Dramatic Monologue in Shah Jo Risalo: A Generic Study of Sur Marui

Abstract

The present study is based on the data from MPhil thesis. It aims to highlight the generic techniques used in Shah Jo Risalo of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai (1689-1752), a sufi poet of Sindh, Pakistan. Shah Jo Risalo as most of the scholars highlight consists of thirty surs. However, the present study is limited only to Sur Marui of Shah Jo Risalo. The analysis is made in the light of theoretical framework of the sub-classification of the dramatic monologue, one of the genres of poetry, presented by Ina Beth Sessions. The classification is based on the perfect, imperfect, formal and approximate examples of the dramatic monologue. The perfect example contains seven characteristics of the dramatic monologue, i.e. speaker, audience, occasion, interplay between speaker and audience, revelation of character, dramatic action and action taking place in the present. The imperfect example contains speaker and fading into the indefiniteness of one or more of the last six characteristics present in the perfect example. The formal example contains speaker, audience and occasion. An approximate example lacks one or more characteristics present in formal or imperfect examples except the speaker. After an analysis of the Sur Marui, it is concluded that the sur falls under the category of the imperfect example of the dramatic monologue according to the sub-classification presented by Sessions. Marui is the speaker. Omar, her kinsfolk, camel rider, courier, her cousins, her compeers and unknown person in the sur are her audiences. The occasion is her imprisonment inside the castle. There is interplay among Marui and her audiences. Marui reveals not only her character but also of her audiences. The action is dramatic as Marui is captive and bears tortures. Action takes place in the present. But, interplay and dramatic action fade into the indefiniteness due to the presence of lyrical elements in the sur. This study is non-empirical in nature. The data was collected in the form of texts and was analyzed by means of textual analysis with close reading technique.