Abstract
This article aims at exploring the key concepts of Existential thought in two masterpieces of the world literature, namely, William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Sadeq Hedayat’s The Blind Owl ( Buf-e Kur ). Freedom, free will, authenticity, self-realization, self-becoming, and awareness of death are among the main concerns of both writers. Shakespeare depicts authenticity in the character of Hamlet, and it is in contrast to him that the reader finds many instances of in authenticity. The Danish prince has no tolerance whatsoever for in authentic or self-deceiving. The same thing is visible in The Blind Owl in which the narrator-protagonist feels himself above all the low, petty desires of mankind. All in all, both characters’ main challenge is to live authentically . Keywords: Existential philosophy, authenticity, angst, death, being, existence, self-realization
Highlights
This article aims at exploring the key concepts of Existential thought in two masterpieces of the world literature, namely, William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Sadeq Hedayat’s The Blind Owl (Buf-e Kur)
It is not inappropriate to step out of this hubbub of contemporary theory and open the window of Shakespearean studies to such basic issues as freedom, free will, authenticity and self-becoming—key concepts lying at the heart of existential thought
The writers claim that the same themes and motifs recur in Sadeq Hedayat’s novel The Blind Owl
Summary
This article aims at exploring the key concepts of Existential thought in two masterpieces of the world literature, namely, William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Sadeq Hedayat’s The Blind Owl (Buf-e Kur). The same thing is visible in The Blind Owl in which the narrator-protagonist feels himself above all the low, petty desires of mankind All in all, both characters’ main challenge is to live authentically. It is not inappropriate to step out of this hubbub of contemporary theory and open the window of Shakespearean studies to such basic issues as freedom, free will, authenticity and self-becoming—key concepts lying at the heart of existential thought. If Hamlet—mostly regarded as the greatest work in English literature—shows existential concerns, the same concerns are visible in The Blind Owl, the greatest work in modern Persian fiction Exploring these concerns in these two remarkable literary works defines the purpose of the present research
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