Ibn Dāniyāl’s shadow plays in Egypt: The character of Ṭayf al-Khayāl

Abstract

The character of Prince Wiṣāl, main hero of the first dramatic piece by Ibn Dāniyāl, has not ceased to arouse the interest of critics. Nevertheless, it seems to us that a sufficient attention has not been paid to Ṭayf al-Khayāl, confidant of the hero, such that light still needs to be shed on diverse aspects of Ibn Dāniyāl’s creation. For this reason, using a few folkloric and literary traditions, I will analyze the figure of Ṭayf al-Khayāl to better outline his relevant peculiarities.

El personaje del emir Wiṣāl, héroe principal de la primera pieza dramática de Ibn Dāniyāl, no ha dejado de despertar el interés de los críticos. Sin embargo, nos parece que no se ha prestado una atención suficiente al de Ṭayf al-Jayāl, el otro protagonista, de modo que siguen sin aclarar diversos aspectos de la creación daniyālí. Por ello, empleando unas cuantas tradiciones folklóricas y literarias, nos detendremos en la figura de Ṭayf al-Jayāl para poder delinear mejor sus rasgos relevantes.