Ahmed Shawqi: A Study in His Novelistic Works

This study has shed the light on the Arab poet, Ahmed Shawqi,(Amir Al al- Sho’araa’) or Prince of Poets, whom, besides being a poet, had made great contribution in the field of novel writing. His first experience in this genre was his first novel (The Virgin of India) which is considered as one of his first novels which he wrote in 1897. In 1898, Shawqi wrote his second novel (Ladias, or the Last of Pharaoh) while in 1899 he wrote the third novel (Del and Timan or the Last of Pharaohs). Then in 1901, Shawqi wrote (Benta'oor Devil) conversations which is considered closer to Al Muqama than to a novel. Finally, his last novel was (Al-Aas Leaf) which he wrote in 1911 and in which he talked about the pre-Islam history of Arabs. I have started this study by introducing Ahmed Shawqi, his birth, his early years as well as his relationship with the Castle and AL-Khedive family. I also pointed out to the impact of politics on him and his view of colonialism and foreign interventions. The study also discussed the most important prose works, especially novel writing. Moreover, the study discussed the Arab novel and its origin in addition to the conflicting opinions regarding its origins and development. Some scholars considered it an extension of Al-Muqama art and Arab folk tales, while others saw it as an alien product from the West. After that, I shifted to the practical aspect of the study in which I managed to study the novelistic contents in Ahmed Shawqi's novels in terms of their date of release: (Virgin of India, civilization of the Pharaohs), (Ladias, or the last of Pharaohs), (Del and Timan, or the Last of Pharaohs), (Benta'oor Devil, Luqman Labad or Solomon Hoopoe) and (Al-Aas Leaf). Through this I was able to access to Shawqi's novelistic work elements and the most important artistic aspects in this field. I have addressed each one of these novelistic contents each in every novel due to their multiplicity. Among the most significant contents that are included in Shawqi's novels are: The political aspect and the conflicts between the national Egyptian element and the foreign elements. Furthermore, he focused on the foreign greed towards Egypt. Also, he discussed and depicted the ancient Pharaonic civilization in the brightest way. The Egyptian magic is present in Shawqi's novels in that he amplified in depicting pharaohs' rituals and beliefs, add to this the strong and influential presence of women in his novels. Then the study shifted to the analytical side in which I analyzed the elements of the novelistic work in Shawqi's novels which included events, time, place, characters and conflict. The analysis relied on a careful study of each novel individually add to this the examples that have been taken from the novels themselves in order to support the study. Furthermore, the study has also discussed some artistic aspects in the novels such as : The title and its implication and relationship with the text. After that, I have discussed Al-Muqama art by Shawqi, language and its various patterns as well as the symbolic aspect in the novel in Shawqi's works.