The Anti-hero In John Osborne’s Major Plays:

Susan Mohammed Abdel Haq

This thesis is written to examine the main character in the plays ofone of the leading British Dramatists, John Osborne (1929-1994). Hesuffered an unstable childhood and his mother’s lack of affection. Herecorded this in his autobiography which he had written in two volumes:A Better Class of Person (1981) and Almost a Gentleman (1991). Hewent through many jobs until he finally wrote his masterpiece Look Backin Anger (1956). This play is considered as a turning point in both:Osborne’s life as well as the English theatre’s.The present study explores the picture of the hero in the writing ofJohn Osborne. The main character in each of Osborne’s plays is adifferent and new kind of a hero. It is not the traditional picture of herowhich the audience are used to and are familiar with. This new hero is ananti-hero, that is to say a different hero from the traditional hero we usedto meet while reading drama from the last century. His Look Back inAnger (1956) began a new era and presented a new hero in the history ofEnglish drama. The Osbornian hero is an anti-hero in contrast with all theprevious types of the hero in drama.The thesis aims at exploring the anti-heroic features of theOsbornian hero by examining him in different contexts and through theanalysis of the content. The study falls into four chapters, and aconclusion, all of which are concerned with the investigation of thefeatures of the anti-hero, the causes of his appearance and his language.This anti-hero represents an essential element in Osborne’s drama