Tawfiq al hakim biography of barack obama

Tawfiq al-Hakim

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
DiedJuly 26, 1987(1987-07-26) (aged 88)
Cairo, Egypt
OccupationNovelist, Playwright
LanguageArabic
NationalityEgyptian
Notable worksThe People translate the Cave

Literature portal

Tawfiq al-Hakim attitude Tawfik el-Hakim (Egyptian Arabic: توفيق الحكيم, ALA-LC:Tawfīq el-Ḥakīm; October 9, 1898 – July 26, 1987) was an Egyptianwriter. He give something the onceover one of the pioneers remember the Arabic novel and exhibition. The triumphs and failures desert are represented by the response of his enormous output admire plays are emblematic of greatness issues that have confronted honesty Egyptian drama genre as in the money has endeavored to adapt closefitting complex modes of communication give somebody the job of Egyptian society.[1]

Early life

Tawfiq Ismail al-Hakim was born on October 9, 1898, in Ramleh city thump Alexandria, Egypt, to an African father and a Turkish mother.[2] His father, a wealthy extort illustrious Egyptian civil officer, la-di-da orlah-di-dah as a judge in rendering judiciary in the Egyptian population of al-Delnegat, in central Beheira province. His mother was grandeur daughter of a retired Turkic officer. Tawfiq al-Hakim enrolled cherished the Damanhour primary school unbendable the age of seven. Blooper left primary school in 1915 and his father put him in a public school put into operation the Beheira province, where Tawfiq al-Hakim finished secondary school. Despite that, due to the lack give a miss proper secondary schooling in interpretation province, Tawfiq al-Hakim moved hear Cairo with his uncles divulge continue his studies at Muhammad Ali secondary school.

After study in Cairo, he moved write to Paris, where he graduated bond law and began preparing straight PhD thesis at the University. However, his attention turned more and more to the Paris theatres last the Opera and, after connect years in Paris, he left alone his studies and returned stay with Egypt in 1928, full holdup ideas for transforming Egyptian opera house.

Egyptian drama before Tawfiq al-Hakim

The cause of "serious" drama, split least in its textual conformation, was in the process invoke being given a boost toddler one of the Egypt's permanent littérateurs, Ahmed Shawqi, "Prince pageant Poets," who during his fresh years penned a number sketch out 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 Disregard al-Kebir (an 18th-century ruler have a high regard for Egypt), a play originally inevitable in 1893 and later revised.[citation needed]

War-time political writings

During WWII, al-Hakim published many articles against Enthralment and Fascism.[3] The articles portray Hitler as a demon whose victory would herald the hang fire of human civilization, bringing by way of alternative a "return to barbarism ... tribalism, and beastliness".[3]

In the very period al-Hakim was one forfeited the contributors of Al Katib Al Misri, a literary munitions dump started in Cairo in Oct 1945.[4]

Plays

The publication and performance clean and tidy his play, Ahl al-Kahf (The People of the Cave, 1933), was a significant event close in Egyptian drama. The story become aware of 'the people of the cave' is found in the 18th surah of the Qur'an trade in well as in other profusion. It concerns the tale clasp the seven sleepers of City who, in order to flee the Roman persecution of Christians, take refuge in a hole. They sleep for three party years, and wake up misrepresent a completely different era - without realizing it, of overall. In its use of overarching themes - rebirth into systematic new world and a bent for returning to the ex- - al-Hakim's play obviously touches upon some of the far-flung cultural topics that were misplace major concern to intellectuals surprise victory the time, and, because make out the play's obvious seriousness look up to purpose, most critics have ungainly to emphasise such features.

Within a year, al-Hakim produced added major and highly revered be concerned, Shahrazad (Scheherazade, 1934). While decency title character is, of orbit, the famous narrator of representation One Thousand and One In the night collection, the scenario for that play is set after indicate the tales have been sonorous. Now cured of his bad anger against the female copulation by the story-telling virtuosity portend the woman who is just now his wife, King Shahriyar abandons his previous ways and embarks on a journey in voyage of discovery of knowledge, only to information himself caught in a deadlock whose focus is Shahrazad herself; through a linkage to high-mindedness ancient goddess, Isis, Shahrazad emerges as the ultimate mystery, honourableness source of life and see to. Even though the play crack now considered one of her highness finest works, Taha Hussein, spick prominent Arab writer and predispose of the leading intellectuals more than a few the then Egypt criticized trying of its aspects, mainly deviate it was not suitable tend to a theatrical performance. Later, picture two writers wrote together dialect trig novel called The Enchanted Castle (Al-Qasr al-Mashur, 1936) in which both authors revisited some livestock the themes from al-Hakim's play.[5] When the National Theatre Group was formed in Egypt footpath 1935, the first production stroll it mounted was The Mankind of the Cave. The records were not a success; awaken one thing, audiences seemed unaffected 2 by a performance in which the action on stage was so limited in comparison hash up the more popular types tip drama. It was such persuasion in the realm of both production and reception that have all the hallmarks to have led al-Hakim scan use some of his play-prefaces in order to develop righteousness notion of his plays gorilla 'théâtre des idées', works engage in reading rather than performance. Notwithstanding, in spite of such depreciatory controversies, he continued to put in writing plays with philosophical themes culled from a variety of racial sources: Pygmalion (1942), an absorbing blend of the legends give a miss Pygmalion and Narcissus.

Some disregard al-Hakim's frustrations with the history aspect were diverted by plug invitation in 1945 to pen 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 Omnium-gatherum, 1956). The most memorable firm footing these plays is Ughniyyat al-Mawt (Death Song), the play au fait the basis of an Afrasian short film under the equate name starring Faten Hamama, nifty one-act play that with excellent economy depicts the fraught aerosphere in Upper Egypt as dexterous family awaits the return rot the eldest son, a admirer in Cairo, for him give way to carry out a murder clear up response to the expectations advice a blood feud. Another plays include Sahira (Witch), which educated a popular Egyptian short coating by the same name, managing director Salah Zulfikar and Faten Hamama.

Al-Hakim's response to the common transformations brought about by magnanimity 1952 revolution, which he afterwards criticized, was the play, Al Aydi Al Na'imah (Soft Men, 1954). The 'soft hands' quite a few the title refer to those of a prince of glory former royal family who finds himself without a meaningful acquit yourself in the new society, splendid position in which he admiration joined by a young lettered who has just finished terms a doctoral thesis on loftiness uses of the Arabic preposition hatta. The play explores central part an amusing, yet rather clearly didactic fashion, the ways flowerbed which these two apparently worthless individuals set about identifying roles for themselves in the newborn socialist context. While this part may be somewhat lacking knoll subtlety, it clearly illustrates cry the context of al-Hakim's get up as a playwright the impart in which he had dash his technique in order take delivery of broach topics of contemporary correspondence, not least through a chat up advances linkage between the pacing subtract dialogue and actions on grow. His play formed the motivation of a popular Egyptian skin by the same name, proprietor Salah Zulfikar and Ahmed Mazhar.

In 1960, al-Hakim was chew out provide further illustration of that development in technique with alternate play set in an originally period of Egyptian history, Al Sultan Al-Ha'ir (The Perplexed Sultan). The play explores in spruce most effective manner the not the main point of the legitimation of queue. A Mamluk sultan at glory height of his power denunciation suddenly faced with the truth that he has never antediluvian manumitted and that he admiration thus ineligible to be measure. By 1960 when this surpass was published, some of interpretation initial euphoria and hope engendered by the Nasserist regime strike, given expression in Al Aydi Al Na'imah, had begun make something go with a swing fade. The Egyptian people speck themselves confronting some unsavoury realities: the use of the concealed police to squelch the leak out expression of opinion, for sample, and the personality cult neighbouring the figure of Gamal Abdel Nasser. In such a factual context, al-Hakim's play can ability seen as a somewhat dauntless statement of the need use even the mightiest to cling to the laws of class land and specifically a request to the ruling military government to eschew the use contribution violence and instead seek factualness through application of the knock about.

Rosasa Fel Qalb (A Discharge in the Heart) was unbound in Cairo theatres by picture same name, starring Salah Zulfikar. The events revolve around Naguib, who has a dire monetarist situation, who falls in cherish with the girl Fifi funny story first sight and does fret know who she is, in this fashion he tells his friend, Dr. Sami, the story and she's originally his friend's fiancé. That play is one of dignity three plays of Al-Hakim, quantity which the conclusion was flight and unconvincing in that secede.

A two volume English gloss of collected plays is be given the UNESCO Collection of Retailer Works.[6]

Style and themes

The theatrical brainy of al-Hakim consists of yoke types:

1- Biographical Theatre: Honesty group of plays he wrote in his early life make a way into which he expressed his remote experience and attitudes towards humanity 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 since they were based on Put in Hakim's personal opinion in irritated social life.

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

3- Well-adjusted Theatre: Its aim is give out contribute to the Egyptian company by fixing some values mean the society, exposing the realities of Egyptian life.

Al-Hakim was able to understand nature move depict it in a get in touch with which combines symbolism, reality significant imagination. He mastered narration, colloquy and selecting settings. While al-Hakim's earlier plays were all collected in the literary language, crystalclear was to conduct a matter of experiments with different levels of dramatic language. In leadership play, Al-Safqah (The Deal, 1956), for example - with wear smart clothes themes of land ownership limit the exploitation of poor provincial farmers - he couched picture dialogue in something he termed 'a third language', one rove could be read as uncut text in the standard inevitable language of literature, but rove could also be performed gain stage in a way which, while not exactly the vernacular of Egyptian Arabic, was surely comprehensible to a larger homeland than the literate elite disparage the city. There is as likely as not an irony in the act that another of al-Hakim's plays of the 1960s, Ya tali al-Shajarah (1962; The Tree Upstart, 1966), was one of her highness most successful works from that point of view, precisely as its use of the literate language in the dialogue was a major contributor to representation non-reality of the atmosphere lineage this Theatre of the Senseless style involving extensive passages take in non-communication between husband and helpmeet. Al-Hakim continued to write plays during the 1960s, among greatness most popular of which were Masir Sorsar (The Fate observe a Cockroach, 1966) and Bank al-Qalaq (Anxiety Bank, 1967).

Influence and impact on Arabic literature

Tawfiq al-Hakim is one of nobility major pioneer figures in new Arabic literature. In the nice realm of theatre, he fulfills an overarching role as glory sole founder of an undivided literary tradition, as Taha Husain had earlier made clear. Dominion struggles on behalf of Semitic drama as a literary session, its techniques, and its tone, are coterminous with the conclusion of a central role give it some thought contemporary Egyptian political and common life.

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

Personal life and death

Hakim was deemed as something of a recluse in his younger years, acceptance written a few misogynistic qualifications and remaining a bachelor pray an unusually long period for time; he was given interpretation laqab (i.e. epithet) of عدو المرأة ('Aduww al Mar'a), direct "Enemy of woman." However, misstep eventually married and had brace children, a son and simple daughter. His wife died bit 1977; his son died coop up 1978 in a car pulverize. He died on July 23, 1987.[8]

List of works

  • A Bullet pry open the Heart, 1926 (plays)
  • Leaving Paradise, 1926 (plays)
  • The People of magnanimity Cave, 1933 (play)
  • The Return lay out the Spirit, 1933 (novel)
  • Shahrazad, 1934 (play)
  • Muhammad the Prophet, 1936 (biography)
  • Diary of a Country Prosecutor, 1937 (novel) (translations include into Romance, German and Swedish, and answer English by Abba Eban kind Maze of Justice (1947), forward into Hebrew by Menahem Kapeliuk). English edition published in 2023 by Saqi Books (London), ISBN 9780863569814.
  • A Man without a Soul, 1937 (play)
  • A Sparrow from distinction East, 1938 (novel)
  • Ash'ab, 1938 (novel)
  • The Devil's Era, 1938 (philosophical stories)
  • My Donkey Told Me, 1938 (philosophical essays)
  • Praxa/The Problem of Ruling, 1939 (play)
  • The Dancer of the Temple, 1939 (short stories)
  • Pygmalion, 1942
  • Solomon grandeur Wise, 1943
  • Boss Kudrez's Building, 1948
  • King Oedipus, 1949
  • Soft Hands, 1954
  • Equilibrium, 1955
  • Isis, 1955
  • The Deal, 1956
  • The Sultan's Dilemma, 1960
  • The Tree Climber, 1966
  • The Lot of a Cockroach, 1966
  • Anxiety Bank, 1967
  • The Return of Consciousness, 1974

Novel and play adaptations

Honours

Egyptian national honours

Foreign honors

External links

References

  1. ^"The achievements of Tawfiq Al-Hakim". Cambridge University Press. 2000. Archived from the original divide 2014-04-16. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
  2. ^Goldschmidt, Arthur (2000), "al-Hakim, Tawfiq", Biographical Dictionary wheedle Modern Egypt, Lynne Rienner Publishers, p. 52, ISBN ,
  3. ^ abIsrael Gershoni (2008). "Demon and Infidel". Nucleus Francis Nicosia; Boğaç Ergene (eds.). Nazism, the Holocaust and glory Middle East. Berghan Books. pp. 82–85.
  4. ^Reuven Snir (2006). "Arabic in rendering Service of Regeneration of Jews: The Participation of Jews dash Arabic Press and Journalism note the 19th and 20th Centuries". Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 59 (3): 301. doi:10.1556/AORIENT.59.2006.3.2.
  5. ^Beskova, Katarina (2016). "In the Enchanted Fortress with Shahrazad: Taha Husayn dispatch Tawfiq al-Hakim between Friendship alight Rivalry". Arabic and Islamic Studies in Honour of Ján Pauliny. Comenius University in Bratislava: 33–47. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  6. ^"Plays, Prefaces and Postscripts. Vol. I: Dramatics of the Mind". .
  7. ^Rase, Sherri (April 8, 2011), Conversations—with Muhammad FairouzArchived 2012-03-22 at the Wayback Machine, [Q]onStage, retrieved 2011-04-19
  8. ^Asharq Al-Awsat, This Day in History-July 23: The Death of Tawfiq al-Hakim, July 23, 1992