Tom Stoppard's 'If You're Glad I'll be Frank' As an existential play : a Heideggerian approach
Other Title(s)
مسرحية الساعة الناطقة لتوم ستوبارد كمسرحية وجودية : مدخل هايديجيري
Author
Source
Journal of the Faculty of Arts
Issue
Vol. 77, Issue 8 (31 Oct. 2017), pp.5-22, 18 p.
Publisher
Cairo University Faculty of Arts
Publication Date
2017-10-31
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
18
Main Subjects
Arabic language and Literature
Abstract EN
If You 're Glad, I'll be Frank is a short play by Tom Stoppard, originally written for radio, but was staged and was well-received by the British audiences.
The theme of the 'Speaking Clock' initially suggests a temporal theme, and, sure enough, the theme of time looms large in the play.
However, as suggested by Enani's handling of Pinter's Old Times, the temporal theme in inextricably linked up with that of being as conceived by Heidegger.
Approached from this perspective, the play reveals more influences of Heideggerian philosophy than normally expected.
The German philosopher's interest in the why technology has enslaved human societies in the 20th century now appears to be the central theme.
This is wedded to the idea of hyperreality, introduced by the Postmodernists, which means that life is today dominated by images, icons, and symbols, rather than real things.
Hyperreality describes the grey region between the real and the illusory: and this is what we find in the play.
Frank, the bus-driver, tries to recover his wife's humanity, only to discover that her role as a speaking clock dominates her being.
In the fight between man and machine, the latter prevails.
This philosophic perspective tunes the little comedy into a play with a serious 'topic'.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Muhammad, Huda Sulayman. 2017. Tom Stoppard's 'If You're Glad I'll be Frank' As an existential play : a Heideggerian approach. Journal of the Faculty of Arts،Vol. 77, no. 8, pp.5-22.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-857751
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Muhammad, Huda Sulayman. Tom Stoppard's 'If You're Glad I'll be Frank' As an existential play : a Heideggerian approach. Journal of the Faculty of Arts Vol. 77, no. 8 (Oct. 2017), pp.5-22.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-857751
American Medical Association (AMA)
Muhammad, Huda Sulayman. Tom Stoppard's 'If You're Glad I'll be Frank' As an existential play : a Heideggerian approach. Journal of the Faculty of Arts. 2017. Vol. 77, no. 8, pp.5-22.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-857751
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Record ID
BIM-857751