تاريخ مجلس الدراسات العليا

2021-12-29

اسم الطالب

امجد عبدالله همام ابوهمام

ملخص الرسالة

This study presents different dimensions and implications of a waning art (Music Hall) in John Osborne The Entertainer (1957). It is based on the critical analytic and descriptive approach to depict the ordeal and disintegration of a lower middle class British family. The study also traces the tragic decline of the English society after the World War II in relation to morality, conventions and culture. The decay of the music hall's tradition is a metaphor for the decline of the whole nation, and the resentment of the Rice family is a symbol of the British society crisis. The study tackles the effect of history, economy and politics on the community, and explores the effect of the tripartite aggression on Egypt on the collapse of the great Empire and its declining power and prestige. The significance of the study lies in its purpose to highlight nostalgia of the British people for the glorious history of England before Suez crisis, and to show how the past is inseparable from the present. The study also explores briefly the development of the English theater until the mid1950s. John Osborne, the pioneer of the Angry Young Men Movement, presents the three generations of Archie family members as representatives of British people who witness the contemporary situation with despair. The sample of the study is primarily restricted to Osborne's play, The Entertainer, its characters, society and war's upheaval. Since the study is an investigation, some references to Osborne's other plays and works are mentioned. In the end, this study concludes that John Osborne is a social and political dramatist; he depicts the miserable life in the British society after the crisis of Suez and expresses his anger toward politicians. Osborne uses the decline of the music hall as a metaphor for the decline of the Great Britain, and refers to the suffering of British society through three generations that represent three different stages in the history of Britain. Post-war era did not only affect the British people, society, economy and power, but it also led to the appearance of different literary movements, new playwrights, and theaters. Keywords: British Drama, Music-Hall, Osborne, Post-war, Nostalgia, Decline of Empire