Some of al-Hakim's frustrations with the performance aspect were diverted by an invitation in 1945 to write a series of short plays for publication in newspaper article form. These works were gathered together into two collections, "Masrah al-Mugtama" (Theatre of Society, 1950) and "al-Masrah al-Munawwa" (Theatre Miscellany, 1956). The most memorable of these plays is "Ughniyyat al-Mawt" (Death Song), a one-act play that with masterly economy depicts the fraught atmosphere in Upper Egypt as a family awaits the return of the eldest son, a student in Cairo, for him to carry out a murder in response to the expectations of a blood feud.