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AFRICAN DRAMA.
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Analysis of 2 plays by African dramaist Wole Soyinka.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Analysis of 2 plays by African dramatist Wole Soyinka. Discusses fusion of traditional & modern forms in "The Lion & the Jewel" and "The Trials of Brother Jero." Conflicts re: traditional culture to culture of Europe. Themes explored. Colonial experience of Africa. Community customs. Treatment of women--bride price vs. marrying for love. Clash between African traditional religion & Christianity. Power of the idea of cummunity.

Paper Introduction:
All forms of drama exist in Africa today, including drama from past and present, ritual and ceremony, dance mime and modern play. These forms can be found throughout the continent where traditional drama in the villages and imported amusements in films and television are found side by side. Traditional African drama is so tightly integrated into African religion and customs that identifying "theater" as a separate entity is unrealistic. There is a wide variety of staged theater in Africa, including not only written plays but also storytelling, puppetry, and ritual drama. The plays of Wole Soyinka show how traditional forms and modern forms are fused in plays that openly compare traditional culture to the culture of Europe as introduced in the age of imperialism. In the play "The Lion and the Jewel" by Wole Soyinka, the

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The ideas may be true, they may be false, or they maybe corrupt, and discerning which is the case can be difficult. I can see how important community is in my own country, and theseplays suggest reasons why the community rallies around certain ideas,whether new or old. . Had he beenwilling to pay that price, he would have married Sidi as he wanted. This occurs again in the third pantomime, which is ironic in thatit depicts the triumph of women over a man just as the Bale is triumphingover a woman. Lakunle indeed suggests that he is the future, though this also meansthat he is failing to live in the present. These traditions may bequestionable, as with the dowry system in the first play or the falseprophets of the second play, but the community maintains these ideas andinstitutions because of the benefits they confer. May they be your downfall. A feminist wouldview this play as regressive, though it is in fact depicting a way of lifethat has sustained this particular community for some time. Jeroboam claims to be a prophet:"A prophet by birth and by inclination" (Soyinka 145). The community rallies around religion as it would other traditions,with members of the community finding in it reasons for their own lives.It matters less whether it is a delusion or not and more what benefits itconfers. The play is set in the village of Ilujinle, and the main character isa young man named Lakunle. He is calledBrother Jero because the name he uses is Jeroboam, and he is called a"Beach Divine" because he is a preacher who has no church and so whopreaches in the open on a public beach. It gives them identity and provides them with thetraditions by which they define themselves. Jero has drifted from the teachings ofhis master, and Soyinka shows this by having the Old Prophet enter andberate his acolyte for his sinful ways, bringing a curse down on his head: I curse you with the curse of the Daughters of Discord. Lakunle wants to marryand be part of the community, but he is not willing to adhere to thecustoms of that community in order to accomplish this task. In the "play" that goes along with the dance, Lakunle is given thepart of the stranger, showing that he has been separated by his views fromthe community. . Collected Plays 2. The sojourner was also separated and treated as a stranger,but he selected this role, while Lakunle has had it thrust upon him.Lakunle and Baroka become rivals for Sidi's hand, and Baroka clearly seeshimself as part of the community while Lakunle is the outsider, meaningthat he believes he has the better chance for that reason alone. (Soyinka 146). Traditional African drama is so tightly integrated into Africanreligion and customs that identifying "theater" as a separate entity isunrealistic. Wole Soyinka clearly knowsboth his traditional culture and Western culture first-hand and makes useof this knowledge in this play. . In truth, she isrefusing to become one more of the concubines of a married man. Healso has trouble maintaining the fiction that he is a true preacher, for heunintentionally refers to his flock as "customers": I always get that feeling every morning that I am a shopkeeper waiting for customers. Love in the play is not just an individual matter but a communityissue. She alsochooses the traditional over the modern with this same decision, as sheexpresses it to Lakunle: Why, did you think that after him, I could endure the touch of another man? . Baroka isknown as the Lion, and the matchmaker Sadiku explains to Sidi what it meansto be the last wife of the Lion should he die: When he dies . The plays of Wole Soyinka show how traditional forms andmodern forms are fused in plays that openly compare traditional culture tothe culture of Europe as introduced in the age of imperialism. Lakunle balks at paying the bride-price because todo so would in his mind mean he was buying a wife like a heifer at amarket: An ignoble custom, infamous, ignominious Shaming our heritage before the world. He has been much influenced by European ideasof how young men should behave, which causes him to try to help Sidi bycarrying her water bucket, though this job is traditionally a women's taskin their society. Baroka, the mayor, gives Lakunle the traditional greeting and isunhappy when he gets a European one in return. Lakunle is expected to tip the mummers, just like others inthe community do, but here again he adheres to the beliefs he has gainedfrom the West, just as he refused to pay a bride price. These formscan be found throughout the continent where traditional drama in thevillages and imported amusements in films and television are found side byside. Testified to and witnessed by no less a person than one of the elected rulers of the country. (Soyinka 171).Jeroboam gets rid of Chume, calling him a lunatic, so he can have Chume'swife. Strange, dissatisfied people. Who would tells us where we go wrong? it means that you will have the honor of being the senior wife of the new Bale. Sidi, I do not seek a wife To fetch and carry, To cook and scrub, To bring forth children by the gross. And just think, until Baroka dies, you shall be his favorite (Soyinka 2 ).Sidi is the Jewel of the title, and this traditional joining by arrangementis common in this society. Barokadeeply wants Sidi and sees her as the jewel she describes herself as being: "Thou art the queen of them all" (Soyinka 29). There is a wide variety of staged theater in Africa,including not only written plays but also storytelling, puppetry, andritual drama. Hisrefusal to live by the traditions of his society shows that thosetraditions are stronger than love in this society. He suggests this when he speaksabout his vision for his society, as if it were a foregone conclusion: Within a year or two, I swear, This town shall see a transformation Bride-price will be a thing forgotten And wives shall take their place by men (Soyinka 34).For Sidi, Baroka is the wiser and more powerful of the two men in her life,and she chooses to be with him rather than to be with Lakunle. For all his complaints about tradition, thisis one tradition he embraces. (Soyinka 8-9).Lakunle has developed a reputation for himself because of his Europeanairs, as is evident when Baroka makes fun of him: And where would the village be, robbed of Such wisdom as Mister Lakunle dispenses Daily? Jero himself notesthat what was once an honorable occupation has become crowded as more andmore preachers take to the beach. (Soyinka 17). Lakunle is toodedicated to his own view of the world to connect with another human beingthrough love. . (Soyinka 57). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1974. . I who have felt the strength, The perpetual youthful zest Of the panther of the trees? The way the women in this society are viewed and treated contrastssharply with the way we see women in our society today. The second play also shows howpowerful false prophets can be and some of the reasons why--people want tohear what the false prophet offers, and he knows just wnat to bring to his"customers" in order to gain their approval. Lakunleneeds to join the community. Lakunle seemsmore attuned to what the west would view as the proper way to treat women,but the women themselves acquiesce in such treatment and in their role inthis society. The stranger is left out because he is not part of the community,whether by choice or personality, and so he fails to attain the communitymembership he wants but does not know how to obtain. May the Daughters of Eve bring ruin down on your head! He also representstradition in the play, while Lakunle represents the European contrastbecause he imitates it. Soyinka takes a satirical look at some of the same issues in his playThe Trials of Brother Jero, in this case over a clash between traditionalreligion and Christianity, a rapidly-spreading religious belief in Africa.The preacher in this play is a man more interested in profit than souls andwho uses religion as a come-on to get money from converts. . Work CitedSoyinka, Wole. In the play "The Lion and the Jewel" by Wole Soyinka, the authoraddresses issues of love in terms of cultural differences, comparing andcontrasting Yoruba ways with those of Europeans, a comparison made morecogent by the colonial experience of Africa and the way Europeans tried tofoist their ways on the indigenous population. When Sidi balks at the idea, though, Sadikublames Lakunle, then sees Sidi has having lost her wits. Lakunle flirts with Sidi, and while she does not seeminterested, in fact she is so long as he follows the traditions of thecommunity and offers a bride-price to her family: They will say I was no virgin That I was forced to sell my shame And marry you without a price (Soyinka 8).This emphasis on tradition in love suggests something about love. Jero is indeed tormented by the Daughters of Eve and knows it. These plays suggest the importance of community and also show thatwhile some of the trappings of community may be artificial or of uncertainorigin, the underlying idea of community is the truly powerful idea thatkeeps people together and allows them to feel part of something greaterthan themselves. Eh, Mister Lakunle? However,what is important is how they serve the community at the time, and bringingabout change obviously means substituting something that works better toprovide the same benefits without the harm. the regular ones come at definite times. I know they are dissatisfied because I keep them dissatisfied (Soyinka 153). Lakunle again and again acts contrary to the role expectedof him. All forms of drama exist in Africa today, including drama from pastand present, ritual and ceremony, dance mime and modern play. When he can, Jeroboam uses purported miracles to get what he wants,as when he "disappears" and leaves the Member as a witness: By tomorrow, the whole town will have heard about the miraculous disappearance of Brother Jeroboam.

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