The Impact of Action and Its Motives on Shaping the Dramatic Character: A Critical Reading of the Play Ammah

Abstract

This study examines "Action and Its Motives in Building the Dramatic Character" as a core element shaping the theatrical text's artistic structure. It aims to reveal the relationship between dramatic action and psychological, social, and intellectual motives, demonstrating their impact on character development and text coherence. Methodologically, the study adopts a descriptive-analytical approach, establishing a theoretical framework for the dramatic character before applying it to the text of the play Ammah. This application includes evaluating characterization, physical, social, and psychological dimensions, the functional role of theatrical dialogue in character construction, and the influence of narrative events on character growth. The findings indicate that dramatic characters are not constructed merely through direct description or passive traits. Instead, they dynamically evolve through the intricate interaction of actions, underlying motives, dialogue, and dramatic events, which collectively expose their multi-layered internal and external dimensions. Furthermore, the study demonstrates the playwright's distinct success in employing historical and intellectual figures—specifically Omar Khayyam, Nizam al-Mulk, and Hassan-i Sabbah—symbolically around the central figure of the "Mother" to express universal contemporary human conflict. The dialogue and sequential events perform a vital role in advancing the dramatic conflict and tightening the text's structural unity. Ultimately, the study recommends expanding critical scholarship surrounding dramatic characters and urges researchers to focus on the systematic relationship between actions and motives within Arabic theatrical scripts to understand the underlying mechanisms of dramatic composition.