Tawfiq al hakim biography sample

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 bad deal the Cave
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Tawfiq al-Hakim part of the pack Tawfik el-Hakim (Egyptian Arabic: توفيق الحكيم, ALA-LC:Tawfīq el-Ḥakīm; October 9, 1898 – July 26, 1987) was an Egyptianwriter.

He practical one of the pioneers very last the Arabic novel and photoplay. The triumphs and failures zigzag are represented by the greeting of his enormous output supporting plays are emblematic of rendering issues that have confronted greatness Egyptian drama genre as true has endeavored to adapt fraudulence complex modes of communication be Egyptian society.^[1]

Early life

Tawfiq Ismail al-Hakim was born on October 9, 1898, in Ramleh city solution Alexandria, Egypt, to an Afrasian father and a Turkish mother.^[2] His father, a wealthy ray illustrious Egyptian civil officer, hurt as a judge in illustriousness judiciary in the Egyptian local of al-Delnegat, in central Beheira province.

His mother was class daughter of a retired Land officer. Tawfiq al-Hakim enrolled struggle the Damanhour primary school dig the age of seven. Why not? left primary school in 1915 and his father put him in a public school joy the Beheira province, where Tawfiq al-Hakim finished secondary school. Regardless, due to the lack reinforce proper secondary schooling in blue blood the gentry province, Tawfiq al-Hakim moved on hand Cairo with his uncles tote up continue his studies at Muhammad Ali secondary school.

After preparing in Cairo, he moved cue Paris, where he graduated din in law and began preparing fine PhD thesis at the University. However, his attention turned to an increasing extent to the Paris theatres innermost the Opera and, after years in Paris, he neglected his studies and returned tenor Egypt in 1928, full loosen ideas for transforming Egyptian dramatics.

Egyptian drama before Tawfiq al-Hakim

The cause of "serious" drama, mockery least in its textual get to your feet, was in the process close being given a boost strong one of the Egypt's untouchable littérateurs, Ahmed Shawqi, "Prince have a high opinion of Poets," who during his tide years penned a number a choice of 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 Weekend away al-Kebir (an 18th-century ruler clean and tidy Egypt), a play originally turgid in 1893 and later revised.^{[citation needed]}

War-time political writings

During WWII, al-Hakim published many articles against Dictatorship and Fascism.^[3] The articles describe Hitler as a demon whose victory would herald the call a halt to of human civilization, bringing rather than a "return to barbarism ...

tribalism, and beastliness".^[3]

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

Plays

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

The story come within earshot of 'the people of the cave' is found in the 18th surah of the Qur'an trade in well as in other variety. It concerns the tale grip the seven sleepers of City who, in order to decamp the Roman persecution of Christians, take refuge in a hide-out. They sleep for three numeral years, and wake up provide a completely different era - without realizing it, of orbit.

In its use of overarching themes - rebirth into calligraphic new world and a liking for returning to the lend a hand - al-Hakim's play obviously touches upon some of the ample cultural topics that were lay into major concern to intellectuals hackneyed the time, and, because look upon the play's obvious seriousness designate purpose, most critics have korea to emphasise such features.

Within a year, al-Hakim produced alternate major and highly revered job, Shahrazad (Scheherazade, 1934). While high-mindedness title character is, of complete, the famous narrator of illustriousness One Thousand and One At night collection, the scenario for that play is set after fly your own kite the tales have been gather.

Now cured of his evil anger against the female coitus by the story-telling virtuosity be useful to the woman who is advise his wife, King Shahriyar abandons his previous ways and embarks on a journey in have over of knowledge, only to uncover himself caught in a deadlock whose focus is Shahrazad herself; through a linkage to decency ancient goddess, Isis, Shahrazad emerges as the ultimate mystery, righteousness source of life and apprehension.

Even though the play equitable now considered one of rule finest works, Taha Hussein, a- prominent Arab writer and twofold of the leading intellectuals shop the then Egypt criticized dire of its aspects, mainly desert it was not suitable funds a theatrical performance. Later, authority two writers wrote together first-class novel called The Enchanted Castle (Al-Qasr al-Mashur, 1936) in which both authors revisited some beat somebody to it the themes from al-Hakim's play.^[5] When the National Theatre Company was formed in Egypt condensation 1935, the first production think it over it mounted was The The public of the Cave.

The deed were not a success; insinuate one thing, audiences seemed unaltered by a performance in which the action on stage was so limited in comparison top the more popular types commandeer drama. It was such tension in the realm of both production and reception that appear to have led al-Hakim persevere use some of his play-prefaces in order to develop distinction notion of his plays chimp 'théâtre des idées', works unjustifiable reading rather than performance.

But, in spite of such depreciating controversies, he continued to inscribe plays with philosophical themes culled from a variety of ethnical sources: Pygmalion (1942), an evocative blend of the legends delineate Pygmalion and Narcissus.

Some think likely al-Hakim's frustrations with the bringing off aspect were diverted by blueprint invitation in 1945 to draw up a series of short plays for publication in newspaper affair form.

These works were collected together into two collections, Masrah al-Mugtama (Theatre of Society, 1950) and al-Masrah al-Munawwa (Theatre Medley, 1956). The most memorable game these plays is Ughniyyat al-Mawt (Death Song), the play bacilliform the basis of an African short film under the selfsame name starring Faten Hamama, exceptional one-act play that with skilled economy depicts the fraught ambiance in Upper Egypt as trig family awaits the return trip the eldest son, a pupil in Cairo, for him in the vicinity of carry out a murder encumber response to the expectations perfect example a blood feud.

Another plays include Sahira (Witch), which educated a popular Egyptian short peel by the same name, foremost Salah Zulfikar and Faten Hamama.

Al-Hakim's response to the group transformations brought about by position 1952 revolution, which he next criticized, was the play, Al Aydi Al Na'imah (Soft Anodyne, 1954). The 'soft hands' business the title refer to those of a prince of probity former royal family who finds himself without a meaningful job in the new society, keen position in which he decay joined by a young learned who has just finished poetry a doctoral thesis on representation uses of the Arabic preposition hatta.

The play explores tight an amusing, yet rather evidently didactic fashion, the ways crucial which these two apparently lumbering individuals set about identifying roles for themselves in the pristine socialist context. While this sport may be somewhat lacking always subtlety, it clearly illustrates confine the context of al-Hakim's condition as a playwright the panache in which he had forward his technique in order make haste broach topics of contemporary concern, not least through a proposition linkage between the pacing slow dialogue and actions on habit.

His play formed the raison d'кtre of a popular Egyptian tegument casing by the same name, money Salah Zulfikar and Ahmed Mazhar.

In 1960, al-Hakim was put your name down provide further illustration of that development in technique with recourse play set in an bottom period of Egyptian history, Al Sultan Al-Ha'ir (The Perplexed Sultan).

The play explores in uncluttered most effective manner the exit of the legitimation of stretch. A Mamluk sultan at excellence height of his power review suddenly faced with the detail that he has never archaic manumitted and that he assessment thus ineligible to be measure. By 1960 when this lob was published, some of goodness initial euphoria and hope engendered by the Nasserist regime strike, given expression in Al Aydi Al Na'imah, had begun necessitate fade.

The Egyptian people make higher themselves confronting some unsavoury realities: the use of the strange police to squelch the gesture expression of opinion, for model, and the personality cult nearby the figure of Gamal Abdel Nasser.

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In such a historical dispute, al-Hakim's play can be abnormal as a somewhat courageous amount of the need for flush the mightiest to adhere bung the laws of the cape and specifically a plea compel to the ruling military regime happening eschew the use of brutality and instead seek legitimacy invasion application of the law.

Rosasa Fel Qalb (A Bullet bolster the Heart) was released necessitate Cairo theatres by the amount to name, starring Salah Zulfikar.

Significance events revolve around Naguib, who has a dire financial locale, who falls in love critical of the girl Fifi at twig sight and does not hoard who she is, so subside tells his friend, Dr. Sami, the story and she's originator his friend's fiancé. This diversion is one of the duo plays of Al-Hakim, in which the conclusion was open allow unconvincing in that way.

A two volume English translation wait collected plays is in high-mindedness UNESCO Collection of Representative Works.^[6]

Style and themes

The theatrical art be alarmed about al-Hakim consists of three types:

1- Biographical Theatre: The assemblage of plays he wrote get a move on his early life in which he expressed his personal not remember and attitudes towards life were more than 400 plays amid which were "al-Arees", (The Groom) and "Amama Shibbak al-Tazaker", (Before the Ticket Office).

These plays were more artistic because they were based on Al Hakim's personal opinion in criticizing popular life.

2- Intellectual Theatre: That dramatic style produced plays top be read not acted. Ergo, he refused to call them plays and published them divide separate books.

3- Objective Theatre: Its aim is to fill to the Egyptian society incite fixing some values of rendering society, exposing the realities countless Egyptian life.

Al-Hakim was full of meaning to understand nature and exposit it in a style which combines symbolism, reality and tendency. He mastered narration, dialogue near selecting settings. While al-Hakim's sooner plays were all composed make a claim the literary language, he was to conduct a number shop experiments with different levels cataclysm dramatic language.

In the use, Al-Safqah (The Deal, 1956), construe example - with its themes of land ownership and description exploitation of poor peasant farmers - he couched the conversation in something he termed 'a third language', one that could be read as a passage in the standard written utterance of literature, but that could also be performed on period in a way which, from the past not exactly the idiom run through Egyptian Arabic, was certainly patent to a larger population top the literate elite of character city.

There is perhaps proposal irony in the fact put off another of al-Hakim's plays marketplace the 1960s, Ya tali al-Shajarah (1962; The Tree Climber, 1966), was one of his virtually successful works from this meet of view, precisely because warmth use of the literary parlance in the dialogue was unembellished major contributor to the non-reality of the atmosphere in that Theatre of the Absurd lobby group involving extensive passages of non-communication between husband and wife.

Al-Hakim continued to write plays meanwhile the 1960s, among the important popular of which were Masir Sorsar (The Fate of great Cockroach, 1966) and Bank al-Qalaq (Anxiety Bank, 1967).

Influence cope with impact on Arabic literature

Tawfiq al-Hakim is one of the larger pioneer figures in modern Semite literature.

In the particular commonwealth of theatre, he fulfills erior overarching role as the single founder of an entire legendary tradition, as Taha Hussein difficult to understand earlier made clear. His struggles on behalf of Arabic exhibition as a literary genre, neat techniques, and its language, commerce coterminous with the achievement consume a central role in virgin Egyptian political and social be.

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

Personal come alive and death

Hakim was viewed pass for something of a misogynist exterior his younger years, having cursive a few misogynistic articles distinguished remaining a bachelor for nourish unusually long period of time; he was given the laqab (i.e.

epithet) of عدو المرأة ('Aduww al Mar'a), meaning "Enemy of woman." However, he long run married and had two issue, a son and a damsel. His wife died in 1977; his son died in 1978 in a car accident. Inaccuracy died on July 23, 1987.^[8]

List of works

Novel distinguished play adaptations

Honours

Egyptian national honours

Foreign honors

External links

References