East and West in Al-Hakims Collection Majlis Al-Adl

• Authors: Dorota Rudnicka-Kassem
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Influences on a modern Arab writers personality are numerous. Beside factors such, as ones family tradition, esthetic experiences of ones youth and ones environment, a decisive role is played by the impact of literary trends and movements in the East and West, Western writers (old and contemporary) and the native literary tradition. Sometimes the author draws from this basic material in a chaotic and accidental way but in the case of Tawfiq al-°akîm (18981987), the founder of modern Egyptian drama and theatre, this is a conscious inspiration. Al-°akîms dramas, and in particular the three one-act plays from the collection Majlis al-Adl (1972, The Tower of Justice), discussed in this paper are examples of the harmony between Western influences and Eastern, namely Arab tradition; they present a synthesis of two cultures. The title play Majlis al-Adl relates to Egyptian social problems, the other two, i.e., Shâir alâl-Qamar (The Poet on the Moon) and Taqrîr Qamarî (A Moon Report) reflect the writers attitude toward problems of contemporary civilization and technology. In these three works Al-°akîm presented himself not only as a believing Muslim but also as a follower of modern Western literary, philosophical and political schools, movements or trends and as a humanist deeply involved not only in Egyptian problems but also in current issues of the contemporary world, futurology and general human matters.

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Kultur Śródziemnomorskich i Orientalnych PAN
• Journal: Hemispheres. Studies on Cultures and Societies
• Year: 2012
• Issue: 27
• Pages: 145-159

Contributors

author

Dorota Rudnicka-Kassem