إشكالية الخاتمة في مسرح توفيق الحكيم Epilogue in the Plays of Tawfiq Al-Hakim

An epilogue is the most significant part of a play; it is the last scene audiences leave theatre with and the more
good-quality an epilogue is, the longer it dwells in the viewer's memory. Hence, it's typical to find that some renowned
plays have reached such level of fame because of their epilogues, such as: Ibsen's "A Doll's House" or Shakespeare's
"Macbeth". Good-quality and proper epilogues have been a common characteristic of our author's, Tawfiq Al-Hakim,
work as the case in his plays "Al Sultan Al Ha'er - A Sultan At A Loss", "Alsafqa-The Deal" and "Ughniat Al Mawt- The
Death Song". However, some of Al-Hakim other play epilogues have met some level of imperfection. In the study in
hand I have enlisted such imperfections as follows: First, epilogues that meet Al-Hakim's approach, yet fail to meet the
structure of the play; in such respect I have found that five of Al-Hakim's plays do have imprecise epilogues. I have also
found that he had to retreat to such strategy out of his concern that such endings express the intellectual causes they
tackle as such endings seemed inconsistent with the dramatic structure of these plays which are "Ahl Al-Kahf- The
People of The Cave ","Shahrazad- Scheherazade", "Al-Malek Audeib – King Oedipus", "Al-Nae'ba Al-Mohtarama-The
Respectful Member of Parliament" and "Shams Al-Nahar- The Daytime Sun". Second, unforeseen and dramatically
unjustified epilogues through which six more plays ended in a surprising unjustified manner. Al-Hakim had to retreat
to such strategy not to satisfy his desire to point out his approach as tackled in such plays but to create an end that
leaves a reader or a viewer at ease even though such endings do not follow the acceleration of events and the
characters sketched in such plays. These six plays are "Isis", "Le'bat Al Mawt- Death Game", "Sahera-A Witch", "Al-Kanz-
The Treasure", "Sahebat Al-Jalalah –Her Majesty" and "Masir Sorsar – The Fate of A Cockroach". Third, open-ended
irrational epilogues through which we see some of Al-Hakim's open-ended plays whose endings were applicable as
they open a door for interpretations and analyses as the case in the plays of "Nahr Al-Jonoun – River of Madness" and
"Tale' Al-Shajarah – The Tree Climber". However, three of Al-Hakim's open-ended plays have followed a different
scheme as their endings were irrational such as: "Rasasah Fi Al-Qalb – A Bullet In The Heart", "Al-Warta – The
Dilemma" and "Ehtefal Abou Sinbel – Abu Simbel Celebration". Fourth: long uninteresting epilogue; a good epilogue of
a play should conform to the events of the play while, at the same time, go beyond the expectations of the reader or the
viewer, it should be also of a fast rhythm. I have found two long- epilogue plays of Al-Hakim that bring the reader or
the viewer to monotony which are "Al-Malek Audeib – King Oedipus" and "Al- Aidi Al-Nae'ma- Delicate Hands".
In conclusion, I can argue that in the study in hand I have enlisted Al-Hakim's Plays that have problematic
epilogues.