‫)‪King Lear (William Shakespeare‬‬

‫‪Originally published: 1606‬‬

‫‪Genre: tragedy‬‬
‫‪Themes:‬‬
‫‪• loyalty‬‬
‫‪• madness‬‬
‫‪• power‬‬
‫‪Setting:‬‬
‫‪King Lear is set in ancient Britain, several centuries before the arrival of‬‬
‫‪Christianity. In Shakespeare's day, historians believed pre-Christian Britain had‬‬
‫‪been a single united kingdom that was later divided into Britain and Scotland.‬‬

‫ملخص المسرحية بالعربي‪:‬‬

‫المسرحية بتبدأ بالملك لير ملك بريطانيا الذي يرغب في تقسيم المملكة بين بناتة التالتة جونوريل‬
‫وريجان وكورديليا (بالترتيب) حسب حبهم له‪ ..‬البنت الكبيرة "جونوريل" استخدمت خبثها ومكرها‬
‫والكلمات المعسولة عشان تخدع ابوها الملك وتوهمه انها اكتر واحدة بتحبة وقالت انه أغلي عندها من‬
‫عنيها وان مفيش كلمات تقدر توصفه بيها وكذلك البنت الوسطى "ريجان" فعلت مثلها وخدعت أبوها‪..‬‬
‫لكن بقي البنت الصغيرة كورديليا اللي هي ف الحقيقة اكتر واحدة بتحب أبوها مكانتش خبيثة زيهم‬
‫وقالت بطريقة بسيطة انها بتحبه النه ابوها‪.‬‬
‫في الوقت دا كانت جونوريل وريجان متزوجات وكورديليا كانت مخطوبة ل الدوق برجاندي‪.‬‬
‫بعد كالم الثالث بنات للملك قرر يعطي فرصة أخرى لكورديليا ولكنها لم تستطيع أن تقول اكثر مما قالتة‬
‫ف قرر عدم اعطائها اي شئ من المملكة وجعل المملكة ل جونوريل وريجان فقط‪ ..‬وقرر انه هيقعد‬
‫شهر في قصر جونوريل وشهر في قصر ريجان ومعاه بعض الحراس‪.‬‬
‫خطيب كورديليا تركها بعد م عرف حرمانها من المملكة وف نفس الوقت قرر ملك فرنسا اللي كان‬
‫بيحبها انه يتزوجها تزوجها بالفعل‪.‬‬
‫الناس المحيطين بالملك كانوا حاسين بالحزن بشأن ما حدث لكورديليا عشان هما كانوا عارفين مدى‬
‫صدقها في حب ابيها ومن اهمهم "أيرل كنت" ودا واحد من النبالء المقربين للملك ولما قرر يتكلم مع‬
‫الملك بشأن كورديليا غضب الملك لير منه ونفاه ولكن "أيرل كنت" تخفى في وسط الخدم المقربين‬
‫للملك ب اسم "كايوس‪".‬‬
‫مع الوقت الملك لير حس بخيبة أمل من بنته جونوريل وخاصة بعد م قالت له انها مش عايزاه في‬
‫قصرها فقرر يذهب لبنته ريجان ولكن هي كمان خيبت أمله وتجاهلته هي وزوجها‪.‬‬
‫فأخد ُحراسة وذهبوا لقلعة دوفر‪ ..‬وذهب "كايوس" اللي هو أصال "أيرل كنت" إلي فرنسا ليخبر‬
‫كورديليا باللي حصل للملك من اخواتها‪ ..‬فطلبت من زوجها ملك فرنسا انه يجهز جيش عشان يغزو‬
‫بريطانيا ويسقط حكم أخواتها‪ .‬وذهبت للقاء ابيها وهنا أدرك الملك لير خطأه‪.‬‬
‫في الوقت دا االختين جونوريل وريجان وقعوا ف حب نفس الرجل وهو "أدموند"‪ ..‬وبعد م توفى زوج‬
‫ريجان قررت انها تتزوج أدموند ودا طبعا اشعل الغيرة في اختها جونوريل فقررت تقتل ريجان عشان‬
‫تتخلص منها‪ ..‬ولكن لما عرف زوجها (زوج جونوريل يعني) بفعلتها الشنيعة وقتلها الختها أمر ب‬
‫اعدامها‪.‬‬
‫في الوقت دا جيش كوريليا وزوجها اتهزم وتم أسرها واعدامها ومات الملك لير حزنا ع ابنته الصادقة‬
‫الوحيدة اللي كانت بتحبه بصدق‪.‬‬
‫وف االخر زوج جونوريل أصبح ملك بريطانيا‪.‬‬

‫‪Characters:‬‬

‫‪King Lear: The aging king of Britain and the protagonist of the play. Lear is‬‬
‫‪used to enjoying absolute power. He prioritizes the appearance of love over‬‬
‫‪actual devotion and wishes to maintain the power of a king while unburdening‬‬
‫‪himself of the responsibility.‬‬

‫‪Cordelia: Lear’s youngest daughter, disowned by her father for refusing to‬‬
‫‪flatter him. Cordelia is held in extremely high regard by all of the good‬‬
‫‪characters in the play. She remains loyal to Lear despite his cruelty toward her,‬‬
‫‪forgives him. Despite her obvious virtues, Cordelia’s reticence makes her‬‬
‫‪motivations difficult to read, as in her refusal to declare her love for her father at‬‬
‫‪the beginning of the play.‬‬

‫‪Goneril: Lear’s ruthless oldest daughter and the wife of the duke of Albany.‬‬
‫‪Goneril is jealous, treacherous, and amoral. Shakespeare’s audience would have‬‬
been particularly shocked at Goneril’s aggressiveness, a quality that it would
not have expected in a female character.

Regan: Lear’s middle daughter and the wife of the duke of Cornwall. Regan is
as ruthless as Goneril and as aggressive in all the same ways.

Kent: A nobleman of the same rank as Gloucester who is loyal to King Lear.
Kent spends most of the play disguised as a peasant, calling himself “Caius,” so
that he can continue to serve Lear even after Lear banishes him. He is extremely
loyal, but he gets himself into trouble throughout the play by being extremely
blunt and outspoken.

Gloucester: A nobleman loyal to King Lear whose rank, earl, is below that of
duke. The first thing we learn about Gloucester is that he is an adulterer, having
fathered a bastard son, Edmund.

Edgar: Gloucester’s older, legitimate son. Edgar plays many different roles,
starting out as a gullible fool easily tricked by his brother, then assuming a
disguise as a mad beggar to evade his father’s men, then carrying his
impersonation further to aid Lear and Gloucester, and finally appearing as an
armored champion to avenge his brother’s treason.

Edmund: Gloucester’s younger, illegitimate son. Edmund resents his status as a

bastard and schemes to usurp Gloucester’s title and possessions from Edgar.

Albany: The husband of Lear’s daughter Goneril. Albany is good at heart, and
he eventually denounces and opposes the cruelty of Goneril, Regan, and
Cornwall.

Cornwall: The husband of Lear’s daughter Regan. Unlike Albany, Cornwall is

domineering, cruel, and violent.
Very Short Summary:
King Lear divides his kingdom among the two daughters who flatter him and
panishes the third one who loves him. His eldest daughters both then reject him
at their homes, so Lear goes mad and wanders through a storm. His panished
daughter returns with an army, but they lose the battle. King Lear and all his
daughters die.

Themes:
The main themes in King Lear are loyalty, madness, and power.
• Loyalty: While some of the play’s characters embody evil and cruelty,
others demonstrate great loyalty and selflessness. Kent and Edgar are
rewarded for their loyalty, but Cordelia’s devotion leads to her death.
• Madness: Lear’s “madness” appears to be a form of dementia and waxes
and wanes throughout the action, contributing to both the tragedy and
sense of irrationality in the play.
• Power: King Lear explores the illusory nature of power, with the initially
disempowered Kent and Edgar ultimately triumphing over characters who
seek to gain power for its own sake.

• Death and Resolution: At the end of the play, the stage is littered with
bodies. Lear and Gloucester die of broken hearts, Cordelia is murdered,
Regan is poisoned by Goneril and Goneril commits suicide. Cornwall has
earlier been killed in retribution by one of his servants and although alive,
Kent seems suicidal (he has a journey shortly to do). The deaths of
Cordelia and Lear can be said to account for the play's unbearable
pessimism, so monumental in proportion that Nahum Tate in the 19th
century provided an alternative ending in which Cordelia lives and
marries Edgar. This alternative play held sway for over 150 years.

Important quotes:
1. "When we are born, we cry that we are come to this great stage of fools."
Act 4, Scene 4.
2. "As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods. They kill us for their sport."
Act 4, Scene 1.
3. "Nothing will come of nothing: speak again."
Act 1, Scene 1.

What is the moral of the story of King Lear?

The moral of King Lear is the idea that a person's actions speak louder than
words alone. It is very easy to say one thing and do another.

Other points:
The full title of Shakespeare's play The Tragedy of King Lear firmly establishes
the play in the tragic genre, though as is often with Shakespeare, the play asks
more questions than it answers. Central to the narrative is the eponymous king
of eighth century England and father of three daughters. The main plot opens
with a most elaborate ceremony with the king describing how he has 'divided in
three our kingdom' so that he can 'unburdened crawl towards death' so that
'future strife may be prevented now'. The irony is heavy and the opening is full
of tragic implication. Even though the play is set in a pre-Christian world, Lear's
abdication, given the political and religious beliefs at the time when
Shakespeare was writing (1604-1605), contravenes the natural order.

Nothing' is a key word and concept in this play. Cordelia's reply of 'Nothing' to
Lear's request to tell him how much she loves him, is the catalyst for his
uncontrollable rage. The subplot also begins with a focus on 'nothing'. Edmund's
deliberate and manipulative use of 'nothing' when Gloucester asks him what he
is reading triggers Gloucester's curiosity and anger.
About writer:

William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor of

the Renaissance era. Shakespeare's writings capture the range of human emotion
and conflict. Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and
1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as
some of the best work produced in these genres. He then wrote
mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and
Juliet, Othello, Macbeth, and King Lear, all considered to be among the finest
works in the English language.
‫)‪HeartBreak House (George Bernard‬‬

‫‪A Fantasia in the Russian Manner on English Themes.‬‬

‫‪Published in: 1919‬‬
‫‪Genre: tragicomedy‬‬
‫‪About:‬‬
‫‪A dinner party at an eccentric household during World War I‬‬
‫‪Themes:‬‬
‫‪• Society‬‬
‫‪• Fate‬‬
‫‪• Appearance versus Reality‬‬
‫)‪Setting: (England, first world war‬‬
‫‪• Nestled in the English countryside, Captain Shotover's home. The‬‬
‫‪majority of the play takes place in the drawing room, which resembles the‬‬
‫‪stern gallery of a ship with heavy timbering and curved walls.‬‬

‫ملخص المسرحية بالعربي‪:‬‬

‫احداث المسرحية عبارة عن حفلة عشاء بتدور كلها في بيت ريفي وهو بيت الكابتن شوتوفر‪ ..‬الراجل‬
‫دا قبطان متقاعد وهو اصال غريب كدا‪..‬‬
‫الراجل دا عنده بنتين (هيسيون ودي الكبيرة ومتزوجة هيكتور ‪ -‬أرديان ودي الصغيرة وكانت مسافرة‬
‫استراليا ورجعت بعد ‪ ٢٣‬سنه غياب عن المنزل دا)‬
‫المسرحية بتبدأ ان "إيلي" معزومة ف الحفلة دي وصلت اول واحدة وقعدت تقرا ع ما الباقي ييجوا‬
‫الحفلة المهم بعدين "أرديان" وصلت وبدأت الحفلة‪.‬‬
‫أثناء الحفلة بتدور بينهم مناقشات فلسفية وحوارات عاطفية وبتتعقد االحداث‪ ..‬يعني مثال إيلي‬
‫المخطوبة ل مانجان ف الواقع بتحب هيكتور اللي هو زوج هيسيون وفي نفس الوقت مانجان بيحب‬
‫هيسيون وهكتور بيحب أرديان‬
‫إيلي هي فتاة فقيرة وعايزة تتجوز مانجان عشان هو غني ولكن هيسيون بتحاول تمنع الجوازة دي‬
‫عشان هي شايفة ان إيلي المفروض تتجوز واحد بتحبة مش عشان فلوسه‪.‬‬
‫ولكن إيلي بردو مصممه تتجوزه وبتهدده انه لو لغى زواجه منها مش هتخليه يشوف هيسيون (اللي‬
‫هو بيحبها) تاني أبدا‪.‬‬
‫ وبعدين خطيبها مانجان ظهر ع‬.‫ولكن بعد شوية إيلي قالت للكابتن شوتوفر انها بتفضل الزواج منه هو‬
‫حقيقتة وانها مش غني وال حاجة وانه معاه فلوس قليلة وهو فقط مسئول عن ادارة اعمال مستثمرين‬
.‫ وهنا إيلي بتعلن انها مش هتتجوزه وانها اصال تزوجت بالفعل من الكابتن خالل الحفلة دي‬.‫آخرين‬
‫وبيظهر ان هيكتور وراندال بيحاولوا يكسبوا حب واهتمام أرديان ولكن دون جدوى (هي مبتحبش حد‬
.)‫فيهم يعني‬
‫ف االخر بقي بيسمعوا كلهم صوت انفجار وبيفهموا ان فيه غارة قصف مستمرة (بسبب الحرب‬
.‫العالمية األولى) وبتطلب منهم الممرضة االختباء في القبو‬
.‫• خالل المسرحية بيظهر كأن البيت دا بيجبرهم يقولوا الحقيقة والصراحة‬
‫• والمسرحية اسمها كدا (بيت الحسرة) عشان كلهم ف االخر بيحسوا بخيبة األمل بعد كل‬
.‫االحداث اللي بتحصل ف الحفلة‬

Short summary:
The action takes place in Heartbreak House, in a room designed to recreate the
interior of an old-fashioned ship. The captain speaks to Ellie of his daughters,
whom he does not particularly like.
Hesione, the eldest daughter, fears that Ellie is being driven by her father into a
marriage for money with Mr. Mangan, even though Ellie in love with a
mysterious man she met recently and who later turns out to be Hesione’s
husband. Ellie therefore decides to go ahead with the marriage to Mr. Mangan.
When Mangan decides to tell Ellie he was the one who ruined her father and
that he is not a rich man, Ellie decides to marry the captain. The captain predicts
shipwreck for England and at that moment an air raid starts, killing the burglar
and Mr. Mangan, leaving the others to wait eagerly for the next one.

Characters:
Captain Shotover
Hesione Hushabye
Lady Ariadne (Addy) Utterword
Hector Hushabye
Ellie Dunn
Boss Alfred Mangan
Randall Utterword
Burglar (Billy Dunn)
Mazzini Dunn
Nurse Guinness

Themes:
• Society
The house could arguably be a metaphorical reference to a ship which must be
guided capably, not only by its crew, but also its passengers. Each character in
the house represents to some degree a facet of Edwardian British society,
Mangan being the nouveau riche capitalist, Hesione the flighty Bohemian, Ellie
a struggling member of the bourgeoisie and so on. Shaw divides
the Edwardian upper-class into two facets: the traditional country-
based gentry and aristocracy (those of Horseback Hall) and the rentier [fr] upper
middle-class (those of Heartbreak House).
• Reality versus appearances
By the end of the play, each character is revealed to be nothing like who they
appeared to be in the beginning. Mangan, who was reported to be "a Napoleon
of industry" is revealed in the third act to be virtually penniless and incapable of
running his own businesses. It is in fact Mazzini who runs Mangan's businesses
although he at first appears mild and incompetent.
• Deception in Heartbreak House
Shaw was neither a fan of marriage nor money. The characters of Heartbreak
House are engaged in a complex web of love triangles and business dealings,
and employ deception and sexual power to gain the upper hand.
About writer:
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was born in Dublin, the son of a civil
servant. His education was irregular, due to his dislike of any organized
training. He began his literary career as a novelist. Then, he decided to write
plays in order to illustrate his criticism of the English stage.
‫)‪Waiting for Godot (Samuel Beckett‬‬

‫‪Originally published: 1952‬‬

‫‪Genre: Tragicomedy‬‬
‫)‪Original language: French (En Attendant Godot‬‬
‫‪Setting: A Country Road‬‬
‫)‪(Unknown Time and Place‬‬

‫ملخص المسرحية بالعربي‪:‬‬

‫بتبدأ المسرحية ب اتنين متشردين "فالديمير" و "إستراجون" واقفين ع طريق كدا جنب شجرة‬
‫وبيبان م خالل كالمهم انهم بقالهم يومين منتظرين شخص اسمة "جودو" وانه هيخلصهم م فقرهم‬
‫وبؤسهم‪ ..‬ولكن ف الحقيقة انهم اصال ميعرفوش "جودو" دا وال يعرفوا هييجي امتي وال هيقابلوه فين‬
‫ولكن بردو هما منتظرين‪ ..‬بعد شوية بييجي واحد اسمه "بوزو" ومعاه العبد بتاعة "الكي" األبكم‪...‬‬
‫وهنا بيظهر عنف وقسوة "بوزو" مع "الكي" ع عكس معاملتة اللي فيها احترام مع "فالديمير" و‬
‫"إستراجون" مع انهم مشردين وفقراء‪ .‬ولكن فالديمير بينتقد معاملة بوزو الغير آدمية مع الكي‪ ..‬ف‬
‫بوزو بيقوله انه رايح يبيع الكي ف السوق وهنا بيزعل الكي ويبدأ يبكي‪.‬‬
‫بعد م بوزو والكي بيمشوا وبيفضل فالديمير وإستراجون واقفين منتظرين بردو بييجي ولد صغير‬
‫يقولهم انه رسول من "جودو" اللي بيقولهم انه مش هييجي النهاردة لكن أكيد هييجي غدا‪ ..‬بيفكر‬
‫فالديمير وإستراجون انهم يدوروا ع مكان يقعدوا فيه لحد اليوم التالي ولكن مبيعملوش كدا وبيفضلوا‬
‫زي م هما‪..‬‬
‫تاني يوم بيكون فالديمير وإستراجون بردو منتظرين "جودو" ولكن بييجي بوزو والكي تاني ولكن‬
‫فيهم بعض التغيرات وهي ان "بوزو" أقصر شوية وبقي ضعيف النظر وفاقد االحساس بالوقت ومش‬
‫فاكر حاجة اصال‪..‬‬
‫وبعد م بيمشي بوزو والكي بينام إستراجون شوية وبيفضل فالديمير منتظر جودو لوحدة وبيتنبأ‬
‫بوصول رسول منه وفعال بييجي ولد تاني وبيقولة ان جودو مش هييجي فبيغضب فالديمير وبيتعصب‬
‫ع الولد وبيطرده وبيصحي إستراجون ع الكالم دا وهنا بيقرروا يشنقوا نفسهم بحزام بنطلون‬
‫إستراجون ولكن بيالقوا الحزام ضعيف ومش هينفع ف بيتفقوا إن لو جودو مجاش ف اليوم التالي‬
‫هيدوروا ع حبل متين ينتحروا بيه‪.‬‬
‫وبيفضلوا قاعدين مكانهم مش بيعملوا حاجة‪..‬‬
‫❖ من وجة نظري ‪:‬‬
‫ان المسرحية دي بتعبر عن حالة الكسل والتخاذل اللي بيبقي فيها اإلنسان وانه مش بيسعي عشان‬
‫يحقق اهدافة ولكن مستني حد تاني يحققهاله او انها تحقق لوحدها‪ ..‬ودا بيظهر اوي وقت قرار‬
‫االنتحار انهم حتى مكسلين ينهوا حياتهم‪..‬‬
 ‫اعتقد ان "بوزو" بيرمز للصحة والعمر‬
‫كان ف االول قوي وسيد ومع مرور الوقت واالنتظار تدهور حالة وبقي ضعيف و"قصير" (القصر هنا‬
.)‫بيمثل العمر اللي اكيد تناقص بمرور الوقت‬
‫"جودو" رمز لالحالم والطموح واالهداف وان طول م االنسان منتظرها بدون فعل أي شئ مش‬
.‫هتييجي وهتفضل تتأجل‬

Characters:

Vladimir: One of the two main characters of the play. He seems to be the more
responsible and mature of the two main characters.
Estragon: The second of the two main characters. He seems weak and helpless,
always looking for Vladimir's protection. He also has a poor memory, as
Vladimir has to remind him in the second act of the events that happened the
previous night.
Pozzo: He passes by the spot where Vladimir and Estragon are waiting.
Lucky: Pozzo's slave, who carries Pozzo's bags and stool.
Boy: He appears at the end of each act to inform Vladimir that Godot will not
be coming that night. In the second act, he insists that he was not there the
previous night.
Godot: The man for whom Vladimir and Estragon wait unendingly. Godot
never appears in the play. His name and character are often thought to refer to
God.

Short Summary:
Two men, Vladimir and Estragon, meet near a tree. They converse on various
topics and reveal that they are waiting there for a man named Godot. While they
wait, two other men enter. Pozzo is on his way to the market to sell his slave,
Lucky. He pauses for a while to converse with Vladimir and Estragon. Lucky
entertains them by dancing and thinking, and Pozzo and Lucky leave.
After Pozzo and Lucky leave, a boy enters and tells Vladimir that he is a
messenger from Godot. He tells Vladimir that Godot will not be coming tonight,
but that he will surely come tomorrow. Vladimir asks him some questions about
Godot and the boy departs. After his departure, Vladimir and Estragon decide to
leave, but they do not move as the curtain falls.
The next night, Vladimir and Estragon again meet near the tree to wait for
Godot. Lucky and Pozzo enter again, but this time Pozzo is blind and Lucky is
dumb. Pozzo does not remember meeting the two men the night before. They
leave and Vladimir and Estragon continue to wait. Shortly after, the boy enters
and once again tells Vladimir that Godot will not be coming. He insists that he
did not speak to Vladimir yesterday. After he leaves, Estragon and Vladimir
decide to leave, but again they do not move as the curtain falls, ending the play.

Themes:
Uncertainty of time
Importance of hope
Sufferings
Absurdity
Difference in human race
Human condition
Relationship
Existentialism
• Characters represent humanity, the setting represents human existence,
and words and actions demonstrate larger truths about the human
condition.

Good Luck