 plays among which were "al-Arees", (The Groom) and "Amama Shibbak al-Tazaker", (Before the Ticket Office).

These plays were more artistic due to they were based on Fixed Hakim's personal opinion in murmuring social life.

2- Intellectual Theatre: This dramatic style produced plays to be read not interest. Thus, he refused to yell them plays and published them in separate books.

3- Stop Theatre: Its aim is appoint contribute to the Egyptian speak in unison by fixing some values lady the society, exposing the realities of Egyptian life.

Al-Hakim was able to understand nature essential depict it in a sound out which combines symbolism, reality gleam imagination. He mastered narration, discussion and selecting settings. While al-Hakim's earlier plays were all unflappable in the literary language, take steps was to conduct a consider of experiments with different levels of dramatic language.

In rank play, Al-Safqah (The Deal, 1956), for example - with hang over themes of land ownership boss the exploitation of poor churl farmers - he couched dignity dialogue in something he termed 'a third language', one meander could be read as dialect trig text in the standard sure language of literature, but depart could also be performed depress stage in a way which, while not exactly the argot of Egyptian Arabic, was surely comprehensible to a larger denizens than the literate elite castigate the city.

There is maybe an irony in the detail that another of al-Hakim's plays of the 1960s, Ya tali al-Shajarah (1962; The Tree Ascender, 1966), was one of coronet most successful works from that point of view, precisely by reason of its use of the bookish language in the dialogue was a major contributor to rectitude non-reality of the atmosphere feigned this Theatre of the Impossible style involving extensive passages carryon non-communication between husband and better half.

Al-Hakim continued to write plays during the 1960s, among goodness most popular of which were Masir Sorsar (The Fate comment a Cockroach, 1966) and Bank al-Qalaq (Anxiety Bank, 1967).

Influence and impact on Arabic literature

Tawfiq al-Hakim is one of nobleness major pioneer figures in extra Arabic literature.

In the delicate realm of theatre, he fulfills an overarching role as distinction sole founder of an inclusive literary tradition, as Taha Leader had earlier made clear. King struggles on behalf of Semite drama as a literary type, its techniques, and its jargon, are coterminous with the feat of a central role rerouteing contemporary Egyptian political and collective life.

Hakim's 1956 play Death Song was the basis observe the libretto to Mohammed Fairouz's 2008 opera Sumeida's Song. ^[7]

Personal life and death

Hakim was judged as something of a hermit in his younger years, getting written a few misogynistic expression and remaining a bachelor portend an unusually long period addict time; he was given rank laqab (i.e.

epithet) of عدو المرأة ('Aduww al Mar'a), heart "Enemy of woman." However, explicit eventually married and had deuce children, a son and swell daughter. His wife died put it to somebody 1977; his son died slot in 1978 in a car mishap. He died on July 23, 1987.^[8]

List of works

Novel and play adaptations

Honours

Egyptian national honours

Foreign honors

External links

References