INTRODUCTION

Language is a multifaceted system that enables human beings to express

themselves,communicate and engage with their culture. Language plays a crucial role

in conveying meaning,character development,themes and character personality and

their moods. Tawfiq made use of language in his plays to create a literary tradition of

Arabic drama and the desire to address immediate social and political issues using

colloquial dialects.

FATE OF A COCKROACH BY TAWFIQ AL-HAKIM

Fate of a Cockroach is a three act play written by Tawfiq AL-Hakim being the

writer’s outright disillusionment with the Egyptian people and the social revolution

taken in that period of time. The play itself is reflection of the author on the actual

sense of human life. In the first act, a self-proclaimed king of the cockroaches

squabbles with his consort while seeking a solution to the predatory ant problem. In

the second and the third acts, the gender struggle has evolved to the human level:

Adil, a young, middle-class, bossed around husband, becomes fascinated with the

epic, ill-fated struggle of a cockroach(the supposed king of the cockroaches) to climb

out of the bathtub. He delays his wife’s routine and annoys her seriously enough that

she calls a doctor.

A LANGUAGE ANALYSIS OF “FATE OF A COCKROACH” BY TAWFIQ

AL-HAKIM

Tawfiq’s “fate of a cockroach” employs a distinctive type of language that aligns with

the play’s genre and existential themes. Tawfiq mostly uses colloquial Arabic

language in his plays as pertaining to the time they were written. The play is

characterized by its symbolic and metaphorical language, where the cockroach is used
as a metaphor for human existence and the political climate of the time. For instance

in the play the characters including the cockroaches and ants, are employed to

symbolize the population of Egypt,and their interactions serve as a representation of

the country’s political forces.

Being renowned for linguistic aptitude, his descriptive language likely contained

similes, metaphors, symbols, motifs and other literary devices to enrich the text.

There is use of literary devices like simile,metaphor,symbolism. According to the

queen falling on her back would be tragic...

Queen: ... and woe to me should I fall on my back, for I would quickly

become a prey to the armies of ants.

King:What solution do you seek to a problem that is as old as time.

There is simile in the expression as the king means the problem of the ants has existed

for ages and is now truly timeless. This is the King's response to the Queen when she

mocks the King for not being able to solve the problem of the ant.

Tawfiq’s use of metaphor can also be seen when the king was talking about how the

cockroaches left him while he was still giving his inaugural speech after he became

King once they had finished feasting on a cube of sugar that happened to be there by

chance. Savant then says that the phobia for gathering among cockroaches is linked to

an extinction event whenever such a gathering takes place:

Savant: If a number of cockroaches gather together in one place, and there

is a bright, dazzling light, mountains that have neither pinnacles nor peaks move and

trample upon our group, utterly smashing them. At other times there teems down a

choking rain or a flood of enormous magnitude through which none can survive.

This description actually refers to the human feet and the choking rain refers to

insecticide of some sort in which human beings use for insects and bugs, but Savant in
his limited knowledge, sees it as a natural phenomenon.

DECONSTRUCTION THEORY: Deconstruction theory challenges the notion of a

stable,fixed meaning in texts. It asserts that language is inherently unstable,and

meanings are context dependent. Al-Hakim’s play uses language that is multilayered

and ambiguous. The cockroaches world blurs the boundary between symbolic and

literal meanings as most words have multiple meaning.

THE SULTAN’S DILEMMA BY TEWFIK AL-HAKIM

The Sultan’s Dilemma examines the question of the legitimization of power, justice

and morality, and the inefficiencies that result from the entwinement of religion and

issues of the state. In The Sultan’s Dilemma, a mamluk sultan who has acceded to

the throne is found not to have been properly manumitted many years after his reign

and conquests. As it is with the belief of the people, the sultan becomes unacceptable,

and as a result, ineligible to rule because he is considered a slave among free borns.

To suppress every protest, Vizier, an agent of the state and friend to Sultan, applies

the might of the sword (without court trials) to quench every agitation arising from the

sultan’s unacceptability. The first victim of the state military force is in The Sultan’s

Dilemma is Condemned Man who has been sentenced to die at the call to dawn prayer

by Muezzin. The sentence places Muezzin on a fix; whither to give a call to dawn

prayer that will lead to the death of Condemned Man or to abstain from his religious

duty. To manumit himself, Sultan offers himself up for auction as the tradition

demands and he is bought by Lady who releases him after fulfilling a bond to spend a

night with her.

A LANGUAGE ANALYSIS OF “THE SULTAN DILEMMA” BY TAWFIQ

AL-HAKIM

Language which is expressed as the communication of emotions, or ideas between

human beings by means of speech and hearing, the sounds being spoken or heard

being systemized and confirmed among a given people over a period of time.Dialogue

is one of the devices in drama that brings out meaning and shows the commitment of

the playwright. Tawfiq Az-Hakim employs colloquial Arabic mixed with Egyptian

idiolect to set the tone of The Sultan’s Diilemma. The dialogue between Executioner

and Condemned Man in Sultan’s Dilemma show the complex interplay of religious

institutions and politics.

Executioner: At dawn I’ll carry out the sentence on

you…

Condemned Man: Dawn? It’s still far off, isn’t it,

Executioner?

Executioner: I don’t know.

Condemned Man: You don’t know?

Executioner: It’s the Muezzin who knows. When he goes up to the

minaret of this mosque and gives the call to the dawn prayer, I’ll raise my sword and

swipe off your head- those are the orders.

The sword is a metaphor which Vizier and the sultan represent. Vizier who asks the

sultan to keep killing everyone who tries to bring up the sultan’s past. The sword has

a lot of symbolic meaning and used again when vizier and cadi were talking to the

sultan about not been manumitted by his former master who was a sultan.

SULTAN: And what’s the point of that now? Everyone’s gossiping now.

VIZIER: If this man’s head were cut off and hung up in the square before
 the people, no tongue would thenceforth dare to utter.

SULTAN: Do you think so?

VIZIER: If the sword is not able to cut off tongues, then what can?

CADI: Will you allow me to say a word, Your Majesty?

SULTAN: I’m listening.

CADI: The sword certainly does away with heads and tongues; it does not,

however, do away with difficulties and problems.

Beyond the literal sense, tongues used in the play represent speech,communication or

expression while the sword represents power,authority or control.

The dialogue within Tawfiq al-Hakim’s play “The Sultan’s Dilemma” serves as a

reflection of social hierarchy, spiritual inclinations, and moral markers. It reveals the

characters’ positions, beliefs, and ethical dilemmas through their interactions.

THE TREE CLIMBER BY TAWFIQ AL-HAKIM

The Tree Climber, where the usage of the standard literary language in dialogue

helped contribute to the “unreal” nature of the play’s dramatic logic. The language

used is rich, symbolic, and deeply metaphorical. The play explores complex themes

through its dialogue and the interactions between characters, Al-Hakim often employs

metaphors, similes, and personification in his plays to create imagery and convey

meaning indirectly. Symbols are used frequently in tawfiq’s plays to convey a larger

meaning like when the maid servant was telling the detective about her missing

mistress, she compared her to a tree…

 DETECTIVE: And your mistress? She has no relations to whom she could

have gone?

MAID: No, none at all. She is, you might say, a tree without roots.

DETECTIVE: Not even any acquaintances?

MAID: none

The maid compares her to a tree without roots which in a metaphorical sense suggests

that the person has no sense of belonging, they lack stable foundation whereby they

are disconnected from one’s history ,origin or culture .

DETECTIVE: I do, but it’s a question of a body and a case of murder.

HUSBAND: It’s my body . . . my own body, and the spade which strikes

at the trunk of the tree will be striking at my neck. Do you understand that? Do you

understand?

The dialogue between the detective and bahafir takes a symbolic turn as he compares

the tree to his body emphasizing life,growth while the spade signifies action,impact or

even violence.

CONCLUSION

Tawfiq al-Hakim, a prominent Egyptian playwright, left a significant mark on Arabic

drama. His works spanned a wide range of themes and styles, reflecting his ongoing

experimentation with language and form. Al-Hakim drew inspiration from Greek

legends, Middle Eastern history, and the Qurʾān. His plays explored existential

dilemmas, social issues, and philosophical debates. Initially, his lengthy plays faced

challenges in terms of actability due to their philosophical dialogues. He coined the

concept of a “theatre of ideas” for plays intended primarily for reading. Later, he

experimented with shorter one-act plays and found success in creating more
movement and action. His Absurdist play, “The Tree Climber,” used standard literary

language to enhance its surreal nature. Al-Hakim grappled with tensions between

literary tradition and colloquial language. His later works demonstrated a greater

awareness of the need for action and event in drama.