Two Plays by the Islamic Dramatist, Ali Ahmad Bakathir Translated Into English With Critical Commentary

Arab dramatists are still largely unknown, particularly in the U.S.A. This dissertation is a step partially to fill that gap through the translation and critical study of two plays by Ali Ahmad Bakathir (1908-1969), one of the most original Arab playwrights. Bakathir was a prolific writer born in Indonesia, brought up in S. Yemen (his original home) and then lived and died in Egypt. Bakathir contributed influentially to modern Arabic literature in several literary genres; drama, poetry, and the novel. In addition to his great sum of poetry, he wrote more than sixty plays, six novels, many one-act plays and short stories. Bakathir's study of English literature, and of Shakespeare in particular, guided him to some of the innovations he pioneered in Arabic literature such as the use of free verse, which became a medium of later Arabic verse drama. However, Bakathir wrote the majority of his plays in prose, which stemmed from his belief that drama could be poetical without the restrictions of meter.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Theatre

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2014

Author dc:creator

• Hamid, Mohamed AbuBakr

Contributors dc:contributor

• Hobgood, Burnet M.

• Literature, Middle Eastern
• Theater

Identifier

(UMI)AAI8908697

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/71121