The Literary Message in The Book Zahrat Al-Omar by Tawfiq Al-Hakim

• Published in: Journal of Umm Al-Qura University for Language Sciences and Literature no. 34; pp. 70 - 89
• Main Author: Al-Muqim, Tariq
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 30.12.2024
• DOI: 10.54940/ll99447949
• ISSN: 1658-8126

Critics differed in classifying the book "Zahrat al-Omar", and the researcher explained the reasons for that difference, and he argued that the book belongs to the literary genre of the treatise, which is considered one of the literary genres that flourished in modern Western literature, with its roots in ancient Arabic literature. The researcher studied the structure of the letters contained in that book, and began by studying the sender, “Tawfiq al-Hakim,” and the addressee, “his friend Andre the Frenchman,” and the circumstances accompanying the creation of those letters, and the motives for their continuation for many years. Then he began a detailed study of the structure of those letters, their consistent characteristics, and their aesthetics stemming from the imagination of their author. And his intense affection for his friendly friend, whom he saw as a model for Western writers. It later became clear that the genre of the message is capable of providing space for the writer to approach different topics, and provides him with multiple areas to release his feelings and express himself in multiple ways that may sometimes prevail over other literary genres, due to its spontaneity in presentation, where the sender addresses the recipient. One, without having many recipients in mind, which led to the writer relying heavily on the conversational style and employing it to convey his thoughts and feelings in a good way. These letters also reflected the writer's culture, the strength of his style, his vast imagination, and the diversity of his intellectual and literary topics. They also reflected an image of fascination with Western civilization, comparing it to the civilization of Arabs and Muslims, and an attempt to reconcile them in the fields of literature and culture in particular.