Alapata Apata

Wole Soyinka‟s latest play, Alapata Apata, is a satirical comedy and a rational
play. That focuses on the fading state of political and cultural values in the
present day society.

Dominant Themes

The dominant themes and styles in it include Cultural Alienation as a Vicissitude

Cultural alienation can be said to be the most dominant theme in the play. This is
evident in the analysis of the title of the play by the author. Using his culture,
Yoruba, as a reference, the playwright explains that it is „a play for Yorubafonia‟,
„class for Xenophiles‟, that is, the play is for member of his plural rich Yoruba
culture who, however, celebrate or value foreign (western) culture at the expense
of theirs. Moreover, it is, unarguably, what informed the writing of the play as can
be seen from the playwright‟s note.The neglect of cultural idiosyncrasies as well
as cultural alienation as a vicissitude is portrayed through the actions and
inactions of some characters that are dominant in the texts. For instance, as a
result of negligence of the Yoruba language, senior Boy is unable to put the right
tonal markers on „Alapata Apata‟ and even, does not get it right after the
illiterate Alaba as it were, has put him through. As a young boy, his inability to use
tonal markers show that this vicissitude starts evolving from childhood. His failure
as the senior boy of a secondary also speak ill about how other pupils could use
their mother tongue(s) efficiently, and that senior boy is not a complete, capable
leadership. Pre-eminence of Corruption and Abuse of Power in the Contemporary
Society Corruption or abuse of power is pre-eminent in the contemporary Nigeria
sociopolitical setting. The playwright shows how those in the position of power in
the present day society always attempt to manipulate things for their personal
and selfish interest.
This theme is clearly presented through the characters of Daanielebo and
General. A politician and governor, Daaneilebo is never satisfied with all that he
has acquired opportunistically; instead he looking for opportunities to acquire
more wealth.
Thus, having heard that some mineral resources are beneath the rock Alaba has
made his abode, he is eager to get the rock by all means such that he attempts to
bribe Alaba and resorts to using charms because Alaba refuses to be bribed.
General is also corrupt element. Instead of using military resources at his disposal
for the benefit of the society, he is busy utilizing the resources on his „Operation
Longathroat‟(p.42) all to make sure he outsmarts Alaba and take over the rock .
These characters are archetypical as they represent the political and military
personalities. Who, generally in Nigeria situation are unabashedly corrupt.
Portrayal Character Types – the Earnest and Upright. As the playwright condemns
socio-political and cultural vices through the roles of some characters, attempt is
simultaneously made to present the importance of earnestness and uprightness
through the actions and the inactions of the character of Alaba.
The character of Alaba is a model of a modestly upright personality; socially and
culturally. The frame of Alaba, as a reader gets to know, is not just because he is a
veteran butcher, but more because of the simply upright life he lives. He is a man
who tries as much as possible to correct anything wrong. It is for this reason that
Alaba that scolds Dele who does not bring his second wife into his house because
he was afraid of his first wife.
Most importantly, the playwright shows that being earnest and upright is not
being perfect but being ready to accept one‟s fault. Alaba is evidently always
ready to accept his fault. Even though is intention is to straighten the bent globe.
Alaba remains haunted by his breaking of the globe.

Self Assessment
the manifestations of cultural and national objectives in Wole Soyinka‟s Alapata
Apata through its thematic preoccupations and character portraiture.
Style as a Dramatic Tool
Satire
The playwright is able to effectively use satire to enrich the aesthetics of the play,
and at the same time, as a social and political „weapon‟ to make comment on,
and correct the status quo of events in the contemporary society.In the part one
of the play, on page sixty-nine (69) Alaba satirizes the unbecoming, ridiculous and
shameless act of government who ought to be accountable and responsible to the
citizens. The attention of the reader is called to the pensioners; old men and
women, who are made to stand on long queue, in the hot Nigeria sun, for hours.
Whiles on this queue, some of them who are already weak, faint. Alaba says:
I am a pensioner – I pensioned myself with my savings. I don‟t have to queue at
the government pension office every month and faint and drop dead while
waiting to collect my pension.
The government can effortlessly pay pension but their greed for wealth and
material acquisition keeps intoxicating them. The delay in paying the money is yet
another „politics‟ employed to steal the little money the old men and women
should subsist on.
Again, the playwright, through the character of Daanielebo also satirizes the
corrupt and rotten maggots who called themselves leaders. Between pages 141 -
142, the playwright portrays the foolishness and stupidity of Daanielebo, who has
come to bribe Alaba in exchange for the rock beneath which are some mineral
deposit. After Alaba refuses the bribe, Daanielebo resort to charms, stripping
himself naked to reveal to Alaba “the full armoury of grenade, gas canisters
pistol... bante made of fresh leaves, amulets... Sheathed knives ... juju necklace, a
leg charm...”All this shows how desperate political leaders are to accumulate
wealth. Daanielebo however, flees like a madman at the sight of the boy whom
he takes to be a dreaded spirit because of the painting on his face and the bunch
of broom he is holding.
Finally, it is important to note that this aspect of style is presented in a mild,
gentile yet contemptuous and mockery manner. This type of satire is described by
Dasylva and Jegede (2005), as Horatian satire.

Humour Strategy
Humour is employed in the play to instigate laughter. The outcome of the
conversation among Alaba, mother, Daughter and Dele, for instance, is very
hilarious. Mother and daughter have come to report Dele to to Alaba about his
extra-marital affair. They want Alaba to stop Dele from this. However, having
heard the side of Dele, Alaba encourage him to bring the new lady to his
house.The reader also laughs at the solution Alaba gives three „okadamen‟ who
come to complain about the inability to buy crash helmet as enforced by the
government. Alaba therefore gives the three motorcyclists three clay pot helmets.
When they attempt to protest he responds:
What is your problem? If you hit this helmet it won‟t it crash?
The playwright, through this humour, tries to imply that there is always a way out
in every challenging situation.
Wordplay
Wordplay is evident in the different tonal interpretation given to the tacit title of
Alaba, Alapata Apata. The title roughly means the butcher of the rock‟ indicating
that Alaba abode is the rock. Through his incorrect use of tonal marks, major
takes it to be another expression that refers to a person in the quarrying of rock.
More also, Baby Picasso‟s and senior Boy‟s misplacement of tonal marks makes
the expression to mean a traditional honorary title.

Relevance Diction and Oral Literary Device

The diction used in the play is very rich as it combines the trio of English, Nigeria
pidgin and Yoruba. With the mixture of the three languages, the playwright has
made the play open to all readers and not just students and scholars of literature.
Different devices traceable to oral literary traditions are used in the play. They
include proverbs, song and praise. These devices make the text culturally rich.
These oral literary devices especially proverbs, are mostly use by Alaba. This
makes him a central figure. The teacher also makes use of praise in a number of
occasions as compliments for Alaba. The commonest among this is „Alapata to n
fie ran dara‟ and means „the butcher that make wonders with meat‟.

Self Assessment
With close reference to the diction, actions and inactions of the characters
portrayed, examine Wole Soyinka‟s Alapata Apata as a satirical comedy.
Tawfiq Al-hakim – North Africa

ABSURDIST THEATRE: FATE OF ACOCKROACH

The theatre of absurd originates from the writings and philosophical thoughts of
Samuel Beckett. Situating the theatre of absurd African dramatic ambit brings to
the fore Tawfik al-Hakim‟s Fate of the Cockroach. The very essence of absurdism
is seen in the frustrations of the characters particularly the king of the
cockroaches and the husband who represents the oppressed man.The play is an
absurd comedy and its transports audience from the bathroom floor, to where
cockroaches rules, to a hard working, middle age couple morning rituals. When
the husband (Adil) commits himself to the king cockroaches struggle to escape
from the bathtub, neither his wife (Samia) nor the family doctor can liberate him
from his queer state of mind. We see people striving to find freedom and, at
times, these rights are found but not paying the price for it. Married couples, for
examples, must apparently live happy and portray this happiness to the entire
society regardless if at home, they live miserably and cannot escape their fate.
The satire that the playwright uses in the play provides the reader with the
necessary information to know that he is mocking the social order of marriage as
an institution that is sacred, yet to those in it, it is suffocating as an insecticide.

notable features observable in the theatre of the absurd theatre include

dynamics of wordplay, nightmarish or dreamlike atmospheres marked with the
protagonists confusion at the irrationality of being and nothingness. Often it is
marked with a plot structure and story line that is not plausible and meaningless
actions take place in most cases. The plot structure does not conform with the
norm of a beginning an end or a sequence of actions, it is a deliberate staccato
portraying life as disorganised as it can be; the repetitive rendering of lines,
portraits of characters who are trapped in unthinkable situations engaging the
audience in a deliberate manner to shock them out of their lethargy or question
the position they safely assume in the society. The popular opinion among writers
of the absurd theatre is that life is absurd and meaningless. They often engage the
principles of existentialism. Worthy of note is the fact that not all of the
elementsdiscussed here necessarily have to feature in a given play but these
elements are observable in different dimensions and proportions in different
forms of plays which vary from different cultural perspective.

ANALYSIS OF FATE OF A COCKROACH

Al-Hakim in Fate of a Cockroach satirically creates a cockroach to symbolise the
political disillusionment which exists during the socialist revolutionary regime
under Gamal Nasser, who was the prime minister of Egypt from 1950-1970. The
play can therefore be described as a political allegory. The play is divided into
three acts; act one consists of cockroaches that are personified by being given
human attributes of a shallow minded ruling class while act two and act three
employ human character. The playwright is able to convincingly juxtaposes of the
attributes of humans particularly the couples in both settings.
Just as Esslin and his colleagues were faced with the aftermath of World War II,
Al-Hakim also witnessed the coup and the removal of British colonialists from
Egypt. During this period, arts thrived in Egypt and women were given the right to
vote. Nasser introduced the socialist system of government distributing land
equally among the Egyptians. The tomato in the play is representative of a
number of failures that this land reform caused which is the material failure to
produce food which is direct indictment of the agrarian reforms carried out
shortly after the June coup. The falling of the king cockroach into the lake is
referring to Nasser‟s large scale Aswan High Dam Project. The play is a direct
analogy to the state-owned lake, Nasser Reservoir, into which water surplus was
redirect after the dam construction. Through this, Al-Hakim puts forward one of
the failures of the post 1952 government in its distracting itself with various
project of industrialization at the expense of crucial and more critical issues.
The play also somehow satirizes the political gong at the time and after World
War II. Even though Al-Hakim did not involve in politics, the writer uses the play
to indirectly criticize the prime minister after placing his predecessor on house
arrest, and after all his life struggle and the wars he caused, suffered a heart
attack at the age of 52, which led to his demise. Same with the cockroach who
appoints himself king, ends up struggling in the tub to get freed but is unable to
change or stop the inevitable which was death at the hands of an indifferent
human.
Al-Hakim‟s attempt at portraying some of the things that happened in post 1952
government in Egypt is done through the use of certain features of the absurd
theatre. For instance there are arguments between the couple that engage word
play and less meaning. Dominant issues relating to gender issues, particularly in
marriage, are also portrayed in both kingdoms. The fear of death is also seen in
the animal kingdom, Queen constantly asks her husband to find a lasting solution
to the terror of ants and she also demands a leadership position in the
governance of the kingdom.

Another observable feature is the involvement of the audience in drawing

conclusion from the actions or proposals made by characters in the play, an
instance is the self appointment of the King cockroach who thinks himself most
qualified because his whiskers are longer than the other roaches. This is a
suggestive way of drawing attention to the unjustifiable but absolute manner in
which some positions are assumed in some African communities, an example is
the assumption that the oldest person should be its king. This occurred in the case
of Nasser in Egypt who introduced the socialist system of government and the
one party system. The dictatorial style also portrayed in the play is to raise
inquisitions and inquires in the minds of the audience.
Furthermore, the protagonist becomes overwhelmed by the chaos and
irrationality that characterizes his environment. This feature in the play is
representative of the characters of Adil in the play who praises the cockroach
unrelenting effort as it continues to fight its way in order to come out of the bath
tub. Adil expresses his displeasure over Samia‟s action of wanting to kill the
cockroach.
Most African societies are afflicted with irrational implementation of certain
policies regarding the masses, despite various projects supposedly carried out by
the leaders to provide masses with amenities that promote better living, but they
still hoard these amenities, and enrich themselves. Egypt suffered this during
Nasser‟s reign. Despite his claim of land reforms, these lands under socialist
measure were in large scale under productive and unproductive and went
unused. Through the sanitization of a dishonest society like Egypt which lacks the
distinction between fantasy and reality, which was highly reflective of the post
1952 government, Al-Hakim mirrors some of the shortcoming of various
governmental regimes in Africa.

Self Assessment
1. Examine the features of absurdist theatre in Tewfik Al-Hakim‟s Fate of
Cockroach.
2. Discuss Tewfik Al-hakim‟s Fate of Cockroach as a political allegory.

ATHOL FUGARD – SOUTH AFRICAN DRAMATIST

NATIONALIST PROTEST IN ATHOL FUGARD’S SIZWE BANSI IS DEAD

Sizwe Bansi is Dead by Athol Fugard is a satirical tragicomedy in which the
playwright laments on the racial discrimination and segregation caused by the
apartheid system in South Africa. The thematic preoccupation of this satire is to
portray the reality of the apartheid policy on the Black indigenous majority being
ruled by the White minority in South Africa. Sizwe Bansi is Dead is a work in which
the characters through monologues and flashbacks present their experiences.
The play which is also historical in a way background of the play is based on the
life experiences of the Blacks in South Africa. This in itself makes the setting, the
theme and the plot of the play plausible. Fugard was moved by these occurrences
wrote the play on the basis of his experiences while working as a law clerk at the
Native Commissioner‟s court in Johannesburg. During this period, identity books
that were restrictive in terms of movement and employment were made
compulsory for every black above eighteen years of age. Fugard witnessed the
repercussions of this law as black offenders were jailed in large numbers.
The 1950s witnessed the passing into law, the pass laws, this was also an
influence in the writing of the play. also influenced the writing of the play. The
pass laws, enacted in 1797, were typically internal passport systems that
mandated South African black sixteen year olds and those above to have a
passbook as a form of identification on them. These laws were purposive and they
achieved the goals of those who created it as they segregated the populace, the
movements and mobility of the South African blacks, and was a form of
stratification in allocating migrant labour. The pass laws were employed as a tool
of oppression against the South African blacks and were effective in keeping them
away from accessing areas allocated to the whites.

THEMATIC PREOCCUPATION IN FUGARD’S SIZWE BANSI IS DEAD

Apartheid and racial discrimination are the dominant thematic preoccupation of

Fugard‟s Sizwe Bansi is Dead. None the less there are several minor themes in the
play and they include survival syndrome, identity and identity crisis, life and death
are also juxtaposed as archetypical themes, hope and hopelessness are also
juxtaposed in like manner.

APARTHEID AND RACIAL DISCRIMATION: Apartheid a system of racial segregation

in South Africa was enforced through by the National Party from 1948 to 1994.
Under this dispensation the rights of the majority black inhabitant became limited
and Afrikaner minority rule was promoted. This policy established the
discrimination that became the bane of the life of the South African blacks and
their white counterparts. The policy promoted the subjugation that turned the
blacks into „second class citizens‟ on their father.
Portraits of apartheid and racial prejudice along its raving consequences is the
dominant preoccupation of Sizwe Bansi is Dead . The play paints the picture of the
people characterised by hardship, acute suffering and strife. The psychological
trauma the South African blacks suffered were depicted asoppression and
segregation in the hands of their white counterparts which was unfortunately
legalized by the system of government.
The play was therefore in many ways a protest to combat the apartheid regime
that was the political setting as at the time of its publication. Hence, the theme of
the racial discrimination runs throughout the fabric of the play. Fugard also
employs his characters in as a vehicle for driving his position. These characters
portray the sufferings and agonies borne by subjugated and oppressed blacks in
South Africa.
Styles typifies this as seen in his, dramatic monologue at the beginning of the play
which gives the reader insights into the plight of an average South African blacks
within the system. Styles a photographer is intelligent and literate. His comments
on the issues he reads of in the newspapers are marked with humour through his
monologue the audience understand the details of his experience as a worker in
an automobile plant. There he is exploited, dehumanised and oppressed. The
order is for them to work to generate maximum profit. His experience with Ford
Motors is typically representative of the structure of a capitalist system, his
responses to the car plant expansion reflects his full understanding of the system.
The impression one gets is that the South African whites consider the black men
the employ not better than slaves or inanimate beings whose existence should
only enrich the life and well being of the whites this.

Stop

The playwright portrays the black Africans as being certain that the white
community is callous and inhumane. He depicts a setting that indicates that they
know what is right and they refuse to do it, the hypocritical stance of whites when
the „Big Baas‟ visits is also instructive. The basic and vital signs that should be put
up to ensure the safety of the workers are not hung up until „Big Baas‟ is
expected. Styles is also exposed to work related hazards and is unprotected for six
years because he loses his apron and asbestos gloves. It is clear that safety of the
black workers is neither vital nor important to their employers. The workers are
also forced to appear joyful by singing and putting on a joyful countenance even
though they are miserable. They oppress the South African blacks with
backbreaking work, driving them to them off the cliff, as it were, to get maximum
profit, but yet adopt a posture that covers their inhumanity and brutality to their
workers.
Styles, a really figurative character, was sired by a father who was a victim of
racial discrimination. He had served meritoriously during the Second World War
but had been alienated upon his return by being stripped of his uniform and given
a bicycle and a snuff box for his efforts while his white counterparts were rated as
national heroes. This experience is a fundamental factor in his relationship with
the White South Africans. Style, his studio and his battle with cockroaches
symbolise a number of issues and many interpretations have emerged from these
symbols. The studio and the activities that take place in it is representative of
South Africa and its many struggles. The battle against the parasitic occupation of
the roaches is the yet to be productive struggle rid South Africa of the ruling white
minority
The insecticide „Doom‟, the cat represents the feeble and the more aggressive
efforts made respectively by the blacks against the whites who are referred to in
this context as vermin.
The recurring theme here is that the South African blacks have to make
concerted efforts to be free. The poor diet of the cat is also a metaphoric manner
of referring to the deprivation of the black citizen, the segregation and
stratification of the blacks leading to them living in despicable conditions.
Sizwe Bansi also typifies the theme of racial discrimination. The first impression
one gets at his first appearance is a character that is contemplative; he is
portrayed as shy as well as hesitant ( Fugard ,7: ). This character created by
Fugard somewhat represents the state of mind of the average or most black
South Africans during the period. The indication is that the people, harassed,
subdued and subjugated. Bansi lacks formal education and thinks it is a disservice
to him. He is defensive about his information and embarrassed he has to reveal it.
What is perceptible is the fact that the restrictive laws in the country made it
difficult or impossible for the average black South African, at the time the work
depicted, to acquire formal education (21).
Sizwe Bansi is therefore a typical example of a character that is racially
discriminated against. He seeks a land full of milk and honey when he leaves King
William‟s town for Port Elizabeth and to his dismay, just like other black South
Africans before him that he is not qualified nor permitted to stay there (25). His
passbook is his limitation and it states that he is „endorsed to King William‟s
town‟ (25).
Sizwe Bansi and Bantu are used by the author as voices lamenting the limitation
of the numerous restrictions placed on the black South African. Sizwe remains in a
dilemma, his passbook , doesn‟t endorse his stay in his supposed land full of milk
and honey, and he cannot destroy it because doing so will put him in a precarious
situation with the authorities.
We are told that the only place the blacks are permitted to work without
particular adherence to the pass laws are in the mines. The determining factors
here are purely economic, the seemingly indulgent posture is because of the love
of the gold . The blacks who work in the mines are constantly in danger of sudden
death because the rocks do fall and trap or kill the miners. valueless, as far as the
whites are concerned. Bant‟s experience is used to depict the realities of racial
discrimination. He is a young literate man who fully understands the working of
the apartheid system he lives in.
We learn that although he is married with a child, he is deprived of the joy of
living with his family. He works as a live-in domestic help while his children live
with his wife‟s mother. This aspect of Bantu‟s life represents the breakdown of
the families in South Africa as a result of apartheid. Bantu‟s marriage is portrayed
as a model atypical of the experience of the average black family. It is evident that
apartheid has a devastating effect on the social structure and family system which
also has its implication for the society at large. The family, which is supposed to
be one unit, becomes fragmented to enable the individual members of the
society cope better within the apartheid regime and its social structure.
Buntu is also a victim of this law enacted by the South African whites to make the
life unbearable because of the challenges of accommodation in Port Elizabeth, his
being born there not withstanding. The theme of racial discrimination continually
rings in the work. Sizwe Banzi is Dead. However, there are various sub themes
that are subsumed under the major thematic preoccupation.
IDENTITY CRISIS: Identity crisis is one of the most important sub themes in the
play. The quest for or loss of identity affects most of the major characters. Due to
racial discrimination, most South African blacks lost their sense of self respect and
self confidence. The oppression of South African blacks stripped them their self
esteem, dignity and pride. For Styles, identity means several things, his decision to
become a photographer and own his own photographic studio informed by his
desire forged a new identity for himself. Through his dramatic monologue at the
beginning of the play, we learn he quits working at the factory because he realizes
the futility of spending most of his life working for the South African Whiteman
(10). He tells his father “...daddy, if I could stand on my own feet and not be
someone else tool. I‟d have some respect for myself. I‟d be the man.” This
denotes his desire to define his image and create a new identity for himself that is
free from influences of racial discrimination. Styles‟ dialogue with his father also
reveal styles to be representative of a younger generation of south African blacks
who are bold and determined to cast off the identity or lack of it that has been
forced on them by the oppressive South African whites.
Styles is described as “a dapper alert young man wearing a white dust coat and
bowtie.” This tells the audiences that Styles pays attention to the way he dresses.
He wants his dressing to not only carry a stamp of his identity, but also to add an
overall aura of dignity and self confidence to his person. It appears that Styles
makes conscious efforts to his keep appearances in order to be treated with
respect. Through his work, he also recorded the identity of the South African
black who comes to his studio to take picture. In the course of his dramatic
monologue at the beginning of the play, he describes how some people walk into
his studio “all smart in a suit, then off comes the jacket and socks...”
Styles‟ studio is a place where the South African blacks can have a reprieve from
the bleak realities of their society and also enjoy a brief moment in which they are
anything they want to be. Styles himself refers to the studio as a “strong room of
dreams,” a place where the South African blacks can dream, live their dreams and
explore their own unique identity, even if it is only for a few moments. Styles
represent the revitalization of identity and heritage of the South African blacks.
On the other hand, Sizwe Bansi represents the essence, as well as signifies the
absolute loss of identity suffered by the South African blacks within the apartheid
system. Even the title of the play denotes this theme of total loss of identity as a
result of racial discrimination. In the play, the playwright simply calls Sizwe „man.‟
He does this to emphasise on the fact that Sizwe stands for the South African
blacks who lost all sense of self-esteem due to the oppression they were
subjected too.
Sizwe lacks a name which is crucial to establishing the identity of an individual,
and this is the same for the blacks in apartheid South Africa. They have been so
thoroughly dehumanized, subjugated and oppressed that they no longer know
who they are. When Sizwe first appears in the play, he is described as wearing „an
ill-fitting new double breasted suit...his manner is hesitant and shy‟ (17). The suit
Sizwe is wearing is symbolic. Although the audiences doesn‟t know it at this time,
he has just taken on another person‟s identity and he carries his identity the
same way a man would wear a clothes that are not made to suit him. The identity
he‟s carrying is not his, and it is as ill-fitting as his clothes.
On pages 34-39, the reader learns that Sizwe eventually loses his identity and has
to take on a dead man‟s own. He resorts to desperate actions to ensure that he is
allowed to stay in Port Elizabeth. Initially, Sizwe displays his black man‟s pride in
his name when he tells Buntu that he does not want to lose his name. However,
Buntu reminds him that his passbook is more important that his name. Without a
legal one, he cannot work or take care of his family.
T Sizwe, Fugard presents the extent of dehumanization suffered by a typical black
in South Africa. Their passbooks were the passes with which they were
recognized. As important and as symbolic as a name is the name of a South
African black held no value and was therefore inconsequent. The South African
whites, in refusing to acknowledge the humanity and the existence of the South
African blacks, gradually and increasingly caused disillusionment; a dominant
factor in the misery of the South African Black was existence without identity.
They suffered this void and accept the loss of their uniqueness and individuality as
a way of life in order to cope in the harsh apartheid system.
Buntu also typifies the theme of identity loss. He is an educated black man who
understands the workings of the apartheid system. Buntu represents the new and
younger generation of the South Africans that is no longer content to just sit
down and take whatever the South African whites dish out to them. He
represents a new generation of blacks in South Africa who dares to use the
apartheid system to their own advantage. This is seen when he exchanges the
passport in Sizwe Bansi‟s passbook for that of a dead man‟s and vice versa. This
scene portrays him as a smart man and quick thinker.
, he also represents the resignation of the black man to the loss of their identity.
Through him, Fugard portrays the meaninglessness of life under apartheid for the
South African blacks. When Sizwe complains that he does not want to live his life
as another person‟s ghost, he retorts, “wasn‟t Sizwe Bansi a ghost” ... when the
white man looked at you in the labour bureau, what did he see? A man with
dignity or a bloody passbook with ...numbers? Isn‟t that a ghost? ... all I‟m saying
is be a real ghost, if that is what they want, if that what they‟ve turned us to”(38).
his name when he tells Buntu that he does not want to lose his name. However,
Buntu reminds him that his passbook is more important that his name. Without a
legal one, he cannot work or take care of his family. Through Sizwe, Fugard
presents the extent of dehumanization suffered by a typical black in South Africa.
Their passbooks were the passes with which they were recognized. As important
and as symbolic as a name is the name of a South African black held no value and
was therefore inconsequent. The South African whites, in refusing to
acknowledge the humanity and the existence of the South African blacks,
gradually and increasingly caused disillusionment; a dominant factor in the misery
of the South African Black was existence without identity. They suffered this void
and accept the loss of their uniqueness and individuality as a way of life in order
to cope in the harsh apartheid system.
Buntu also typifies the theme of identity loss. He is an educated black man who
understands the workings of the apartheid system. Buntu represents the new and
younger generation of the South Africans that is no longer content to just sit
down and take whatever the South African whites dish out to them. He
represents a new generation of blacks in South Africa who dares to use the
apartheid system to their own advantage. This is seen when he exchanges the
passport in Sizwe Bansi‟s passbook for that of a dead man‟s and vice versa. This
scene portrays him as a smart man and quick thinker.
However, he also represents the resignation of the black man to the loss of their
identity. Through him, Fugard portrays the meaninglessness of life under
apartheid for the South African blacks. When Sizwe complains that he does not
want to live his life as another person‟s ghost, he retorts, “wasn‟t Sizwe Bansi a
ghost” ... when the white man looked at you in the labour bureau, what did he
see? A man with dignity or a bloody passbook with ...numbers? Isn‟t that a ghost?
... all I‟m saying is be a real ghost, if that is what they want, if that what they‟ve
turned us to”(38)LIFE AND DEATH: The concepts of life and death are interwoven
in the play. We find that most of the South African blacks are so callously treated
and oppressed by the whites that they believe they can only find a lasting
reprieve in death. The location of Styles‟ studio beside funeral parlour helps to
place emphasis on this theme.
Styles‟ studio is symbolic. It represents a place where the blacks go in order to get
temporary relief from the harsh realities of apartheid. It is an emblem of life of
freedom for the South African blacks. In his words “this is a strong room of
dreams. The dreamer? My people. The simple people, who you will never find
mentioned in the history books who ever get statutes, erected to them... people
who would be forgotten, if it wasn‟t for Styles."Thus, styles‟ freedom is not just
an emblem of life; it records and relives the lives and dreams of the South African
blacks.
Through his camera, Styles immortalizes them forever and allows them to live
their dreams for the brief periods they spend in his studio. He translates their
dreams on paper; thus giving them a form of immortality. An example is the
family card Styles takes where the old man dies two days later. The man‟s family
have reasons to smile through their tears because they have what to remember
him with. Styles‟ studio affords the blacks opportunity to forget about the
meaninglessness of their existence in the shadows for the few moments and
allows them to be happy, confident people with hopes and dreams. Thus, styles‟
studio and even styles‟ himself represent life and hope for the South African
blacks in a cruel and unyielding society.
Dhlamini‟s funeral parlour on the other hand, represents death. The blacks
believe that death is the only escape from their pitiable condition in South Africa.
Buntu touches on this belief when he tells the story of Outa Jacob, a black man
who suffered a series of tragedies in his life before he eventually died. He also
goes on to say that, “the only time we‟ll find peace is when they dig a hole for us
and press our face to the earth.” This statement mirrors the belief of the South
African blacks in the apartheid system. However, Fugard‟s placement of Styles‟
studio beside Dhalamini‟s funeral parlour is symbolic. By doing so, he is saying
that the South African blacks have two choices; life or death. They can either
choose to live a life of freedom and happiness or continue to live the meaningless
life where they are treated as ghosts.
The author, through placing this side by side is covertly saying that until the South
African blacks make a conscious choice to rid the society of the oppressive
minority white rulers, racial discrimination will continue to be a problem in South
Africa. .

Self Assessment
1. Paying attention to its tragicomic and satirical forms, examine Sizwe Bansi is
Dead as a social and protest drama.

TRAGIC DRAMA IN AFRICA

J.P CLARK AND TEWFIK AL-HAKIM

Tragedy is from the Greek work tragoidia which means song of goat. It is a literary
or dramatic work dealing with tragic event and having an unhappy ending. AL-
HAKIM’S SONG OF DEATH AND J.P CLARK’S SONG OF A GOAT

AS TYPES OF AFRICAN TRAGEDY

In examining both plays as African tragedy, there would be an attempt at
discussing the unifying features seen in both plays. However, it should be noted
that there is no clear-cut features established conventions defining African
tragedy. This could be seen as a result of either absences of universal truth in the
African believes system or non-conformity as to feature defining African tragedy
though for a play to be ascertained as being African, it must be written by an
African and its thematic trusts should be African.
Song of a Goat and Song of Death are also depicted as African tragedies through
their setting and the thematic thrusts. The issues discussed in the text reflect
African culture, traditions, beliefs and the playwrights are Africans.

Setting
The two plays are set in Africa. The play Song of a Goat is influenced largely by the
Izon tradition and philosophy which holds that it is man who determines his fate
on earth and not the gods. If a man discovers that his fate is unfavourable, he can
seek the advice of the gods through the oracle on how to change it but tragedy
only occurs when after consulting the oracle, the petitioner refuses to obey the
advice of the deities. This is why the overwhelming pride of Zifa and Ebere in
rejecting the solution given to them by the gods on how to change their fate leads
to their misery. In Izon religious beliefs, choices are free and any consequence
can be reduced or altered through propitiation to the gods in atonement for
wrong actions.
Similarly, Song of Death is set in Arab; Egypt to be precise. As established in the
pre-Islamic account of Jahiliyah (period of ignorance), Arabs tended to be
unforgiving, revengeful and violent. The story discusses the Upper Egyptian
misnomer ideology of seeking revenge for family‟s death. Families in Upper Egypt
can spend almost all their lives of coming generation to seek revenge for the
death and killing incident from long ago. The blood routines goes on and on as
long as there are young brave men usually the sons of the dead man, who will
seek revenge for the families by killing any man from the family which killed the
dead person.
This continues until someone is sick and tired of the vengeance done out of
ignorance or blindness. As seen in plays, it is understood that the different African
societies from which the text emanates from the influenced the
plot of the texts.
Thematic Preoccupations
The dominant themes in these texts weave around the African issue of infertility
and revenge respectively. The issue of infertility is a crucial issue in African society
as seen in Song of a Goat. Like we mentioned earlier, culture and traditions
usually influence African tragedy and this is portrayed with the issue of infertility
in this; the Izon society believed that having just a child is as good as having no
child. Clark summarise so well for us the attitude of the Izon society towards
infertility; „the business of reproduction is a life and death matter in my home
area. If a man does not bear, he is not loved‟. The problem encountered in the
text is caused by the production of infertility.
The theme of revenge and vengeance is presented in Song of Death. This play
portrays the belief of the Arab society in an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. They
see the inability to take revenge as a very shameful act. Asakir represents a typical
example of this society by resolving to kill his only son because of his refusal to
avenge his father‟s death, the reason he was sent to Cairo for learning. Other
themes raised in the texts include the evil of incest, the evil passion for revenge
and the conflict between old and modern tradition.

Self Assessment
Examine setting as a social and cultural concept and discuss how it informs the
major thematic thrusts of Song of a Goat and Song of Death.
PLOT
up the story of the texts. In the Song of a Goat, Zifa is rendered impotent through
the curse of the gods because he brought the dead spirit of his dead father home
too early thereby polluting the cosmic wellbeing of his community. The father was
struck with leprosy by the gods because he killed within his clan which is a taboo
among Izon.
In Tewfik Al- Hakim‟s Song of Death, Alwan has been destined to avenge the
death of his father by taking vengeance on Suwelian Thawi, the murderer of his
father. He was taken to Cairo on account of this at the age of two to be trained as
a butcher. However, Alwan ran away to joined Al- Azhar University in Cairo. This
marks the beginning of his misfortune.

Tragic Flaws
The inherent weaknesses and sentiment which the protagonists are given to also
makes their unpleasant ends unavoidable. On the one hand, Asakir‟s unyielding
passion for vengeance destroys her own family more effectively than her
supposed enemy Suwelian Tahawi could have ever done. She has abruptly wiped
out the new generation, so the family line has come to an end. This is rather tragic
than hateful because like Sophocles and Elektra, she is true to the logic of
tradition that creates her.
On the other hand, Zifa and Ebere‟s overwhelming pride to accept their fate as
posed to them leads to their destruction. Ebere rejects the advice of the Masseur
who tells her to re-knot marriage tie with his husband younger brother by
observing a sacrifice with the material for it being a goat, cowries, a big gourd of
palm wine and kolanuts. The sacrifice is to be made to the gods so that she might
give birth to. Zifa who is made impotent by the gods cannot accept the reality of
the condition; he rejects the instruction of the priest.

Form and language

The play, Song of Death, is written in acts and scenes while Song of a Goat is
written in movement which can be categorised as one act of the four scenes. This
in particular set the text as type of African tragedy. Song of Death has a prosaic
presentation of its ideas while Song of a Goat is written in verse and embedded
with the use of metaphorical lines. In Song of a Goat, the playwright‟s use of
indirect devices and riddle add riches to the Masseur‟s formal poetic languages
and increases the tension of the play. More so, his use of imagery and symbolism
makes his thought more profound and satisfying for those who study and
understand his imaginative use of language.
Orukorere uses symbolic language to convey her thought. She is a character who
is doomed by the gods to see vision but will not be believed because of her
overwhelming vanity and pride in her beauty and high position. In moment two
she foretells the disaster that will befall her family through illicit love affairs
between Ebere and Tonye. Her cry that she hears the cry of a goat is symbolically
stating that somebody will be killed in the family because goat is a sacrificial
animal.

Character Portraiture (Song of Death)

Asakir is one of the tragic characters in the Song of Death she is a peasant and
was brought in the old vendetta tradition. This is so much part of her that she
simply cannot work out any other way of life. To her, family honour is the
supreme honour. Therefore, the loss of respect in the family and village is the
greatest shame and ultimate misfortune. Asakir waited for years for the one
murderous action that will restore honour to the family and avenge for her
husband death. She wishes Alwan to be the avenger of her husband‟s death and
restorer of family honour but she got disappointed in her son.

Alwan is a tragic hero whose change of fate brought misfortune to his life. The
change in his world view from parochial to universal values spurred his early cut
off. He is a typical idealist young student in Cairo. Alwan as the son who escaped
the village believes in brotherhood not vengeance. His utterly fall fathoms his
mother‟s traditional values. He represents the conflicts between traditional
vengeance and freedom through education from such deadening and destructive
prejudice of his culture and tradition.
Sumeida is the son who stayed behind and he is also a tragic figure is entirely
destroyed by Asakir. Sumedia is certain to be punished, perhaps executed for the
murder so that he is an example of lost generation denied the chance of the
enlightenment of the new ideology of the new state and of the city.

Character Portraiture (Song of a Goat)

Zifa in Song of a Goat is a fisherman and part-time fish pilot. He is made impotent
by the gods for bringing the spirit of his dead father home too early, thereby
polluting the cosmic wellbeing of his community. His father was stroke with
leprosy by the gods because he killed within his clan, a taboo among the Izon.
Ebere is the wife of Zifa. The frustration caused by her husband‟s impotency leads
her into incestuous relationship with Tonye, her husband‟s younger brother. It is
this act of shame that leads to total destruction of her family. Orukorere is Zifa‟s
half-possessed aunt. She is cursed by the sea god of the land to see vision, which
no one believes because of her refusal to be her handmaiden. As a girl she did not
consider the appointment worthy of her beauty and status.
Tonye is Zifa‟s younger brother assistant fisherman. He hangs himself at the end
of the play rather than allow his brother to kill him after he discovers his
incestuous relationship between him and his wife.
Masseur plays the role of a priest, family doctor, confessor and gynaecologist. He
relays the cause of Zifa‟s problem and gives the solution that is required of him by
the gods. He assures Ebere that she is not the source of her problem, but the
husband and that she can still give birth if she will agree to be betrothed to her
husband‟s younger brother Tonye after observing the sacrifice specified by the
gods.
Dode is another tragic character who watches helplessly the people he loves
destroy themselves. Dode, like Tonye, is a victim of circumstances; a goat in that
he is also sacrificed for personal happiness of his mother. Dode is the figure that
arouses pity in the reader for his life is changed from happiness to misery through
no fault of his.
Self Assessment
Attempt a comparative examination of the tragic figures in Song of Death and
Song of a Goat.

ELEMENTS OF TRAGEDY IN AL-HAKIM AND J.P CLARK’S PLAYS

Reversibility of the tragic conflict: In an African society, the fate of a man to a as

believed is determined by the same, which could be consciously or otherwise.
This is made possible in the African tragedy through the freedom given to the
tragic figures and their choice of action over realities surrounding them. This is
evident in Song of Death in which Asakir, the tragic heroine, couldhaveopted for
the better option of seeking revenge or justice as the case may be through the
civic law as suggested by Alwan.
Also in Song of a Goat, tragic figures, Zafi and Ebere could have averted the later
doom should they have chosen the option suggested by the Masseur, which is
customary after designated ritual.
Influence of the supernatural and the society: In a typical African milieu, there is
the mystic belief that there are supernatural interventions in the physical
occurrence of phenomena. In African tragedy there is an overpowering effect of
the supernatural and the societal orientations felt on the tragic personae, which
aid the tragic conflict. In Song of the Goat, the family of Zifa is cursed by the gods.
Zifa is plagued with impotency for violating the conduct of the society. His
impotency fostered his doom and the societal belief held by the Izon people
(setting of the play) that man‟s inability to procreate is of serious magnitude
which likely might not to be in other regions, that drives the play‟s tragic course.
societal factor only applies to Song of Death set in the Upper Egypt where
inability to revenge is seen as a shameful act. Revenge is not seen as a shameful
act; rather, it is an act taken seriously by this people. In this situation, justice
should have been primal aim of Askir in avenging her husband‟s death, which
could have been made possible through the civic law, but as a result of social
orientation exsanguination effect or process of revenge is of primal motive.
Revenge, the social misnomer in the play numbs the tragic heroine‟s senses to
better option and triggers the actualization of the tragic conflict. Tragic personae
in African tragedy: In African tragedy, the case of tragedy is often justified
through the lapses of the tragic personae imbibed with the will and freedom
defined or limited by both tragic flaws as well as external forces (society and
supernatural forces).In African tragedy there is a cathartic representation of the
suffering of man inflicts on other men or him. In Song of Death, Asakir is seen
inflicting societal biased judgement of the death of her son while in Song of a
Goat, Zifa and Ebere‟s refusal to go by the advice given by the gods inflicts doom
on them and Tonye, an innocent character like Alwan in Song of Death. In
essence, these major characters can be said to be the main drive of tragic conflict
in the play.
Also tragic figures depicted as frail and hardly equal to the demand on challenges
posed by the universe, a calamitous place. Zifa in Song of a Goat commits suicide;
this shows his inability to bear much pain as he must suffer and, Alwan in Song of
Death who couldn‟t avenge his father‟s death left his home. This is contrary to
the „Aristotelian‟ ideology of tragedy that poses the tragic hero as brave and up
to the task.
The cyclical nature of tragic conflict: In these two plays, tragic course is seen
permeating from one individual to another. Tragedy revolves around each
character, which collides resulting into central tragedy. In Song of a Goat, Zifa‟s
father killed a member of his clan, so he is cursed by the gods with leprosy and
Zifa lays to rest the soul of his father before the appointed time thereby cursed
with impotency. Also Orukorere‟s refusal to be the priestess of the oracle leads to
her drunkenness and the misfortune of foretelling the future without being
believed. Alwan‟s father in Song of Death was murdered by Suwelian Tahawi
because he believes that Alwan‟s father killed his father. The vengeful act led to
the death of Alwan whose innocence is not enough to save him from the cyclical
event of tragedy.
plays are less dependent upon audience’s expectation of tragic effectiveness:
This is as a result of the absence of universality and features defining African
tragedy. Therefore for a better understanding of an African tragedy by an
audience, an enlightenment of the societal beliefs and customs should be
ensured. For instance, the audience should be introduced to the societal
background of the Izon community for Song of a Goat and the Upper Egypt for
Song of Death.

Self Assessment
Critically examine Femi Osofisan‟s Women of Owu as an African tragedy.
NATIONALISM IN AFRICAN DRAMA: THE SOYINKA AND NGUGI’S
EXAMPLE
WOLE SOYINKA’S A DANCE OF THE FOREST

The play opens with a prologue by Aroni, one of the forest spirits where he gives
the background to the action of the play. The humans are gathered for a festival
celebration, a “gathering of the tribe” (a symbolism of Nigeria‟s independence)
and they ask the deities and the spirit of the sacred groves of the forest to send to
the occasion illustrious ancestor as a symbolic presence of the greatness and the
glory of the race. The forest spirit, especially the forest head and Aroni (the lame
one) is aware of the past crime and evils of individuals and groups in the
community, converted the euphoric supplication of the human to a cathartic and
purgative confrontation of the gathered tribes with the truth of the past historical
experience and reality.
These two restless dead are sent to the humans, accuser and growing spot in the
buried collective conscience of the race- dead man and dead woman, who carries
a baby, the unborn, “the living” in her grave (5). The name of the dead man
“Mulieru” literally means “he-who-is-enslaved.” He confirms the participation of
the black Africans in the darkest historical tragedy; transatlantic slave trade.
NATIONAL THEMES IN A DANCE IN THE FOREST

Bribery and corruption: This is a phenomenon that has been and is and will
forever be. A Dance in the Forest presents different images of corruption showing
us that corruption is not only in the leadership level but starts from everyone. An
instance in the play is the story of a lorry named incinerator. This lorry capacity is
40, but is changed to 20 by one of the council workers because he has taken
bribe, thereby endangering the lives of 65 people being burnt to death because
the lorry caught fire. Another instance is the case of a historian (Adenebi) who
being by the slave dealer who is also advocating for the sale of the soldiers into
slavery. Adenebi is also in the present generation. The simply emphasizes the fact
that bribery and corruption are vices that have come to stay.
A call for the embrace of African culture: Wole Soyinka tries to make us see the
crime the white men has committed through the black men which still resurface
even when they are gone. He tries to make us see the beauty of African culture
(Yoruba). The interrelationship of art and politics: The symbol of the great reunion
carved by Demoke (carver) the son of the that was condemned by Eshuoro (the
wayward cult-spirit) just because he was carved with oro‟s sacred tree, arabab
and araba‟s height was dimished. Oromole, a follower of Oro, an apprentice to
Demoke fights against the sacrilege (diminishing of araba) to the gods. He wins
with the support of the carver who was tied to earth and begins to work above his
master‟s head. Unfortunately for him, he is plucked down by Demoke.
The gap between human world and the realm of the gods: Wole Soyinka also try
to bridge the gap between the human world and the realm of the gods by
portraying Ogun as the protector of Demoke just because he (Ogun) is the patron
of woodcarver, creativity and explorer despite the fact that he is one of the forest
dwellers.
A Dance of the Forest by Wole Soyinka is just a method of calling all artistes who
believe they could make that positive change in the society as it is impossible for
any artist to remain immune to the ills of the society.
death of justice: One other theme is the death of justice. Soyinka realizes this
while he was in solitary imprisonment for eighteen months under the dictatorship
regime. The soldiers are sold into slavery by Mata Wharibu, because they do not
agree to fight an unjust war. They are not allowed the right to free will or even
appeal. The leader who is Mata Whalibu in this book pronounces judgement the
way it suits him. He does it in a way that injustice still parades the society. People
that are supposed to be condemned to death are still living.
Fatality of human actions: This can also be treated as another national theme in
the play. Demoke‟s attempt to save the half child came to nought. He is
portrayed as the hope for future generation. The playwright also employs various
elements to achieve confusing and moody atmosphere in the play. The
conversation is serious though they are comprised of relative simple diction. The
proverbs do not help matters as regards the seriousness and straight forwardness
of the play. “Have you seen as a woman throw away her pestle when she really
meant to pound yam?”... they say the forest is more cunning anytime of the year
of the year, but who ever lay back in the play. The thematic concerns of the play
are not to be taken lightly. The Nigeria civil war of 1967 illustrates the severity of
the warning raised in the work. The play is an apocalyptic work of the ruling
class‟s failure to heed.
In conclusion, A Dance in the Forest has been used by Wole Soyinka to portray the
foibles in the society and a proper solution to it by stating how things will get
better if their past mistakes were not repeated. The play is a political satire and
also helps to promote Yoruba culture through myths, ritual; and even the use of
proverbs.

Self Assessment
How relevant is the nationality of the themes of A Dance in the Forest in
contemporary Nigeria and Africa?

NGUGI WA THIONG’O AND NGUGI WA MIIRI’S I WILL MARRY WHEN I WANT

The plot structure of the play is linear which engenders cause and effect. In the
plot Ngugi satirizes hypocrisy of religion, capitalism and the people that use the
system for personal gain (greed) at the expense of others. The storyline centres
on a Kenyan peasant farm labourer, Kiguuda, and his family, Wangeci (wife) and
Gathoni (daughter). It portrays their effort to hold on to their culture and to
protect the small piece of land they own to the pride of imperialists who want to
buy it and build an insecticide factory on it.
The title deed hanging on the wall of their home is their pride. Even that is
dissatisfactory since they own one and half acres and could have more had they
not listened to the Christians who implore them to give up their materialism while
other from Mau Mau group who liberated Kenya brought up most of the land and
sold them back to the European, American and Japanese imperialist.
The story conflict begins when Wangeci and Kiguunda who have been told by the
local Christian church to sanctify their marriage. Later they also learn that their
daughter Gathoni wants to marry the son of the wealthiest man in town. Wangeci
and Kiguunda turn to Ahab Kioi Wa Kanoru to set up a marriage for their
daughter. Kioi Wa Kanoru a deceitful person hiding under the canopy of
Christianity tells them that he will only agree to marry his son and their daughter
if the Kiguunda are converted to Christians fully by getting married in church.
They agreed reluctantly but soon realize they are too poor to pay for the bridal
reception for the daughter and even themselves. They sought financial assistance
from Mr Kioi but he refuses and instead takes advantage of their gullibility by
giving them two option of either selling off their only land or turn the land over as
equity or collateral for a bank loan for which he is ready to stand as a guarantor.
Kiguunda rejected the first alternatives but agrees to give up his title deed to the
bank for a loan. When Gathoni becomes pregnant with John Muhuuni, Kofi and
his family rejected her and refuse to marry her to their son, saying that they are
not mature in the lord and their daughter is a prostitute. This brings the story to
the head of Kiguunda demands reparation from Kanoru by branding a sword
against himself. He and Wangeci agree to have Wa Kanoru sign an agreement but
his wife pulls a gun on Kiguuda and whatever advantage the Kiguunda‟s have
diminishes. In the end, the Kiguunda loses their land to the bank who auctions it
off to the white imperialist (Kioi).
The play ends on the sad note but it also has a hopeful view the struggle for the
true liberation continues.

Self Assessment
What sociological undertones are implied in the plot of the play?

THEMATIC PREOCCUPATION
Exploitation through marriage: The literary subject matter of the text is marriage
even just going by the title of the play I Will Marry When I Want. Mr Kioi exploited
the Kiguunda‟s on the bases of their land by taking on their gullibility as peasants
with less exposure (ignorance) through marriage. Gathoni, the daughter of
Kiguunda is in love with Kioi‟s son John and because Kiguunda wants her
daughter to get married they decide to accept the proposal of getting married in
the church so that both (Gathoni and John) can be married. However,they do not
know that Kioi who has interest in their piece of land appears to be giving his
support so as to get the land which eventually happens at the end. The
Kiguunda‟s lose on both sides. Their daughter, Gathoni, gets pregnant and is jilted
by John and they also irretrievably lose their land.
Betrayal: The Kiguundas are betrayed by the Kiois through the latter‟s takeover of
their land, after conspiring with the bank to auction the land out. The Kiguunda‟s
are devastated when they discovered in the end that it is the same person who
stands as guarantor for them that also goes behind them to get the only
possession that gives them pride.
Self Assessment
Examine the themes of exploitation and betrayer in the play in relation to
postcolonial Kenya.

STYLES
Symbolism
The use of symbolism helps the playwrights to achieve their aim. In the Kenya,
land is seen as a pride and treasure. This is evident in the play. Kiguunda‟s land is
his pride as he guides his title deed jealously. There are people in this play who
sell their lands to the blacks (Kenyans) that work or serve as watchdogs for the
white to relocate to remote parts that are underdeveloped while the minor black
elites stays in estates, have good roads and well equipped hospital. The falling of
the title deed in the play and the Kiguundas not picking it up, symbolize the letting
go of the land by the Kiguundas.
The name “Ahab” and “Jezebel” are also symbolic. As earlier noted, Nguigi Wa
Thiong‟s was a devout Christians and his ability to bring bible characters that are
known for their greed and wickedness is another way of attacking the British
imperialists and their religion and also let them know he could use their
knowledge against them. Ahab and Jezebel in the bible were the ones that
coveted Naboth‟s vineyard even when their own was better than his and ended
up killing him in other to have his land. This applies to what happens in the play
between Kioi and Kiguunda. Though there is no killing physically but the loss of his
land which is his pride is enough to harm or result to death.

Flashback
The use of flashback in the play by serves as a reflection on the past about their
ways of life, culture and other important events so that the people can realize the
worth of tradition, heritage, song, dance, dressing and so on and how they should
reject imperialism totally and return to their roots.

Irony
In the play there are features of dramatic and situational irony which shows the
style employed by the capitalists to exploit the poor for their selfish reason. At the
beginning, the Kiguundas think that the Kiois are coming to pay them a visit in
order to discuss marriage arrangement of their daughter and son but are
disappointed when the latter come and discuss their conversion to Christianity. In
the middle of the play, the Kiguundas expect that Kioi being a Christian will be
able to help them with the arrangement as well as the preparation for their
proposed marriage but are disappointed when he rather gives a difficult option.
At the end, the acre of land that the Kiguundas believes must have been taken
over by the bank turns out to be that it is the Kiois that buys the land from the
bank.

Music
The musical accompaniment is a way of lightening up the tense conflict of the
play as it builds up. Thus, it is an interlude. It also serves as flashback through
which the past is recollected.

Self Assessment
What are the dominant religious allusions that are symbolically employed in this
text? How did religious imperialism subjugate the African nations culturally?

CONTEMPORARY PLAYS: THE EXAMPLE OF AHMED YERIMA AHMED YERIMA

Professor Ahmed Yerima is one of the contemporary dramatists in Nigeria whose

works cuts across the dominant trends on Nigerian drama. He is a graduate of
Obafemi Awolowo University, formerly University of Ife. Yerima, a director, actor
and scholars has published several plays and written critical writings on drama
and theatre in Nigeria. He was for several years the Director General of the
National Theatre and the National Troupe of Nigeria. He is currently a Dean of
Faculty and professor in Redeemer‟s University Ede.
YERIMA’S THE WIVES

The plot of Ahmed Yerima „s The Wives is based upon gripping story of Chief
Theophilius Gbadegeshin Olowokere and raises some very philosophical questions
in the mind of the reader and as well exposes several ills in our society. Before the
death of Chief Olowokere a wealthy polygamist, he made a decree that his will
must be read after his burial. While his sister and wives are still coming to terms
with his death and his brother Baba Ajagbe, the head of the family seeks to
prepare his corpse for rite of passage to the land of the his ancestors; as a
requirement for the ritual, the first son of the deceased is to accompany him with
praise chants of the family.
They soon discover that the first son of the first wife (Mrs. Angela Olowokere) is
not the first son of Chief Olowokere. The first wife feels there is a sort of
conspiracy to cheat her son of his inheritances and makes effort to stop them. The
late chief‟s lawyer reads the will and in the will, he bequeaths all his property to
his first son. When the Ifa oracle is consulted it reveals that Chief Olowokere had
engaged in incest with his sister and his first son, a product of that illicit
relationship is the lawyer; Barrister Solomon Akande.

Self Assessment

Examine the plot of Yerima‟s The Wives. Attention should be given to its structure
and the tools with which it is built.

THEMATIC PREOCCUPATION
Polygamy and its Inherent Challenges: This play talks about salient issues in our
society one which is polygamy. it is true that many polygamous families lives in
peace and love, but it is necessary for them to be able to tolerate one another.
Chief Olowookere is a polygamist, he has three wives and they seems to envy one
another and always at loggerheads. Angela and Cecelia rained their anger on Tobi
because she got more of chief‟s attention; the last wife, she is the youngest and
most naive. She is taken to prison for the death of her husband but later released
when Auntimi intervenes. Even after the release of the autopsy result that Chief
died of heart attack, Angela refuses to believe and keeps on calling Tobi the witch
and a prostitute who kills her husband. Polygamy brings envy and rivalry to the
family.

Cultural Declination: The play exposes the gradual decline in traditional African
culture as well as the western influences on it. The children of Chief Olowookere,
Seyi (the supposed first son) and the other sons are based abroad (London and
Spain) and are absent during their father‟s burial. We see Seyi‟s mother (Mrs.
Angela Olowookere) complaining in the play that even if her son is around, he
does not know anything about these practices and that he has lived all his life
abroad. Another fear is that she does not want her son to be initiated into the
cult.
The new generation of African children prefer to school abroad, work there and
sometimes married to foreigners as in Seyi‟s case, forgetting home, their culture
and language which is their identity. On the other hand, Western influence on our
culture is not something to be overlooked. Nowadays, we tend to “Westernize”
everything even the most sacred things. The wives and Auntimi are supposed to
be mourning wearing the mourning cloth but here; they are dressed elegantly and
even make a toast and play a favourite song of the late Chief Olowookere. In an
atmosphere that is supposed to be sorrowful, they celebrate.
Agbaye and Ifagbayi are very angry with the wives and spelled it out in the play
that women are not supposed to announce the death of their husband especially
a man of his calibre and that until the calabash of life is broken only can it be
declared by the elders in the family that he is dead.

Religious conflict: This is seen when Chief Olowookere dies and is denied a church
burial and funeral service because he is a high chief in his family cult. This conflict
is seen when Ifagbayi places the horsetail in late chief Gbadegeshin‟s right hand
and the cross symbolizing Christianity on the other hand. Obviously, the
traditionalists see their own rite as scared and superior and do not want anything
to be done to the corpse before their arrival. Even Cecelia, one of the wives also
complains that she does not understand how today her husband is a Christian as
he goes to the church and still holds the traditional religion in high esteem as he is
regaled in his outfit for the shrine where he worships the deities.
This she also points as one of the reasons why she leaves the home and the fact
that his family are fetish. She even refuses to swear by any other god when Baba
Ajagbe asks her to swear that she is still not the one of the wives. African beliefs,
taboo and consultation of the gods: There are certain practices, beliefs and
customs that are sacred in the African society. This play exposes the reader to the
atrocity committed by Chief Olowookere who impregnated his younger sister,
Auntimi. This is incest and it is an abominable act in Yoruba land. Theophilius and
his sister keep this act as a secret and that the fact that it produces a child which
Theophilius claimed had died after delivery. Auntimi does not know the truth
about the child until towards the end of the play when everything becomes clear
to her.
Chief Olowookere does not just make his sister a mother but also his wife as he
hands her the calabash of life and drives away her lover with a gun. His
abominable act is revealed to the reader through the consultation of Ifa and the
fact that his death is not normal; his swollen face and body shows this. As in
Yoruba tradition, when asked for the calabash of life, it is the older wife that
should have it but in this case, Auntimi, the sister to the husband which
automatically made her his wife.

Hypocrisy: In this play, Yerima satirizes the hypocrisy of the church. When Chief
Theophilus Olowokeere is alive, the church benefited a lot from him. However,
when he dies, the church refuses to give him a Christian burial because he is also
a traditionalist. His name is removed from the grand Bishop‟s chair and the piano
he buys. However, the house for the bishop that he builds is not demolished or
handed over to the family of the deceased.

Self Assessment
What is contemporary, new or radical in Ahmed Yerima‟s thematic portraits?

DRAMATIC ELEMENTS
Suspense: Here, we find Yerima deliberately withholding information in an
attempt to heighten and sustain the interest of the reader. The information that is
important in resolving the problems in the story are released gradually to the
reader. This is evident in the discovery of the actual first son of Chief Theophilus
Olowookere.
Apostrophe: This is a poetic device but at times, it can be used in plays. As we see,
the four wives (the fourth wife being the deceased‟s sister) talk to the corpse of
Chief Theophilus as if it were alive and capable of hearing them.
Soliloquy: this features in the beginning of the play as the plays open with Auntimi
talking to herself.
Satire: This is also used in the play to ridicule the society of the play which is
characterised the vices and inordinate pride that. The overblown face of the
corpse of Chief Olowookere which makes the corpse seem to be smiling satirizes
the modern day elegant dressing done to a lifeless body by the high class in the
society. Also, through Auntimi‟s earlier soliloquy, the readers are made to know
that the corpse of Chief Olowookere wras honoured with the national award of
Grand Commander of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (GCFR). The playwright uses
this to satirize the Nigerian Government who honours irresponsible and
unmerited individual in the society.
Symbolism: The playwright makes the characters represent different ideas. In the
play, Ajagbe and Ifagbayi represent traditionalists who are rooted in culture.
Angela represents women are not bold enough to assert their right and make
decision on their own. Tobiloba, the youngest wife represents modern and young
ladies who are naive of marriage and Cecelia is representative of a decisive
woman who asserts their right.

DRAMATIC ELEMENTS
Suspense: Here, we find Yerima deliberately withholding information in an to
heighten and sustain the interest of the reader. The information that is important
in resolving the problems in the story are released gradually to the reader. This is
evident in the discovery of the actual first son of Chief Theophilus Olowookere.
Apostrophe: This is a poetic device but at times, it can be used in plays. As we see,
the four wives (the fourth wife being the deceased‟s sister) talk to the corpse of
Chief Theophilus as if it were alive and capable of hearing them.
Soliloquy: this features in the beginning of the play as the plays open with Auntimi
talking to herself.
Satire: This is also used in the play to ridicule the society of the play which is
characterised the vices and inordinate pride that. The overblown face of the
corpse of Chief Olowookere which makes the corpse seem to be smiling satirizes
the modern day elegant dressing done to a lifeless body by the high class in the
society. Also, through Auntimi‟s earlier soliloquy, the readers are made to know
that the corpse of Chief Olowookere wras honoured with the national award of
Grand Commander of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (GCFR). The playwright uses
this to satirize the Nigerian Government who honours irresponsible and
unmerited individual in the society.
Symbolism: The playwright makes the characters represent different ideas. In the
play, Ajagbe and Ifagbayi represent traditionalists who are rooted in culture.
Angela represents women are not bold enough to assert their right and make
decision on their own. Tobiloba, the youngest wife represents modern and
youngnladies who are naive of marriage and Cecelia is representative of a decisive
woman who asserts their right.
Irony: After the wives deliberate on what to do with their lives when the burial is
over, they all think of helping Auntimi with money and a shop for her upkeep.
Ironically, it turns out she gains more materially when everything her late brother
leaves is willed to her son whom she is not aware is still alive hitherto.

YERIMA’S TUTI

Ahmed Yerima employs various literary styles in his play. Yerima writes outside
the convention of playwriting. Yerima‟s play is without act and scenes. The play is
just one long uninterrupted stretch of dialogue and action. This is new in
playwriting and stands Yerima out as one who dares the status quo.
The play is however in strict adherence to the three unities of the classical Greek
tragedy; the unity of time, place and action. The play begins and ends in Father‟s
apartment and also does not last more than twenty-four hours. The plot is in
unity; there is no conflicting action. This enhances the simplicity of the play as a
way of celebrating the simplicity and beauty of the family setup. The essence of
Tuti is key to the society but from the angle of individual families. There is the use
of character economy connoting the relatively few membership of the family
against the larger society. This fewer membership however does not downplay
the importance of the family play. Family issues are also worth discussing because
the effects are felt in every corner of the society.
Tuti and Ayo are the only characters with a proper name. The focus is on the
young and growing family/generation. The subject matter revolves around what
the older generation has left for the younger, how the parent generation /family
affect the daughter generation/family. Unknown to Father, Tuti negatively reflects
on her parents‟ mistakes. This also portrays the generational gap that exists
between a supposedly close knit people.
Yerima employs very simple everyday diction in the writing of his play and also a
clear direction. The story however relies on the flashback technique in order to
unravel the problem of the play. It is through flashback that Father understands
the depth of his betrayal not only to his wife but also his daughter.The play is
didactic in nature. Through the experience of Father especially with regard to his
very tragic fall, the reader is encouraged to put up better morals than Father
does. The play portrays the need for mistakes of both Father and Tuti to be
corrected in the mind of the reader.
In Tuti, the question of who exactly is the hero; whether Tuti or Father, is very
controversial. Although, Tuti is the one who is properly named and even is an
eponymously character, the play centres more on Father. It exposes the fall of
Father, the loss of trust in him, his law career among other themes.

STYLE
Yerima‟s style of plot does not follow the conventional pattern of acts and scenes.
In his own way, he portrays the world as fluid and ill-arranged. Events happen
without being meditated. At the end, where Tuti realizes the truth about money
and her Father‟s death, Yerima softly tells the world the short comings of
women‟s superficiality.
Yerima‟s Tuti uses characterization so well. The focus of the characters is on their
attitude to life. In the seemingly short play, the reader is exposed to the
worldview of the major characters in the play. The characters are seen majorly
from what they think of them as well as position to critical issues around.
Comment of the distinctiveness of Ahmed Yerima‟s dramatic styleYerima employs
very simple everyday diction in the writing of his play and also a
clear direction. The story however relies on the flashback technique in order to
unravel the problem of the play. It is through flashback that Father understands
the depth of his betrayal not only to his wife but also his daughter.
The play is didactic in nature. Through the experience of Father especially with
regard to his very tragic fall, the reader is encouraged to put up better morals
than Father does. The play portrays the need for mistakes of both Father and Tuti
to be corrected in the mind of the reader.In Tuti, the question of who exactly is
the hero; whether Tuti or Father, is very controversial. Although, Tuti is the one
who is properly named and even is an eponymously character, the play centres
more on Father. It exposes the fall of Father, the loss of trust in him, his law
career among other themes.

STYLE
Yerima‟s style of plot does not follow the conventional pattern of acts and scenes.
In his own way, he portrays the world as fluid and ill-arranged. Events happen
without being meditated. At the end, where Tuti realizes the truth about money
and her Father‟s death, Yerima softly tells the world the short comings of
women‟s superficiality.Yerima‟s Tuti uses characterization so well. The focus of
the characters is on their attitude to life. In the seemingly short play, the reader is
exposed to the worldview of the major characters in the play. The characters are
seen majorly from what they think of them as well as position to critical issues
around.

Exercise
Comment of the distinctiveness of Ahmed Yerima‟s dramatic styleCRITICAL
MOVEMENTS IN CONTEMPORARY WRITTEN AFRICAN DRAMA

FEMINIST MOVEMENT: GHANAIAN FEMALE DRAMATISTS THE CONCEPT OF

FEMINISM. FEMINISM IN WRITTEN AFRICAN

DRAMA. FEMALE DRAMATISTS – THE GHANAIAN EXAMPLES

EFUA T. SUTHERLAND
Efua T. Sutherland (27 June 1924 – 2 January 1998) was a Ghanaian playwright,
poet, director and dramatist. Sutherland‟s works experiments creativity with
storytelling and other indigenous forms from Ghanaian traditions. Her plays,
based on traditional stories transforms African and folktale conventions into
modern dramatic theatre techniques.
THE MARRIAGE OF ANANSEWA AND EDUFA

THE MARRIAGE OF ANANSEWA AS A COMEDY

The Marriage of Anansewa is a comedy (which is one of the major types of
drama), in the most common literary application, is a fictional work in which the
materials are selected and managed primary in order to interest and amuse the
audience: the characters and their discomfitures engage the audience‟s
pleasurable attention rather than profound concern, the audience is made to feel
confident that no great disaster will occur, and usually the action turns out
happily for the chief characters.
In Efua T. Sutherland‟s Marriage of Anasewa, the chief characters, Ananse and his
daughter Anansewa, find themselves in a serious fix as the drama develops.
However, at the end, the action ends happily as they are able to entangle the knot
that hitherto tangles them.
There are arguments as to whether the Marriage of Anansewa is a comedy or a
farce, that is, whether it is a high comedy or a low comedy – farce. One thing is
sure the Marriage of Anansewa is a comedy. Nevertheless, there are elements of
farce dominant in the drama text. Farce is a type of comedy in which exaggerated
character types find themselves in ludicrous situations in the course of an
improbable plot, but by the sustained brilliance and wit of the dialogue.
Efua T. Sutherland in the foreword of Marriage of Anansewa describes the
character – Ananse, who is the chief character in this text, as one who “appears to
represent a kind of everyman, artistically exaggerated and distorted too.” This
description of Anansewa opens the reader‟s imagination to... imagination as to
the kind of picture of Ananse that he is to create in his mind. George Kweku
Ananse finds himself in a ludicrous situation: receiving money from four chiefs,
using his daughter as a bait, gradually entangling himself by promising to give his
daughter‟s hand in marriage to all four of them, not knowing exactly how to
come

THE MARRIAGE OF ANANSEWA AS A COMEDY

The Marriage of Anansewa is a comedy (which is one of the major types of
drama), in the most common literary application, is a fictional work in which the
materials are selected and managed primary in order to interest and amuse the
audience: the characters and their discomfitures engage the audience‟s
pleasurable attention rather than profound concern, the audience is made to feel
confident that no great disaster will occur, and usually the action turns out
happily for the chief characters.
In Efua T. Sutherland‟s Marriage of Anasewa, the chief characters, Ananse and his
daughter Anansewa, find themselves in a serious fix as the drama develops.
However, at the end, the action ends happily as they are able to entangle the knot
that hitherto tangles them. There are arguments as to whether the Marriage of
Anansewa is a comedy or a farce, that is, whether it is a high comedy or a low
comedy – farce. One thing is sure the Marriage of Anansewa is a comedy.
Nevertheless, there are elements of farce dominant in the drama text. Farce is a
type of comedy in which exaggerated character types find themselves in ludicrous
situations in the course of an improbable plot, but by the sustained brilliance and
wit of the dialogue.
T. Sutherland in the foreword of Marriage of Anansewa describes the character –
Ananse, who is the chief character in this text, as one who “appears to represent
a kind of everyman, artistically exaggerated and distorted too.” This description of
Anansewa opens the reader‟s imagination to... imagination as to the kind of
picture of Ananse that he is to create in his mind. George Kweku Ananse finds
himself in a ludicrous situation: receiving money from four chiefs, using his
daughter as a bait, gradually entangling himself by promising to give his
daughter‟s hand in marriage to all four of them, not knowing exactly how to
come
out of the mess when it gets really messed up but trusting his units to help him
overcome his situation.
When Ananse finally finds himself in a ludicrous situation, all four chiefs come at
the same time to pay Anansewa‟s bride price. He comes up with the idea of
faking Anansewa‟s death (as a means of untangling the knot he has tied with his
own hands as a result of his greed and selfishness), a stunt he is able to smoothly
pull with the help of Christina Yamoah – a fashionable woman who is in love with
Ananse and is willing to go to any length to get his love. Through the dialogue
between Ananse and the servants of all the chiefs, he is able to know who exactly
among them to choose as a husband for his daughter Anansewa. Marriage of
Anansewa achieves its comic effects through the sustained brilliance of its chief
character, Ananse. The dialogue between Ananse and his daughter in the opening
scene is amusing not necessarily because of the action, but because of the
language. It is important to note here that language, in any drama text, comes
through dialogue, soliloquy and aside. Characters use language to reveal intimate
details about their lives and deepest thoughts.
EDUFA AS ATRAGEDY

ELEMENTS OF TRAGEDY DOMINANT IN EDUFA

Prologue: This is a precipitating which will later create template for the complex
plot to be enacted in the body of the play. In Edufa, the prologue of Abena,
Edufa‟s sister soliloquises bitterly in such a way that creates a moody and sad
atmosphere that eventually pervades the drama text.In media res: The play
begins in the middle, some actions have taken place already and the solution to
the problem that has happened is being acted before the audience. The drama
begins with Ampoma, Edufa‟s wife, being sick while Edufa and Segura rally
around, seeking a solution to the problem. The cause of the sickness is not
revealed at the beginning of the drama.
Catharsis: In Greek catharsis means “cleasing”, “purgation” or “purification”.
According to Aristotle, catharsis is a psychological purgation of the emotion of
fear, honour, pity, pathos and sympathy accumulated in the audience in the
course of experiencing tragic actions and moments. In Edufa, the tragic death of
Ampoma as a sacrificial lamb for Edufa‟s wealth and a reversal in the
psychological well being of Edufa as a result of Ampoma‟s death in the end,
accomplish catharsis.
Tragic hero: Aristotle says that the tragic hero will most effectively evoke both our
pity and terror if he is neither thoroughly good nor thoroughly bad but a mixture
of both; and also that this tragic effect will be stronger if the hero is “better than
we are”, in the sense that this tragic hero is of higher than ordinary moral worth.
In Edufa, Edufa, the tragic hero, is a man of eminent personality, highly elevated
in the society and class. So high is his status in the society that his quest to
maintain and even elevate it leads to the tragedy that befalls him afterward.
Harmatia/hubris/tragic flaw: The tragic hero is portrayed as suffering a change in
fortune from happiness to misery because of his mistaken choice of an action, to
which he is led by his harmatia, his “error” or “mistake of judgement”, although
misleading and less literally translated, his tragic flaw. In Edufa, Edufa‟s change in
fortune from happiness to misery is as a result of his mistaken choice of action.
Four years before then he had consulted a diviner who demanded sacrifice of
another life in order to avert the danger – death, which was to befall Edufa. Edufa
makes the error of opting for the powerful charm that will protect him and his
business, after being teased by his wife that he could not bear for once to shut
away from his precious business and society. Unfortunately for Edufa, Anipoma,
his wife, not knowing that he is carrying on him a powerful charm swears to die
for him.
One common form of harmatia in Greek tragedies is hubris; that pride or
overweening self confidence, which leads a protagonist or tragic hero to disregard
divine warning or violate an important moral law. In Edufa, Edufa outright
disregards his father‟s warning. Kankam, Edufa‟s father, does everything in his
power to convince Edufa to either confess or denounce the powerful charm but
he remains adamant. In Kankam‟s words, “pity him, you spirits. He grew greedy
and insensitive, insane for gain, frantic for the fluff and flattery. And I continued
him.
Did I not warn him? I tried to make him stop at the point when we men must be
content or let ourselves be lured on to our doom. But he wouldn‟t listen. He
doesn‟t listen it makes me ill...”
Is Efua T. Sutherland style successful in the execution of the comic and tragic
forms of drama?

ANALYSIS OF BOTH DRAMA TEXTS

Plot
The Marriage of Anansewa has a linear plot structure as there is unity of action
(artistic whole). There is a complete and ordered structure of actions directed
towards the intended comic effect. None of the prominent component parts or
incidents is non-functional.The plot of the drama develops from exposition of the
characters. The audience is introduced to the major characters, Ananse and his
daughter, and actions of the drama to complication/rising action, which is where
the conflict begins.
The complication in the drama starts when in act one, Ananse argues with his
daughter, Anansewa, over her marriage to the chiefs so as to take care of his
financial and material needs. After the exposition and the complication, is the
crisis/climax. This is the point where Ananse receives the news that all the chiefs
that he has been collecting gifts and money from are coming to pay his
daughter‟s bride price at the same time. The falling action at this point Ananse
seems to control the cause of events until denouement which in French means
unknotting. This is the point where Ananse gradually sends off the servants of the
chiefs that have come to give their condolence to the supposed dead Anansewa.
Being a comedy, conflict is settled in Ananse‟s interest and therefore, the play
ends happily.
In Edufa, the plot is designed to achieve tragic effects. Resolution, a frequently
used alternative term for the outcome of a plot is lacking here because it denotes
an end with settled conflict. In case of Edufa, it is catastrophe. At the end of the
drama, despite Edufa and Seguwa‟s efforts to save Ampoma‟s life, she ends up
losing her life, while Edufa loses his mind, seeking to deal with death for taking his
wife.

Suspense and Surprise

As the plot of the drama evolves, if arouses suspense in the audience/reader as
he patiently waits to see/read on to know how Ananse overcomes the situation
he has put himself because of his greed and selfishness. There also is an element
of surprise at the end of the drama because what happens is contrary to the
expectation of the audience. Ananse wittingly and skilfully unties the seemingly
“impossible to untie” knot at the end.

Characters
In the Marriage of Anansewa; as in most farce comedy, even the chief character is
flat/ two-dimensional. In the case of this comedy, there is no exception as all the
characters are flat. The method of characterization employed by the author is
known as telling where the author/playwright intervenes authoritatively in order
to describe and often to evaluate the motives and dispositional qualities of the