Child abuse in contemporary drama : a comparative study in Edward bond's saved and Ali al-Zaidi's fourth generation

The issue of violence has become the subject of much attention. Violence can include physical assault such as hitting, pushing, shoving, etc., causing severe harms such as psychological harm, maldevelopment, abuse or deprivation. Child abuse or child maltreatment is a kind of violence committed by a parent or a caregiver (e.g., babysitter, teacher), which are far more harmful and costly both to persons and to society. It threatens children’s survival and development. The current study tries to explore the major dramatic theme of child abuse presented in the two different British and Iraqi plays. Recently, the world has witnessed many calamities and crises at all levels mainly in politics and society. This theme reflects issues at the heart of society but which whenever presented on the stage cause shock and denial. Violence is an important and urgent tool of theatrical art which is almost always a response to life. This paper will take a look at the plays of two contemporary British and Iraqi writers; Edward Bond and Ali Al-Zaidi. Both have always argued the topic of violence, particularly child abuse in their plays to make us critically aware of why and how we can respond to life. Their writings have been affected by political, social, economic and environmental conditions, making them expose reality and provoke man, restore and formulate reality in a new way.