Elements of drama

ENG162 ELEMENTS OF DRAMA
Course Code ENG162
Course Title Elements of Drama
Course Developer/Writer Onyeka Iwuchukwu
National Open University of Nigeria
Lagos.
Course Editor Prof. A.R. Yesufu
Lagos
Programme Leader Christine Ofulue Ph D.
Victoria Island, Lagos
NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA
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Published by:
National Open University of Nigeria 2008
First Printed 2008
ISBN: 978-058-149-9
All Rights Reserved
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CONTENTS PAGE
Module 1 Concepts and Definition………………........ 1
Unit 1 Drama as a Genre of Literature…………........ 1 - 8
Unit 2 Origin and Functions of Drama………. .......... 9 - 15
Unit 3 Elements of Drama: Imitation..…………….... 16 - 21
Unit 4 Elements of Drama: Plot……………….……. 22 - 29
Unit 5 Elements of Drama: Action………………….. 30 - 38
Unit 6 Elements of Drama: Dialogue……………….. 39 - 44
Module 2 Conventions and Techniques………………. 45
Unit 1 Dramatic Technique: Characterization……….. 45 - 50
Unit 2 Other Dramatic Techniques…………………… 51 - 57
Unit 3 Dramatic Conventions………………………… 58 - 65
Module 3 Dramatic Genres…………………..………… 66
Unit 1 Forms/Types of Drama: Tragedy, Comedy,
Tragi-Comedy, Melodrama………………….. 66 - 75
Module 4 Textual Analysis……………………………. 76
Unit 1 Analysis of Texts……………………………… 76 - 84
Unit 2 Oedipus Rex by Sophocles……………………. 85 - 90
Unit 3 Hamlet by William Shakespeare……………… 91 - 98
Unit 4 Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller………... 99 - 105
Module 5 Textual Analysis……………………………… 106
Unit 1 Song of a Goat by J. P. Clark…………………. 106 - 111
Unit 2 Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw…. 112 - 121
Unit 3 The Marriage of Anansewa by Efua Sutherland.. 122 - 131
Unit 4 The Lion and the Jewel………………………… 132 - 138
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MODULE 1 CONCEPTS AND DEFINITION
Unit 1 Drama as Genre of Literature
Unit 2 Origin and Functions of Drama
Unit 3 Elements of Drama: Imitation
Unit 4 Elements of Drama: Plot
Unit 5 Elements of Drama: Action
Unit 6 Elements of Drama: Dialogue
UNIT 1 DRAMA AS GENRE OF LITERATURE
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Drama as a Literary Genre
3.2 What is drama?
3.3 Definition of Drama
3.4 Imitation
3.5 Impersonation
3.6 Re-presentation
3.7 Re-enactment
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit, you will learn some definitions of drama. You will
understand that all actions are not drama. You will be able to distinguish
between drama and ordinary activity. You will see that both
government and other agencies use drama to educate the people,
disseminate information or to mobilize them to accept or reject any
concept, action or programme. Most of you relax with dramatic
presentations either in the theatre or in your houses as you watch home
videos, soap operas or films. As you watch these presentations, you will
be able to learn one thing or the other while you are being entertained.
This explains why drama is regarded as the mother of all arts, as it is
used to inform, educate and entertain the people.
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2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
• Identify drama as a genre of literature
• Define drama
• Explain when an action could be regarded as drama
• State the basic elements of drama
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 Drama as a Genre of Literature
What is Literature?
Literature springs from our inborn love of telling a story, of arranging
words in pleasing patterns, of expressing in words some special aspect
of our human experience. It is usually set down in printed characters for
us to read, though some forms of it are performed on certain social
occasions. There are a number of different branches such as drama,
poetry, the novel, the short story; all these are works of the imagination
arising from man’s capacity for invention. The primary aim of literature
is to give pleasure, to entertain those who voluntarily attend to it. There
are, of course, many different ways of giving pleasure or entertainment,
ranging from the most philosophical and profound. It is important to
note that the writer of literature is not tied to fact in quite the same way
as the historian, the economist or the scientist, whose studies are
absolutely based on what has actually happened, or on what actually
does happen, in the world of reality.
Why is Literature Important?
We soon discover, however that the literature which entertains us best
does not keep us for long in the other-world of fantasy or unreality. The
greatest pleasure and satisfaction to be found in literature occurs where
(as it so often does) it brings us back to the realities of human situations,
problems, feelings and relationships. The writers of literature, being less
tied to fact than the historian or the scientist, have more scope to
comment on the facts, to arrange them in unusual ways to speculate not
only on what is, but on what ought to be, or what might be. Writers are
sometimes, therefore people with visionary or prophetic insights into
human life.
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Literature is an imaginative art which expresses thoughts and feelings of
the artist on events around him. In most cases, it deals with life
experiences. The author/artist uses words in a powerful, effective and
captivating manner to paint his picture of human experience.
Literature is a form of recreation. The three genres of literature are
fiction, drama and poetry. You have seen that drama is a genre of
literature. A person who writes a novel is called a novelist, the person
who writes a play is a playwright while the poet writes poetry. All of us
who read literature will find our knowledge of human affairs broadened
and deepened, whether in the individual, the social, the racial or the
international sphere; we shall understand the possibilities of human life,
both for good and evil; we shall understand how we came to live at a
particular time and place, with all its pleasures and vexations and
problems; and we shall perhaps be able to make right rather than wrong
choices. Literature can be in written or oral form. It could also be
presented in form of performance.
3.2 What is Drama
Drama as a literary genre is realized in performance, which is why
Robert Di Yanni (quoted in Dukore) describes it as “staged art” (867).
As a literary form, it is designed for the theatre because characters are
assigned roles and they act out their roles as the action is enacted on
stage. These characters can be human beings, dead or spiritual beings,
animals, or abstract qualities. Drama is an adaptation, recreation and
reflection of reality on stage. Generally, the word, dramatist is used for
any artist who is involved in any dramatic composition either in writing
or in performance.
Drama is different from other genres of literature. It has unique
characteristics that have come about in response to its peculiar nature.
Really, it is difficult to separate drama from performance because during
the stage performance of a play, drama brings life experiences
realistically to the audience. It is the most concrete of all genres of
literature. When you are reading a novel, you read a story as told by the
novelist. The poem’s message in most cases is not direct because it is
presented in a compact form or in a condensed language. The playwright
does not tell the story instead you get the story as the characters interact
and live out their experiences on stage. In drama, the characters/actors
talk to themselves and react to issues according to the impulse of the
moment. Drama is therefore presented in dialogue.
You can see that as a genre of literature, drama occupies a unique
position. It is also the most active of other genres of literature because
of the immediate impact it has on the audience. It is used to inform, to
educate to entertain and in some cases to mobilize the audience.
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Most people associate funny action or other forms of entertainment as
drama. An action could be dramatic yet it will not be classified as
drama.
The dramatic is used for any situation or action which creates a sense of
an abnormality or the unexpected. Sometimes we use it to describe an
action that is demonstrated or exaggerated. For instance, if you are at a
bus stop, a well-dressed young girl passes and cat-walks across the road,
her high-healed shoes breaks and she slips, the immediate reaction will
be laughter from almost everybody there. For some people, this is
drama. Although she was walking in an abnormal way and unexpectedly
her shoe breaks, her action could be called dramatic but it is not
dramatic action. Again, the action of a teacher who demonstrates, by
injecting life into his teaching as he acts out certain situations, is
dramatic but it is not drama.
What then is drama? Drama is an imitation of life. Drama is different
from other forms of literature because of its unique characteristics. It is
read, but basically, it is composed to be performed, so the ultimate aim
of dramatic composition is for it to be presented on stage before an
audience. This implies that it a medium of communication. It has a
message to communicate to the audience. It uses actors to convey this
message. This brings us to the issue of mimesis or imitation. We say
that drama is mimetic which means that it imitates life. You may have
heard people say that drama mirrors life. Yes, it is the only branch of
literature which tries to imitate life and presents it realistically to the
people. It is this mimetic impulse of drama that makes it appeal to
people. Drama thrives on action.
The term drama is used at the following three (3) different levels:
1. Performance
2. Composition
3. Branch of Literature.
(1) Performance
Drama is used for plays that are acted on stage or screen. These plays
are different from musical performances because they must tell stories
which are acted out by actors and actresses. You remember what we
said earlier about imitation or re-enactment and impersonation. These
actors and actresses must be playing roles by imitating other characters.
It means, therefore, that they must assume other people’s personalities
by bearing different names, ages, occupation, nationalities, etc. Finally,
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they must be conscious of themselves as actors by trying hard to pretend
that they are the characters they are representing.
(2) Composition
Drama is used to describe a dramatic composition which employs
language and pantomime to present a story or series of events intended
to be performed. Sometimes, especially with written compositions, they
may not be presented on stage but this does not stop it from being
drama. In as much as a play is enjoyed more when it is performed, you
can still read a play and be entertained by it.
(3) Branch of Literature
Drama is a term used for that branch of literature that covers dramatic
composition. You know already that drama is a literary art. The basic
difference between drama and other forms of literature (prose and
poetry) is that drama is presented in dialogue from the beginning to the
end. Any information by the playwright is given in stage- direction.
We have dialogue in prose and poetry but they are interjected in the
course of the story.
3.3 Definition of Drama
There are many definitions of drama.
Martin Esslin in Anatomy of Drama has the following definitions of
drama:
1. Drama can be seen as a manifestation of the play instinct as in
children who are playing mother and father.
2. Drama is something one goes to see, which is organized as
something to be seen.
3. It is an enacted fiction an art form based on mimetic action.
4. In arts, drama is the most elegant expression of thought nearest to
the truth (reality).
5. It is the most concrete form in which art can recreate human
situation, human relationship (57).
Aristotle’s definitions sum up these and other numerous definitions of
drama by different scholars. He defines drama simply as an imitation
of an action. He links it to the mimetic impulse in human beings like
children playing father and mother in a childhood play. This means that
imitation is part of life. Human beings have the desire to imitate others,
situations or events.
However, Betolt Brecht insists that drama is not just an imitation of
action, but a tool for the demonstration of social conditions. It is not just
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an entertainment but an instrument of political and social change. From
these definitions, we can conclude that drama is a way of creating or
recreating a situation, an articulation of reality through impersonation or
re-enactment. An action becomes drama if it is an imitation of an earlier
action real or imagined. For instance, the story of a hunter who goes to
the forest, kills an antelope and takes it home even if he is dancing as he
goes home, is not drama. It becomes drama if the same story is re-
enacted maybe as part of a festival. In the later case, some people
(actors) will represent the hunter and the antelope to the audience for
entertainment or education. A young man who aspires to be a hunter
could learn, from the presentation, how to stalk an animal or how to aim
the gun or bow while being entertained. This story could be represented
through mime, dance or in dialogue.
3.4 Imitation
Imitation to some extent is a reflection of an action in real life. It is
close to reality but not reality. In imitation you assume a role and not
pretend. You take on or claim the personality of the person you are
imitating. An imitation therefore involves an illusion of the reality and a
willing suspension of disbelief. The actor creates an illusion of reality to
make his action credible. The audience in order to believe him suspends
its doubt (disbelief) and believes that what it is watching is real. This
explains why sometimes you are moved to tears as you watch the
suffering of a particular character when you are watching a home video
or any other dramatic presentation. This is called empathy, according to
Aristotle, mimesis (imitation) entails some copying but not verbatim
copying. The artist adjusts or adds to it. He therefore contributes to the
original as he creates another world through imitation. Consequently,
the product becomes not an appearance but a reality or at worst, a
reflection of the reality. It is important to note here that the action might
not have existed before in reality. The playwright could imagine or
conceptualize an action, then write it down or present it.
3.5 Impersonation
Imitation is a broader term for copying somebody or something. In
impersonation we narrow it down to copying people. Generally, we
impersonate or pretend to be somebody in order to deceive people or to
entertain them. Usually, in an impersonation, the actor tries to be as
convincing as possible. In acting this is called getting into the role.
Impersonation could be interchanged with role-playing.
You have seen that impersonation is an important ingredient in drama
because for the action to be real or life-like, the actors must convince the
audience that they are the person or characters they are impersonating.
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3.6 Re-Presentation
Re-presentation is to give or show something again. In drama, the artist
may have been inspired by a particular action and decides to re-produce
it or re-represent it on stage. Here, it is not possible to re-present the
action exactly as it appeared in its original form. Sometimes the
dramatic composition is based on that action. We also use re-
presentation when a particular performance is being presented again
after its premiere or the original and first performance.
From our discussion so far, you have seen that the universal elements of
drama are imitation, re-representation of action, impersonation or re-
enactment. In any dramatic presentation, the actors must be conscious
of themselves as actors, and also conscious of the audience. On the part
of the audience, there must be an element of make believe or willing
suspension of disbelief. This simply means that, they will pretend that
what the actors are doing is real. On the part of the actors, they try as
much as possible to convince the audience that they are presenting real
life experience. This explains why you see actors who display realistic
emotions on stage. For instance, an actor can cry realistically if the need
arises. In order to achieve this feat, they try to get into the role they are
playing so that the action will be as realistic as possible.
3.7 Re-enactment
Re-enactment is similar to re-representation. However, in re-enactment,
there is a clear indication that a particular action is being re-enacted.
Persons or actions will impersonate specific characters in the original
action. In traditional societies or oral literature, re-enactment is common
and popular. During festivals, depending on the cultural background of
the people and the environment, some events like hunting expedition,
fishing, physical prowess and special feats at wars are re-enacted. In the
enactment of a hunting expedition, some people are chosen to
impersonate the animals while some impersonate the hunter who stalks
and kills the animal. The jubilation and the dance of triumph end the
performance.
Some dances like the “Egwu amala” from Delta State and some
masquerades are used to re-enact past events or actions. Historical plays
are mainly re-enactments of past events.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
i. In your own words, define drama.
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ii. What is the basic difference between drama and other genres of
literature?
4.0 CONCLUSION
Drama is an imitation of an action. It is a branch of literature which is
both literary art and representational art. As a literary art, it deals with
fiction or an imaginary story that is presented through characters and
dialogue. However, it is a special kind of fiction because it is designed
to be acted out rather than narrated. When we read a novel or a short
story, we understand and appreciate the story, through the narrator or
author but in drama the characters live out the story for us. The
playwright does not comment or explain anything. So, drama gives us a
direct presentation of life experiences. That is why we say that it is a
representational art. Drama, therefore, uses language in the form of
gesture…..or dialogue to present or to re-present an action. Characters
are used to present the story. These characters are called actors.
5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit, we have tried to explain the meaning of drama. We have
also tried to distinguish it from other forms of literature. By now you
must have been familiar with the basic elements of drama which make
drama unique. You have seen also that the term drama is used at three
different levels now. It is a performance, it is a composition to be read
or performed and it is a branch of literature.
6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGMENT
1. Give two definitions of drama by two different scholars and
discuss them in the light of your understanding of the genre.
7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS
Dukore, B. F. (1974). Dramatic Theory and Criticism: Greek to
Grotowsky. New York: Holt Reinhart and Winston.
Scholes, R. and C. H. Klaus (1971). Elements of Drama. New York:
Oxford University Press.
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UNIT 2 ORIGIN AND FUNCTIONS OF DRAMA
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Origin of Drama
3.2 Nature of Drama
3.3 Uses/Functions of Drama
3.4 Theatre
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In unit 1, we learnt some definitions of drama. In this unit, we will trace
the origin of drama. You will also learn the functions of drama and be
able to distinguish between drama and theatre.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
• Give an account of the origin of drama
• Distinguish between drama and theatre
• Distinguish between festival theatre and theatre as a building
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 Origin of Drama
The word drama comes from the Greek verb “dran” which means ‘to
act’ or to perform. Many scholars trace the origin of drama to wordless
actions like ritual dances and mimes performed by dancers, masked
players or priests during traditional festivals or ceremonies. One
account traces the origin to ritual. In the traditional society or in the
primordial times, sometimes, the seasons did not come as expected.
When this happened, men felt that they had offended the gods, so they
devised means of appeasing these gods. That act of appeasing the gods
is what we refer to as ritual. This ritual, as expected, involved a
ceremony in which the priest played an important role at a designated
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location, mostly shrines. The priest would normally wear a special dress
for the occasion. That role, the dress (costume), and the utterance or
incantations are regarded as dramatic elements. Drama could therefore
emerge from this. So, if it is presented for entertainment and there is an
element of impersonation, imitation of an action, and re-enactment of an
action, it is drama. Another account traces the origin to man’s desire
for entertainment. Here, during festivals or other ceremonies, they
recreate the feats of some legendary or mythical heroes to entertain the
people.
Scholars are divided on the origin of drama. Some trace the origin to
Greece but others insist that drama in its definitive form or pattern
evolved from Egypt which is regarded as one of the cradles of
civilization in the world. The latter group argues that it was borrowed by
western merchants who developed and documented it, and who now
trace the origin to Greece. However, the account of tracing the origin of
drama to Greece is more plausible. The evolution is clearer and
well-documented.
Apparently, Greek drama evolved from religious festivals (ritual) that
were celebrated to ensure the fertility of the land and the well being of
its people. These festivals were connected with the worship of the god
Dionysius, a native god who like the vegetation dies and was reborn
each year. The festival involved singing and dancing by a chorus of
fifty men. The choral song, known as Dithyramb, was sang in honour of
the god. The men danced around the altar of Dionysius in a circular
dancing place called orchestra. Sometimes a story about the god was
improvised by the leader of the chorus, though remaining part of the
chorus. Sometimes he dresses like a character from mythology. At this
stage, individual actors were not involved in the performances.
The dramatist, Thepsis, is believed to have been the first person to
introduce the individual actor and the element of impersonation in the 6th
century B.C. During a particular performance, he stood out from the
chorus and instead of singing in the honour of the god, he sang as the
god. He performed between the dances of the chorus and he conversed
at times with the leader of the chorus. Thus drama was literally born.
Thepsis, therefore appeared as the first actor, and when he broke away
from the chorus, he added the dramatic potential of impersonation.
It is impersonation, because, instead of describing the god, Dionysius, or
his actions, he pretended to be the god. Thus the performance changed
from poetry performance to drama. Aeschylus added the second actor
and this gave drama a new thrust forward because the additional actor
enabled the dramatist to show in action a dramatic conflict rather than
talk about it. Sophocles’ addition of the third actor further enlarged the
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scope of the dramatist and provided him with the means of complicating
his plot and devising more complex structural arrangement of his action.
It is important to note here that speech is not of essence in drama
because it could be presented without words or without the
accompaniment of music/dance.
The important feature of drama is communication. It induces a personal
communication and an immediate experience between the actor and the
audience. This makes drama a concrete art and the message is
immediate and direct. It is concrete because you can see the actors
performing and presenting a life-like story which affects you positively
or negatively and you re-act immediately. Accordingly, drama exists in
both oral and literary traditions.
In this course, we will concentrate more on the literary tradition, i.e. the
written drama. The text is called a play and the writer is called a
playwright. However, we will make reference to drama as performance
on stage from time to time because it is difficult to separate the two in
the study of dramatic literature.
3.2 The Nature of Drama
You learnt in unit one that drama has a unique nature. It has developed
and been improved upon by various dramatists over the ages. It has also
been influenced by the developments and changes in the world. The
unique nature of drama makes it possible for it to be read and as also to
be performed. Unlike the prose and poetry which depend on narration,
drama is presented only through dialogue. The novel is divided in
chapters and the poem is written mostly in stanzas, drama is presented in
acts and scenes, movements or parts. William Shakespeare made the
five-act structure the standard for his plays. Each dramatist is free to
adopt his/her own style.
In addition to the fact that plays can be read and enjoyed by people in
the privacy of their homes, people also watch and enjoy the plays as an
audience in a theatre when the plays are presented on stage. The
audience gives an immediate reaction to the performance on stage.
Drama is temporary in nature. Every performance has a definite
duration (i.e. it lasts for a certain length of time). Each performance of a
play is therefore a distinct work of art. Even if the actors, the
composition and the decors remain unchanged throughout the
production, each performance varies in nature and quality as one may be
better than other. A good example is in a case where an actor may have
performed badly in one production and better in another one. It means
therefore that “every performance of a play, even by the same actors,
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represents a different realization of its possibilities and no single
performance can fully realize all its possibilities”(Scholes 17). Once a
performance is conducted, it ceases to exist except in one’s memory.
Ritualistic presentations could also be viewed from the same
perspective.
3.3 Functions of Drama
Drama is said to have originated from ritual. It is an important branch
of literature and the most concrete of all art forms. It is devoid of the
distant intimacy of the novel, the abstract message of fine arts, the
incomplete message of music or the cryptic and esoteric language of
poetry. It presents a story realistically through the actors to the
audience. Drama is therefore used to entertain, inform and educate
people. You can see that it is the most effective tool for mass
mobilization by the government and private agencies. For instance,
most campaigns against AIDS, DRUG ABUSE, CHILD ABUSE and so
on, are presented in form of drama to educate, enlighten while at the
same time entertain the people.
Of all the creative artists, the dramatist is in the best position to mirror
his society and to effect social reforms. This is because his work has a
unique characteristic of presenting events in a vivid, picturesque and
realistic manner. This helps to imprint social conditions realistically in
the minds of the audience. Its message is therefore immediate. The rich
and the poor, the young and the old, the literate and the illiterate enjoy
and assimilate the message of drama once it is presented in the
appropriate language as the actors live out the story (message) on stage.
In most traditional societies, drama forms part of the communal rites. In
Africa, reenactment of some feats like hunting, warfare, and other
events, are usually part of bigger festivals. Some of these events are
presented in form of drama to entertain the audience. In Greece also,
drama formed part of a bigger festival. Greek drama is acclaimed to be
the earliest recorded form of drama (5th
century B.C). It is said to have
originated from the Dionysian religious rites, and also remained a
communal rite during the classical period. The dramatists of this age
gave insight into the philosophy and religious beliefs of the ancient
Greece. These early Greek plays treated life’s basic problems with
utmost honesty and attacked socials ills using legendary and
mythological themes. This helped to ensure sanity and equilibrium in
the society.
In the Medieval period, drama was used to elucidate the message of the
gospel through the re-enactment of the biblical stories during mass. It
was later expanded to include the dramatization of the lives of the saints
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and other notable stories of the bible that did not form part of the
Sunday’s lessons. It was therefore used for the spiritual and moral
growth of the people. Drama and theatre also played important roles in
the social lives of the people in the ancient Roman Empire. In England,
Germany and France, playwrights like Shakespeare, Brecht, Goethe,
Moliere, and others, in varying degrees, used their works to enable their
respective countries “… to carve out and affirm a unique identity” for
themselves (Hagher 145). The American industrial sector was radically
but positively affected through the intervention of one play, Arthur
Miller’s Death of a Salesman. This play is regarded as being responsible
for the spirit of industrial revolution in America. In Africa, Kenya to be
precise, a playwright, Ngugi Wa Thiong’o was arrested and detained
because of the political and social consciousness which his play, I Will
Marry When I Want, aroused in the audience after the production. The
play was written and presented in his Gikuyi language; this enabled the
audience, to assimilate its message immediately and to react
accordingly. Ngugi was forced into exile. The drama of any society,
therefore, reflects the problems, aspirations, philosophy and cultural
background of the people.
You see that dramatists can use their works to help to shape the future of
the societies. They can do this not only by reflecting the ugly sides of
the societies but also by promoting the positive aspects of the people’s
way of life that are worth emulating or cultivating. They also help to
ensure the continuity of their tradition and culture by reflecting them in
their plays. Each dramatist, therefore, tries from his perspective to use
his art to enlighten his audience on the goodness, imbalances and
shortcomings of his society. Apart from their thematic concerns, each
dramatist, in his own style of relaying his message, tries to highlight his
cultural background through the use of myths, legends, music, songs,
dances, proverbs, riddles, and other local expressions. In this way,
dramatists all over the world are regarded as the conscience of their
societies, and custodians of their moral and cultural values.
3.4 Theatre
It is important to explain to you what theatre is. This is to avoid the
erroneous impression which some people have as they interchange
drama and theatre at will. Theatre comes from the Greek word
“Theatron” which means “a place for viewing”. Theatre, therefore,
refers to the space used for dramatic presentations or for other
performances. Hence you have the National Theatre in Lagos,
Oduduwa Hall in Obafemi Awolowo University, The Crab at
UNIPORT, the Open Air Theatre at UNIJOS and other theatres. One
play could be performed or presented in many theatres. There are
different types of theatre. It could be a house or an open space,
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depending on the performance. If you have visited the Obafemi
Awolowo University, for instance, they have three theatres, the
Oduduwa Hall which is big and modern theatre in all its ramifications,
the open air theatre behind it and the pit, a smaller theatre where the
actors hold most of their rehearsals. You see, the shape does not matter,
what is important is the acting space.
Theatre is also used for other performances that are not necessarily
drama. These performances include masquerade displays, dances,
puppet shows, music jamborees and other forms of festival. The basic
elements of theatre are actor, space and audience. The following
elements help to enhance the aesthetic aspect of the performance:
scenery, costume and make-up, light and sound effects.
i. What is the difference between drama and theatre?
ii. Discuss briefly the origin of drama in Greece.
4.0 CONCLUSION
Drama is an imitation of an action. It is said to have originated from the
Dionysian festival in Greece. All ceremonies and funny actions are not
drama even though they may contain some dramatic elements. An
action becomes drama if and when there is an element of impersonation,
re-enactment or re-representation of an action. Drama mirrors the
society, so playwrights are influenced by their socio-cultural
backgrounds. They draw their themes or subject matters from myths,
legends, history or contemporary issues. From the days of Thepsis in
Athens to the modern period, dramatists have tried to use their works to
mirror their respective societies. During the early part of the
development of drama, the dramatists tried to follow laid down rules of
literary compositions. However, as time went on, the hard and fast rules
of the theories of dramatic forms gave way to other techniques and
forms. This is because each age tried to make its own innovations based
on the socio-political or cultural peculiarities of their times. Some
modern critics argue that playwrights should not be forced into
accepting any rule on artistic creation.
Drama is used to teach, inform and also entertain and its message is
immediate. This explains why it is used in campaigns and social
mobilization.
5.0 SUMMARY
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In this unit, we have tried to explain what drama is and we traced its
origin to ritualistic performances in primordial times and ancient
Greece. Drama in simple terms is an imitation of life. Through make-
believe and willing suspension of disbelief, drama brings life
realistically to the audience and the message is absorbed immediately.
This immediate appeal of drama makes it different from other forms of
art. It is devoid of the distant intimacy of prose fiction, the often
complex, sentimental, condensed and esoteric language of poetry, the
incomplete and inconclusive message of music, and the abstract and
cryptic message of fine and applied arts. The rich and the poor, the
young and the old, the literate and the illiterate enjoy and assimilate the
message of drama once it is presented in the appropriate language.
6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT
What is the role of Thepsis in the origin of drama.
Brocket, Oscar G. (1980). The Essential Theatre. New York: Holt
Reinhart and Winston.
Crown, Brian (1983). Studying Drama. Ikeja: Longman.
Dukore, B. F. (1974). Dramatic Theory and Criticism: Greek to
Grotowsky. New York: Holt Reinhart and Winston.
Hagher, I. H. (1994). “African Literature in Search of Policy: The Case
of West African Drama”. In Emenyonu, Ed. Current Trends in
Literature and Languages Studies In West Africa. Ibadan: Kraft
Books, 1994.
15

UNIT 3 ELEMENTS OF DRAMA: IMITATION
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main content
3.1 Element of Drama
3.2 Imitation
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary defines element as a
necessary or typical part of something or the basic principles of
something of a subject you have to learn first. In simple terms, therefore,
elements of drama refer to the basic principles of drama which you must
learn first for you to fully understand and appreciate drama both as a
subject and as performance. In this unit and the next three units, we are
going to discuss the elements of drama. We will start with imitation
which is the basic and most important element of drama.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
• Identify and explain the most important element of drama.
• Understand why it is regarded as the most important element of
drama.
• Be able to differentiate between imitation, impersonation and re-
enactment.
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 Imitation
In simple terms, imitation means the act of copying somebody or
something. It is an act of copying the ways somebody talks and behaves,
especially to entertain. In literature, imitation is used to describe a
realistic portrayal of life, a reproduction of natural objects and actions.
16

This type of imitation includes writing in the spirit of the masters using
merely their general principles; borrowing special “beauties” in thought
and expression from the works of the best poets; or adapting their
materials to the writer’s own age.
In drama, as we discussed in Unit 1, imitation is more pronounced in
performance. This is understandable because a play is written primarily
to be performed. What is being imitated in drama is basically life.
Drama tries to present life as realistically as possible on stage. This is
why we say that drama mirrors life. Aristotle insists that imitation is part
of life. He likens the imitation in drama to the children’s play instinct. If
you cast your minds back to your childhood experiences, you will recall
that sometimes when you were playing, one child will say let me be the
mother while another person becomes the “father”. In most cases, the
“mother” collects discarded empty cans and uses them as pots, collects
sand and some leaves to cook food. She uses sticks as spoons. When the
food is ready, they eat by taking the ‘food’ close to their mouths and
throwing them away. In some cases, they try to dress like their parents
and some of them try to talk like their parents while those who are the
children try to behave the way children are expected to behave. This is
imitation. The children are imitating their parents or imitating life as it is
lived in the family.
Imitation in drama involves a story. For it to be drama a story must be
told through dialogue as the characters interact among themselves and
that story must have a beginning, middle and an end. It is different from
musical presentations. Musicians in these presentations do not imitate
anybody. They may wear costumes and act in weird manners but they
are being themselves. Some of them take on other names like Lagbaja,
African China, Weird M.C, 2 FACE, P SQUARE, Baba Frayo, Daddy
Showkey and many others. In show business, each artist tries to create
an image for him or herself, so instead of imitating anybody, they would
want to be imitated. However, in the video productions, some musicians
try to dramatize the message or the stories of the songs. The people
dramatizing these stories are imitating life in the dramatic sense.
Over the ages, the attitude of dramatists on imitation differs from one
dramatist to another and from one age to another. Some dramatists
advocate the imitation of life exactly as it is lived, others insist on the
imitation that is as close as possible to life. In the imitation that is as
close as possible to life, the dramatist tries to create his characters to
dress and act as close as possible to real life. That explains why we have
different styles of imitation both in play-writing and acting skills. They
include Emile Zola’s naturalism, Bernard Shaw’s realism, Betolt
Bretcht’s epic theatre, Constantine Stanislavsky’s realistic acting,
17

Gordon Craig’s theatre of cruelty, Gerzy Grotowsky’s poor theatre
and many others.
Generally, the most popular form of imitation is the realistic one where
the story is a representation of life and the characters are those we could
identify in real life. This is why we say that drama mirrors life. This is
why in Hamlet, Hamlet advises the Players to
Suit the action to the word, the word to the action;
with special observance, that you o’erstep not the modesty
of nature; for anything so overdone is from the purpose of
playing, whose end, both at first and now, was and is to
hold, as ‘twere, the mirror up to nature…(Act III Sc ii)
Holding up to nature here means that they should reflect nature in their
words and actions. Drama is like a mirror because its mode of imitation
is selective and intensive. Most plays do not last more than three hours
so the time is very short. Another issue to be considered is the space.
The stage is so small that it will be difficult to reproduce all the life
experiences of a particular character. Despite the fact that the celluloid
can, with the aid of a camera, present three-dimensional pictures, it can
never present every thing within the period for the play. This explains
why you have expressions like ‘two months later’ to make up for the
limitations in terms of time and space.
In his own mode of imitation, Sophocles, in Oedipus Rex, one of the
plays you will study for this course, does not present all the incidents on
stage. Those actions which he felt could not be imitated to look as
realistic as possible are reported and not presented on stage. Some critics
argue that some of the reported events are too gruesome to be presented.
They are right because one of the Aristotelian postulations on tragedy is
that violence should not be presented on stage. That not withstanding,
one could also argue that in realistic acting it is almost impossible for
Jocasta to hang herself or for Oedipus to gorge out his eyes.
In discussing reported action, we have seen how the second messenger
moved from story-telling to commentary, and this brings us to what is
referred to as choric commentary in drama. Remember that in drama
the story is told through the characters. The playwright does not narrate
the story the way the novelist does. In order to make his play realistic it
is difficult for him to present some of his views on particular issues
which the characters could not imitate realistically. This is because he
cannot suspend the action in order to comment or generalize on
characters and events or appear suddenly in the play or on stage to
provide a point of view on the action. The dramatist’s alternative is the
chorus or choric characters that are persons in the play but are relatively
18

detached from the action. They can therefore stand off from it,
somewhat like a narrator, to reflect on the significance of events. In
Greek drama, the chorus performed this function, and the detachment of
the chorus was theatrically manifested by its continuous presence in the
orchestra. Thus the chorus literally stood between the audience and the
action. In some plays, dramatic functionaries like messengers, servants,
clowns and others not directly involved in the action, can carry out the
functions of the chorus, and the attitudes they express should be
examined for the point of view they provide for the action.
We are not saying here that all the choric commentaries are
representative of issues which the playwright could not express through
the characters in the play. However, the presence of the chorus in a play
does not mean that its opinions are always to be trusted. Sometimes it
can be as wrongheaded as any of the involved characters. Certainly this
is the case in Oedipus Rex when the chorus repudiates Teiresias’
prophecies, insisting that his “evil words are lies.” At other times, the
chorus is completely reliable, as in its concluding remarks about the
frailty of the human condition. Choric commentary then provides a point
of view, but not necessarily an authoritative one nor one to be associated
with the dramatist. In each case, the commentary has to be examined as
closely as any other material in the play. In the first instance we have
cited, Sophocles is using the chorus to project what we might call public
opinion which would naturally be sympathetic to Oedipus because most
people would be legitimately shocked by the accusations and prophecies
of Teiresias. In the second case, the chorus is being used to express the
wisdom drawn from the experience of Oedipus.
You will understand the concept of imitation in drama more if you have
gone to watch a stage play, especially when the actors and actresses are
the people you know very well. Imagine a situation where a play is to be
presented in theatre you are familiar with and you are going to the
theatre with one of the actors or actresses. As you get to the gate, you
pay, obtain your ticket, enter the auditorium and sit down, ready to
watch the play while your friend goes backstage to get ready for the
performance. Assuming your friend is John or Jane, when he/she
appears on stage, he/she assumes another identity apart from his/her
own. Let us use one of the plays we are going to study in this course;
Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel. The play opens and you see
John or Jane as he/she appears on stage as Lakunle or Sidi. He/She
ceases, momentarily to be that your friend because you have willingly
suspended your disbelief. You remember what willing suspension of
disbelief or make believe means. John or Jane makes you believe that
he/she is Lakunle/Sidi. They try their best to convince the audience that
they are really the characters they represent. They achieve this by
19

speaking and acting like the characters they represent. This is called
role-playing or acting.
In films and home videos you watch occasionally, you see actors and
actress like Liz Benson, Pete Edochie, Shan George, Sam Loco Efe and
many others play different roles in different movies. Liz Benson could
play the role of a wicked young step-mother in one film and in another
one she plays the role of a loving wife and mother. Generally we call it
acting. In acting she pretends to be what she is not. She tries as much as
possible to convince the audience that she is that character she is
imitating
Imitation in drama does not claim to present a literal copy of reality.
This is because the truth of drama does not depend on reproducing the
world exactly as it is. When we say that drama is true to life we mean
that it is being false to our conventional notions of reality. This means
that some plays present stories that we find difficult to believe or a
particular actor acts in a manner that is unbelievable. Sometimes we ask
ourselves if it is possible for a man to be so wicked, insensitive and
selfish that he would kill his own mother for ritual for the acquisition of
material wealth. In most cases we still feel that maybe a person in a
particular circumstance could be forced or persuaded to behave like that.
If you look at the story of Oedipus for instance, you will believe that the
story is highly improbable yet it creates a world that we recognize as
being in some sense like our own. This depends on the perspective of
the dramatist, the aspect of life he wants to focus his mirror. He may
choose to focus on the beautiful, or on the ugly, the ideal/ harmonious or
the chaotic. He may for instance focus on bad leadership. He therefore
presents an insensitive despot as a leader who uses his position to
emasculate all oppositions and oppress the masses. He may or may not
succeed depending on the message of the play. In most cases, nemesis
catches up with such characters.
In mirroring the society, each dramatist decides on a particular
perspective. When a play presents an idealized vision of the world as a
place where everything is beautiful and orderly, we call it romance. On
the other hand, when a play focuses on the ugly and chaotic as it
presents a debased view of life we refer to it as satire. Satire and
romance present extreme and sometimes, unrealistic conditions of life.
Imitation in tragedy and comedy is very close to life as we live it as they
emphasize the dominant patterns of experience that characters go
through in life. In most comedies, the major characters begin in a state
of opposition against one another or what they stand for. As the play
progresses they get to understand one another better so that by the end
of the play they get into harmonious relationships and the play ends on a
happy note. The opposite is found in tragedy where the play presents a
20

harmonious life for the hero at the beginning. As the play progresses, his
world disintegrates and ends in catastrophe.
4.0 CONCLUSION
The basic concept of drama is imitation. This is why we say that drama
is an imitation of life. In dramatic imitation, we should not expect an
exact reproduction of life because drama is limited by time and space.
Besides it is very difficult even in real life for any imitation of human
action to be exactly like the original.
5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit, we have tried to explain the concept of imitation in drama
and why it is the most important aspect of drama. We have also
illustrated how imitation occurs in drama, the extent to which a
dramatist can imitate and his limitations. You understand now what we
mean when we say that drama mirrors the society.
“Imitation in drama is limited by time and space”. Discuss.
Scholes, R. and C. H. Klaus (1971). Elements of Drama. New York:
21

UNIT 4 ELEMENTS OF DRAMA: PLOT
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Definition of Plot
3.2 Structure of the Plot
3.3 Types of Plots
4.0 Summary
5.0 Conclusion
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Whenever you are reading or watching a play, you are concerned with
the story that it tells. The play may be about an orphan whose
step-mother maltreats so much that you feel that he will die.
Incidentally, it is not only that he survives but eventually fate smiles on
him and he becomes very wealthy. What makes this story interesting is
the way the incidents are arranged. This arrangement is what we refer to
as plot. If you have been watching Nigerian home movies, you may
have observed that there are many movies that deal with ritual killings
either for the purposes of making money or for acquisition of power.
The way the story is presented is what makes a particular movie better
than all the others on the same subject. You are going to learn
everything about plot and why Aristotle believes that it is the ‘soul’ of
drama.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
By the end of this unit,
• You will be in a position to appreciate plays
• You will be able to identify different types of plots
• You will be able give different definitions of plot
• You will be in a position to understand and define plot in your
own words.
• You will be able to differentiate between plot and story
22

3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 Definition of Plot
A lot of volumes have been written on drama and aspects of drama of
which plot is one of them. The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary
defines plot as a “plan or line of events of a story especially of a novel
or a story”. In dramatic plot, unlike in the novel where the author
describes the characters and incidents they are involved in, the
playwright presents the characters in action. This means that plot in
drama develops through what the characters do or say, what is done to
them, and or what is said about them or to them. This is why in his
opinion, Grebanier describes plot as “a matter of action of deeds that are
done during the course of the story”.
In One World of Literature, Shirley Geak-Lin Lim, compiles the
following definitions of plot from different scholars which I believe will
give you a broader view of plot;
• The plot as the organization of action was traditionally conceived as
a sequence of important moments arranged chronologically, with an
introduction, series of complications intensifying the conflict, a
climax clinching the fate of the central characters, a resolution and a
denouement that concludes and summarizes the issues (p. 1107).
• Plot is the organization of a series of action or events usually moving
through conflicts to a climax and resolution. The arrangement often
implies causality and achieves certain effects (p.1135).
• Plot does not concentrate on an individual hero or his fate or her fate.
Instead, its open structure permits the inclusion of other important
but minor characters. (p. 1108).
In his own contribution, Oscar Brockett maintains that plot is not just a
summary of the incidents of a play but that it also refers to the
organization of all elements into a meaningful pattern, the overall
structure of the play(6). In Play Production, Nelms sees plot as the
anecdote told to illustrate the theme, and the bare bones of the action
and therefore the key to the structure of the play. According to Scholes
and Klaus, plot is a highly specialized form of experience. In drama,
every event is part of a carefully designed pattern and process. And that
is what we call plot. He explains that plot is “…a wholly interconnected
system of events, deliberately selected and arranged, in order to fulfill a
complex set of dramatic purposes and theatrical conditions… it
comprises everything which takes place in the imaginative world of the
23

play. And the totality of the events must create a coherent imitation of
the world” (65).
You have seen that there are many opinions on plot but I cannot
conclude without looking at the insistence of the foremost critic
Aristotle that tragedy is an imitation not of men but of an action and of
life. He further explains that since life consists of action plot is the most
important aspect and the soul of tragedy. He mentioned tragedy
specifically because then, the comic writers were allowed to invent their
own plots. The Greek tragic plots were based on the destiny of man and
the gods were involved in the action. The tragic poet (playwright) was
expected to base the plot on true events, myths and legends and so his
choice was limited because not many families were “doomed” and not
many individuals were driven to murder or incest that aroused pity and
fear. He maintains that incidents presented, must be according to the law
of probability and necessity.
Plot is the structure of the actions which is ordered and presented in
order to achieve particular emotional and artistic effects in a play. It
helps to give the play an organic unity and a coherence that makes the
play easy to understand. A good play should therefore possess a unified
plot. Plot in simple terms is the arrangement of a story in such a way
that there will be a sequential, logical and chronological order. The plot
should be arranged in such a way that the action starts from the
beginning rises to a climax and falls to a resolution. It is arranged in this
form – exposition, discovery, point of attack, complication, crisis,
climax, denouement or resolution.
Some people confuse plot with story. To them, plot means a story
which the play tells. It is therefore necessary at this point to make the
distinction between plot and story so that you will not fall into the same
error. A story is a series of incidents whose development does not
necessarily depend on each other which means that the incidents may or
may not be related or connected. Plot on the other hand, is the way the
story is arranged and it thrives on causality and logical unity. In it, one
incident happens and as a result the next one happens and the situation
must be related to each other. It has a beginning, middle and an end. A
beginning gives rise to the middle, which in turn raises the dramatic
question that is answered in the end, thus completing what was started in
the beginning.
Dramatic plot is also expected to produce a result or an effect on the
audience. The playwright, therefore, tries to fashion his play in a
particular way to produce a particular impression on his audience. This
explains why a theme like corruption, could be treated by different
playwrights. Each playwright by the use of plot and other devices gives
24

his own perspective, understanding of what corruption is, its effects on
the society and why it should be eradicated. He could, also, in the
course of the plot, suggest means or ways through which corruption can
be reduced to a barest minimum or its complete eradication. The
success of a play depends mainly on the plot. It helps the audience or
reader to understand the theme and the motivations of the characters in
the play.
Playwrights design their plots in most cases, to achieve different
purposes like to create tragic comic or ironic effects. As the plot
progresses, it arouses the reader’s curiosity and expectations concerning
future events in the play especially the fate of some characters. This is
called suspense. A good playwright makes an effective use of suspense
to sustain his audience. Plot is a highly specialized form of experience.
Let us use our daily experiences to illustrate and see just how
specialized it is by considering what happens to us daily: we probably
converse with a number of people and perform a variety of action. But
most of these events have very little to do with one another, and they
usually serve no purpose other than to satisfy our pleasure, our work, or
our bodily necessities. Thus the events that take place in our daily
existence do not and cannot embody a significant pattern or process
even in a boarding school.
There is an extent to which a person’s life can be patterned. But in
drama, every event is part of a carefully designed pattern and process.
And this is what we call plot. In a good plot, the interest of spectators
has to be deeply engaged and continuously sustained. This means that
the plot must be arranged in such a way that the interest must be aroused
and engaged by events that make up a process capable of being
represented on stage. This means that plot is not confined merely to
what takes place on stage. Plot includes reported, as well as represented,
action. In Oedipus Rex, for example, we witness what we might call a
process of criminal investigation, in which the investigator discovers
himself to be the criminal and inflicts the appropriate punishment for his
crime. You will also notice that in the play, we do not witness all of the
events that make up that process and contribute to its development.
The three types of action in drama are reported, physical and mental.
In reported action, an action that is not part of the present action on
stage is reported by a character or a group of characters. The action
could be about an incident in the past like the death of Polybus or an
incident that happened in the course of the action of the play. In the
play, the wisdom of the oracle is reported by Creon, the death of
Polybus is reported by the First Messenger, the suicide of Jocasta and
the self blinding of Oedipus are reported by the Second Messenger.
Obviously, all of these events take place in the imaginative world of the
25

play but are not presented directly to the audience. (Can you recall other
reasons why some of these events are not presented on stage?) They are
part of the plot. But they are not part of what we call the scenario-----
the action that takes place on stage. Thus if we wish to identify the plot
of a play, we will have to distinguish it from the scenario because it is
not the same thing as the plot. We can recognize this distinction in
another way if we consider the order in which events may be presented
to us in a play. In Oedipus Rex, for example, the death of Polybus takes
place before the time of the action on stage however it is reported to us
only after the stage action is well under way.
The physical action is based on the current incidents in the play, the
concrete action on stage. It includes the movements, gestures, facial
expressions and other forms of physical action made by the characters
and seen by the audience. The mental action includes the action in
which the audience is left to imagine what happened. In most cases, it
comes at the end of the play as the audience is left to imagine what
happened to a character or a group of characters. This is one of the main
reasons why movie producers produce the part two of some of their
films. In the plot, of course, these events are linked to one another by an
unalterable chronology. But in the scenario, these same events have
been presented to us in an entirely different order. Thus in studying the
plot of a play, we must examine not only the events of which it consists,
but also the complex ways in which those events are presented by the
scenario.
3.2 Structure of the Plot
As stated earlier, a good plot should have a beginning, middle, and an
end. Oscar Broccket explains further that the beginning contains the
exposition or the setting forth of information about earlier events, the
identity of characters and the present situation. Another aspect of the
beginning is the point of attack which is the moment at which the main
story starts as a potential conflict is identified. This is more obvious in
classical plays usually, is focused early on the potential conflict or a
question and its resolution leads to the end of the play. Such plays start
with the inciting incident. This incident is usually an occurrence that
sets the main action in motion. A good example is in found in Oedipus
Rex. In the play, there is a plague in Thebes, the people are suffering and
lamenting. Oedipus seeks solution from the oracle of Delphi and this
leads to the major dramatic question (in this case, the identity of
Oedipus) around which the play revolves.
The middle is made up of series of complications. A complication is a
new element which changes the direction of the action. It leads to the
discovery of new information. The series of complications culminate in
26

crises and climax. In the play, the complication starts with the arrival
of Creon with the information that the killer they seek is in their midst.
Consequently, the blind seer is invited and there are more complications
as he accuses Oedipus of being the murderer. There is a crisis with the
shepherd’s revelation of the true parentage of Oedipus and this leads to
the climax. The end is the last part of the play. Here issues are
unraveled, untied and resolved. In the play, the killer of Laius is
discovered towards the denouement. Oedipus realizes that he has
fulfilled the Delphic oracle’s prophecy; he actually killed his father and
married his mother.
It is important to note here that you may not find all these elements in
one play. Each playwright adopts his own style. Remember that
Aristotle based his theory and postulations on already –written Greek
plays. Apparently, he read and studied the plays critically to arrive at his
conclusions.
3.3 Types of Plot
We have tried so far to explain to you that plot is just the summary of
the play’s incidents. Although it includes the story-line, it refers
basically to the organization of all the incidents into a meaningful
pattern that has a beginning, middle and end. There are different types of
plots and each is designed for a particular purpose. Some plots, for
instance, are designed to achieve tragic effect and others the effects of
comedy, satire, or romance. However all plays do not have what we
might call good plots, that is, with the beginning, middle and end. So,
we have different types of plots.
In a play, as said earlier, we have the main plot and subject (sub) plot.
The main plot deals with the major events and the sub plot deals with
other incidents which can be complete and interesting stories on their
own. However, a skillful playwright uses the sub plot to advance our
appreciation and understanding of the main plot. According to Abrams,
“the sub plot serves to broaden our perspective on the main plot and to
enhance rather than diffuse the overall effects”( 129) of the play.
Aristotle divides plot into two – complex and simple plots. A simple
plot is that in which the action is simple and continuous and in which a
change of fortune takes place without reversal of the situation and
without recognition. In a complex plot, on the other hand, the change is
accompanied by a reversal of the situation or by recognition or by both.
He also identified two types of plots (a) the unified plot and (b) the
episodic plot. He refers to the unified plot as the well-made plot. In the
unified plot, the incidents are presented in a logical order and there is a
causal arrangement. What do we mean by causal arrangement? The
27

play starts from the beginning followed by the middle and the incidents
in the middle are consequences of what happened in the beginning and
these are resolved in the end. It is a kind of cause and effect
presentation. The incidents will be so related that when anything is
removed, it will create illogicality.
In episodic plot, there is no causal relationship between the incidents.
The only unifying factor is that the incidents are related or happening to
one man. In unified plot, the removal of any incident affects the organic
structure of the play, but in episodic plot, you can remove an aspect of
the plot without changing or destroying the plot. It means, therefore,
that the part that was removed is not necessary. Death of a Salesman
(one of the plays set for this course) has an episodic plot. It is made
manifest more by the presentations of the incidents in Willy Loman’s
head, especially the appearances of his brother Ben.
He recommends that a play should contain a single and not a double plot
and condemned the episodic plot which is a plot in which the episodes
have no probable or inevitable connection. He suggests that although
plot is an imitation of an action, this must not be any action but an action
in which the various incidents are constructed in such a way that if any
part is displaced or deleted, the whole plot is disturbed and dislocated.
This is the unity of plot. A good plot must therefore not end
haphazardly but must have a beginning, middle and an end, and should
be well co-coordinated to give a coherent whole. The action which
makes up the plot should be distinguished from a series of unrelated
incidents because a plot must contain a logical unity within the play. It
begins at a point and the middle raises the question which is answered in
the end and that completes the action started in the beginning. All the
incidents in the play are expected to contribute to the plot.
i. What is plot?
4.0 CONCLUSION
Plot is the arrangement of incidents in the play. Like all other elements
of fiction, it has interdependence with character. Any competent writer
organizes the incidents in such a way that each will have the maximum
impact on the reader’s response and advance the story’s total objective.
If the incidents are arranged sequentially from the beginning to the end
and one event leads to the other, you will say that the play has a
chronological, causal plot. If however they are presented in a disjointed
manner, you say that it has an episodic plot. Simple plot is when the
28

story is straightforward and easy to understand but when it is difficult,
you say that it has a complicated or complex plot.
5.0 SUMMARY
Plot is the incidents in a play. It helps to give the play an organic unity
and a coherence that makes the play easy to understand. A good play
should therefore possess a unified plot with a beginning, middle and the
end. Plot in simple terms is the arrangement of the events/actions in a
story in such a way that there will be a sequential, logical and
chronological order.
1. Explain what you understand by unified plot and episodic plot.
Abrams, M. H. (1971). A Glossary of Literary Terms. New York: Holt,
Rinehart and Winston.
Brocket, Oscar G. (1974). Theatre: An Introduction. New York: Holt
Scholes R.and C. H. Klaus (1971). Elements of Drama. New York.
29

UNIT 5 ELEMENTS OF DRAMA: ACTION
CONTENTS
1.0Introduction
2.0Objectives
3.0Main Content
3.1 Dramatic Action
3.2 Motivation
3.3 Types of Dramatic Action
3.3.1 Physical Action
3.3.1.1 Movement/Gesture
3.3.1.2 Mime
3.3.1.3 Pantomime
3.3.2 Reported Action
3.3.3 Mental Action
4.0Conclusion
5.0Summary
6.0Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0References/Further Readings
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This unit introduces you to another element of drama which is action.
You will learn the importance of action in drama. You will also find out
if there is a difference between dramatic action and action the way you
understand it. The story in drama is presented through the interaction of
characters as they talk to one another- dialogue. However, you know
that dialogue alone (two people just talking to each other) does not
constitute drama.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
• Explain what constitutes dramatic action.
• Appreciate the motivation behind certain actions of certain
characters in a play.
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 Dramatic Action
In simple terms, action is the process of doing something or the
performance itself. If somebody slaps you and you retaliate, there is an
action. The series of events that constitute the plot in any literary work is
30

referred to as action It includes what the characters say, do, think and in
some cases, fail to do. Action involves activity. This activity becomes
more pronounced in drama where the action is presented in concrete
form as the actors present the story to the audience for entertainment and
education. In drama, especially during performance, you see the
characters moving around to perform certain tasks, talk to one another,
laugh, cry, fight, shoot or do any thing according to the needs of the
moment. All these are dramatic actions. In the novel, you read the story
as is told by the novelist and see the action in your imagination but in
drama the dramatist presents the action through what the characters do
or say. In fact it involves all the activities of all the characters in the
play.
Drama is the only genre of literature in which the story is presented in
dialogue from the beginning to the end. However, dialogue alone does
not constitute dramatic action. What makes it drama is the action that is
involved. Dramatic action includes facial expression, gestures and
movements. So, what makes dialogue dramatic is the presence of action.
It is only through action that the playwright can portray the human
situations he chooses to dramatize. It is the action that propels the plot
and helps to advance the theme. In simple terms drama is a story told in
action by actors who impersonate the characters in the story on a stage.
Dramatic action is a “…series of incidents that are logically arranged by
the playwright to achieve specific response like joy, pity, fear,
indignation, ridicule, laughter, thoughtful contemplation, from the
audience”. (Brocket 68) Each character is specially created to fulfill the
specific design of the dramatist. In The Marriage of Anansewa, for
instance, Efua Sutherland deliberately created Ananse to be an
intelligent, witty, crafty and easy-going man. His nature helps him to get
not only a rich husband for his daughter but also ensures that the man
who marries his daughter actually loves her. The playwright also
advances her theme of excessive materialism and ostentation in Ghana
through the easy-going nature and action of Ananse. If you have read
the play, you will recall that Ananse, decides to go to church only when
he became rich. It shows that people go to church to show off and
display their wealth; according him:
Yes, tomorrow, I go church,
To deposit with the best of spenders.
He also decides to attend the memorial services ‘which promises to
draw the biggest crowds’. This helps to highlight the playwright’s view
on the ostentatious nature of the society.
31

You remember that in our discussion of plot in Unit 4, we talked about
causality and logical arrangement of incidents. What is causality? Is
there any relationship between causality and dramatic action? Yes.
According to Oscar Brocket, “the cause to effect arrangement of
incidents sets up the situation; the desires and motivations of the
characters out of which the later events develop” (32). This logical
arrangement of incidents presupposes that the action must be presented
in such a way that it should make sense to the audience. Any action
performed by any character must be as a result of an earlier action. Thus
in the play The Marriage of Anansewa, Ananse is poor so decides to
take an action that will help him to get rich. What does he do? He
decides to give his daughter out in marriage and in the process make
money for himself. He writes to four wealthy chiefs. The effect of this
action is that they send money and gifts to him. The effect of this is that
he becomes rich. The effect of the wealth is that he pays her daughter’s
school fees and renovates his house.
The action in drama is usually organized in a climatic order with the
scenes increasing in interest by increasing suspense and emotional
intensity. In the play, from Ananse’s action in the opening scene, when
it appears that Ananse wants to sell his daughter Anansewa like ‘some
parcel to a customer’, your interest is aroused. The next thing is to find
out how he is going to do it. As the play progresses, and Ananse
entangles himself in the mess, the suspense and emotional intensity is
heightened. You can see now that dramatic action is constructed in such
a way that it answers the suspenseful question, ‘what happened’. Action
in drama involves gestures, facial expressions, inflexion of voice and
movement. Some gestures and expressions actually present more
actions than words.
Dramatic action also includes what the character fails to do. In Hamlet,
the popular quote ‘to be or not to be’ refers to the action. Hamlet is
contemplating on the proper action to take against his uncle who he
suspects killed his father. He does not want to act until he is sure of it.
He therefore organizes a play and presents a similar experience in the
play. Luckily, he gets the desired effect as Claudius’ reaction points to
his guilt. It would have been possible for Hamlet to kill Claudius’
immediately but that would have been the end of the play. So, Hamlet’s
inaction helps to increase the suspense and emotional intensity of the
play.
You can see that all the actions mentioned here are logical. For the
action to be logical, the characters must be well- motivated.
32

3.2 Motivation
Motivation is the drive behind every action a character takes in a play.
In The Marriage of Anansewa, poverty drives Ananse to ‘sell’ his
daughter. In The Lion and the Jewel, the girls are excited as they discuss
the magazine that contains Sidi’s pictures. Their excitement is motivated
by the fact they have never seen the picture of anybody from their
community in a magazine. Also in the play, Baroka’s motivation for
marrying Sidi is to subdue her and prevent her from being more popular
than him. What this means is that there must be a reason for any action
taken by every character in the play. In drama, because the action is
presented in dialogue and the playwright does not have the space to
explain the action like the novelist, some of the actions that cannot be
incorporated in dialogue are presented in the stage direction. The
explanation of the action in the stage direction helps the reader to enjoy
the action and also helps the director in the blocking of the play during
rehearsals before the performance.
3.3 Types of Dramatic Action
In the drama could be presented in the following three forms:
(a) Physical Action;
(b) Reported Action; and
(c) Mental Action.
3.3.1 Physical Action
The physical action in drama refers to the movements made by a
character in the play. It is visible and may or may not involve dialogue.
Physical action could in form of movements/gestures, mime or
pantomime. These are explained in details below.
3.3.2 Movement/Gesture
This includes the steps taken by the character while he is speaking or in
the process of undertaking other tasks. Movement is used to describe
mainly the actual movements like walking, running, pacing, kneeling,
lying down, standing or sitting. Movement is simply the process of
moving, change of place, position, or passing from one place to another.
It involves the activities or whereabouts of a character or a group of
characters. These movements are usually accompanied by dialogue. This
differentiates it from mime and pantomime which are actions without
words. Closely related to movement is gesture. Generally, gesture refers
to body movements like position, posture, and expressions. Gestures are
used by characters to express their thoughts, feelings, or as a rhetorical
33

device. It could be used as a symbol to indicate intentions or evoke a
response. Characters also use gesture a signal, motion, or an indication
for his feelings or an action to taken by another character.
In plays, you identify the movements and gestures through the dialogue
and the stage direction. Can you identify the movement/gesture in this
excerpt from The Marriage of Anansewa:
AYA: [Entering to find him in this state] My son, is this weeping
you’re weeping?
What is the matter?
ANANSE: [Wringing out the handkerchief,] Mother!
AYA: My stalwart son.
ANANSE: Mother. [He returns the handkerchief and acting like a
man in conflict.
Yells out:] Destroyers! Evil-doers! They won’t rest until
they have ruined me.
Enemies whose outward appearance makes you think they
are not enemies.
AYA: [Wide-eyed with confusion] Enemies? It’s that woman
Christy, isn’t it? The minute I met that woman here I felt
instinctively that trouble marches alongside people of her
kind.
ANANSE: [Bursting into fears afresh] Handkerchief! (Act 3, p52)
3.3.3 Mime
Another form of physical action is mime. Sometimes, certain actions are
presented without words to show meaning for the purpose of
entertainment by dramatists. This is mime. The Oxford Dictionary
describes mime as a dumb show, mummery, pantomime, the use of
gesture to indicate certain action or indication by sign language. It is
regarded as a simple facial drama that is characterized by mimicry and
the ludicrous representation of familiar types of characters. Mime is
therefore the art or technique of expressing or conveying action,
character, or emotion without words but using only gestures and
movements. In other words, it is an expression of action or performance
using such means. In a play, the actions in mime are usually enclosed in
the stage direction and mostly in italics. Some of these mimes are
flashbacks, that is those events from the past that are recalled to help
explain certain things in the play but some of them are presented as part
of the present action in the play. In The Lion and the Jewel, for instance,
the mime on the arrival of the journalist in the village and the one on the
road construction are used to recall past actions.
34

LAKUNLE: [A terrific shout and a clap of drums. Lakunle enters into
the spirit of the dance with enthusiasm. He takes over
from Sidi, stations his cast all over the stage as the jungle,
leaves the right to-stage clear from the four girls who are
to dance the motor-car. A mime follows of the visitor’s
entry into Ilujinle, and his short stay among the villagers.
The four girls couch on the floor, as four wheels of a car.
Lakunle directs their spacing then takes his place his
place in the middle, and sits on air. He alone does not
dance. He does realistic miming. Soft throbbing drums,
gradually swelling in volume, and the four ‘ wheels’ begin
to rotate the upper halves of their bodies in a
perpendicular circles. Lakunle, clownin the driving
motions, obviously enjoying this fully. The drums gain
tempo faster, faster, faster. A sudden crash of drums and
the girls quiver and dance the stall. Another effort at
rhythm fails, and the ‘stalling wheels’ give a
corresponding shudder, finally, and let their faces fall
on their laps. Lakunle tampers with a number of controls,
climbs out of the car, and looks underneath it. His lips
indicate that he is swearing violently. Examines the
wheels, pressing them to test the pressure, betrays the
devil in him by seizing his chance to pinch the girl’s
bottom. One yells and bites him on the ankle. He climbs
hurriedly back into the car, makes a final attempt to re-
start it, gives it up and decides to abandon it. Picks up his
camera and helmet, pockets a flask a flask of whisky from
which he takes a swig, before beginning the trek. The
drums resume beating, a different darker tone and rhythm,
varying the journey. Full use of ‘gangan’ and ‘iya ilu’ The
‘trees’ perform a subdued and unobtrusive dance on the
same spot. Details as a snake slithering out of the
branches and poising over Lakunle’s head when he leans
against a tree for a rest. He flees, restoring his nerves
shortly after by a swig. A monkey drops suddenly on his
path and gibbers at him before scampering off. A roar
comes from somewhere, etc. His nerves go rapidly and he
recuperates himself by copious draughts. He is soon tipsy,
battles violently with the undergrowth and curses silently
as he swats the flies off his tortured body.
Suddenly from somewhere in the bush comes the sound of
a girl singing. The Traveler shakes his head but the sound
persists. Convicted he is suffering from sun-stroke, he
drinks again. His last drop, so he tosses the bottle in the
direction of the sound, only to be rewarded by a splash, a
35

scream and a torrent of abuse, and finally, silence again.
He tip-toes, clears away the obstructing growth, blinks
hard and rubs his eyes. Whatever he has seen still
remains. He whistles softly, unhitches his camera and
begins to jockey himself into a good position for a take.
Backwards and forwards, and his eyes are so closely
glued to the lens that he puts forward a careless foot and
disappears completely. There is a loud splash and the
invisible singer alters her next tone to a sustained scream.
Quickened rhythm and shortly afterwards, amidst sounds
of splashes, Sidi appears on stage, with a piece of cloth
only partially covering her. Lakunle follows a little later,
more slowly, trying to wring out the water from his
clothes. He has lost all his appendages except the camera.
Sidi has run right across the stage, and returns a short
while later, accompanied by the Villagers. The same cast
has disappeared and reforms behind Sidi as the
villagers. They are in an ugly mood, and in spite of his
protests, haul him off to the town centre, in front of the
‘Odin’ tree.
Everything comes to a sudden stop as Baroda the Bale, wiry, goateed,
tougher than his sixty-two years, himself emerges at this point from
behind the tree. All go down, prostrate or kneeling with greetings of
‘Cabbies’ ‘Baba’ etc. All except Lakunle, who begins to sneak off.]
(14-15)
This is also a good example of the play-within-the-play. You know that
the playwright has no time and space to explain or describe every
situation and event as much as the novelist. That is why he uses the
stage direction to present the action that could not be incorporated in
dialogue.
3.3.4 Pantomime
Pantomime is synonymous with mime. It is a term for silent acting; the
form of dramatic activity in silent motion, gesture, facial expression, in
which costume are relied upon to express emotional state or action. It
was popular in ancient Rome where it was a dramatic entertainment in
which performers expressed meaning through gestures accompanied by
music. It also refers to some traditional theatrical performances
originally significant gesture without speech, in mime, but now
consisting of a dramatized fairy tale or stories with music, dancing,
topical jokes and conventional characters frequently played by actors of
the opposite sex. It is chiefly performed in Britain around Christmas.
36

The actual pantomime opens on Boxing Day. Pantomime is also used to
dramatise absurd or outrageous behaviour.
3.4 Reported Action
In dramatic action, sometimes, it is not possible to present every action
on stage. This could be as a result of the prevalent convention or
because the action cannot be realized on stage. In the Classical Period,
for instance, violence was not presented on stage. The playwrights were
expected to maintain single settings indoor actions and violence were
reported on stage. In King Oedipus, the death of Jocasta is reported on
stage. In The Marriage of Anansewa, the taxi that takes Aya and Kweku
to Nanka is not brought on stage because the stage cannot contain it.
Also in Arms and the Man, the cavalry charge by Sergius is reported and
not presented because it will be very difficult to bring a cavalry on stage.
3.5 Mental Action
Mental action is an action that takes place in the character’s mind. In
most cases, mental action is manifested in facial expressions.
4.0 CONCLUSION
In this unit, we have tried to explain dramatic action. We have also used
many plays to illustrate this. Most of the plays are the ones you will
study for this course. You should therefore ensure that you read all the
plays because they will help you to understand the discussions better.
5.0. SUMMARY
Dramatic action is simply the activities which the characters are
involved in any dramatic piece. This includes movements, gestures, and
other expressions used to communicate the message of the play to the
audience. Ideally, dramatic action should be properly motivated and
presented in a logical order. However, there are some cases where
illogical action is used in some aspects of the play or for the entire play.
This is usually for a purpose. Action in drama could be with or without
words hence we have mime and pantomime.
Explain logical and illogical action in drama
37

Scholes R. and C. H. Klaus. (1971) Elements of Drama. New York:
38

UNIT 6 ELEMENTS OF DRAMA: DIALOGUE
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 What is Dialogue?
3.2 Importance of Dialogue
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
1.0 INTRODUCTION
We have said in different units that what makes drama unique is the fact
that the story is presented in dialogue from the beginning to the end.
What then is dialogue? In simple terms, dialogue is a conversation
between two or more people. It is used mostly in fiction especially,
plays. In this unit, we will discuss it as another important element of
drama.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to
• Explain dialogue.
• State what makes dramatic dialogue unique.
• State the importance of dialogue in drama.
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 What is dialogue?
Dialogue is a discussion between two or more people. In literary works,
it refers to a composition in a conversational form. In the novel it is
incorporated in the story, that is, as the story progresses, the novelist
gives two or more characters the opportunity to discuss or comment on
certain issues and the story continues in prose form. However, in drama,
the entire story is presented in dialogue. This explains why some people
find it difficult to read plays because you see the name of a character,
then, what the character says, the name of another character and the
response as seen below: In addition to that, you must read the stage
direction for you to understand the story, the motivation of the
characters, the place where the action is taking place and other
39

information provided about the environment and the personality of the
characters. Many people therefore find the reading of a play
cumbersome and prefer to read a novel where they read and enjoy the
story without interruption. Can you identify the names of the characters,
the stage direction?
ANANSE: [When the song is over] While life is whipping you, rain
also pours down to whip you some more. Whatever it was that man did
wrong at the beginning of things must have been really awful for all of
us to have to suffer so. [He calls:] Anansewa ! Where is that typewriter
of yours? Bring it here. [Pause] I’ve been thinking, thinking, and
thinking, until my head is earth quaking. Won’t somebody who thinks
he has discovered the simple solution for living this life kindly step
forward and help out the rest of us? [To the audience:]
Oh the world is hard,
Is hard,
The world is really hard.
[Taking off his raincoat and calling again] Anansewa ! Where is that
typewriter I bought for you at a price that nearly drove me to sell
myself? Bring it here. [He closes up the umbrella.]
[Enter ANANSEWA dressed for going out, and receives the typewriter
from PROPERTY MAN.]
ANANSEWA: Oh father, is it raining?
ANANSE: Yes, it’s raining. It’s rain combining with life to
beat your father down. [He leans the umbrella
against the wall.]
ANANSEWA: Oh. I didn’t even know you were not in the house.
The short dialogue above is taken from The Marriage of Anansewa and
it is an exchange between Ananse and his daughter. Their names are
written in bold letters to indicate that what follows is what the person
says. This is unlike what we have in the novel where what is said by a
character is marked off with inverted commas and the novelist will
indicate who said it.
Dialogue could be described as a verbal interchange of thoughts or
ideas. The Oxford Dictionary explains that dialogue involves two or
more people and could be in form of expression, conversation, talk,
chat, tête-à-tête, chit chat, debate, argument, exchange of views,
40

discussion, conference, converse, interlocution, confabulation, gossip,
parley, palaver, spoken part, script, and lines.
The forms of dialogue listed above can be found in drama depending on
the perspective of the play; the particular section of the play; the
dramatic mode or the message the playwright wants to convey. You may
ask how debate or conference could form part of dialogue in a play. It is
possible for the playwright to create a scene on a conference and as the
conference is going on, there could be question and answer session
which involves dialogue. This applies to other forms of dialogue listed
above.
According to Adewoye(1993), quoted in Iwuchukwu(2001),dialogue in
drama is expected to embody these literary and stylistic values:
• It advances the action in a definite way because it is not used for
mere ornamentation or decoration.
• It is consistent with the character of the speakers, their social
positions and special interests. It varies in tone and expression
according to nationalities.
• It gives the impression of naturalness without being actual, verbatim
record of what may have been said, since fiction is concerned with
“the semblance of reality,” not reality itself.
• It presents interplay of ideas and personalities among the people
conversing; it sets forth a conversational give and take and
not simply a series of remarks of alternating speakers.
Dialogue is a highly specialized form of conversation that is designed to
suit various contexts and modes of drama. It is not exactly like everyday
conversation where we adjust style to suit the occasion and the
personalities we are discussing with. In doing this, unconsciously, we
use particular facial expressions, bodily gestures, vocal inflections.
Sometimes, we pause or rephrase our feelings and ideas, as we adjust to
circumstances to suit our thoughts and the thoughts of those we are
talking to. It is not possible to reproduce it like that in drama. The
playwright imagines these feelings and ideas, put them together in a
more condensed form. This is because of the limitations of dramatic
performance. The dialogue is designed in a way that it must be heard
and understood by the audience. As a result, the continuity of the
dialogue should be marked out clearly at every point.
Drama is presented only in dialogue so that it should be designed in
such a way that through it, the reader or audience must be able to infer
the nature of each character, the public and private relationship among
the several characters, the past as well as the present circumstances of
the various characters. From the discussion so far, you will agree with
41

Scholes and Klaus (1971) that dialogue is an extraordinary significant
form of conversation because it is through it that every play implies the
total make-up of its imaginative world. It is also important that dialogue
imply the whole range of expressions, gestures, inflections, movements
and sometimes information on the environment and the total atmosphere
of the play. Read the example below, an excerpt from The Lion and the
Jewel and see what you can infer from it.
LAKUNLE: Sidi, my love will open your mind
Like the chaste leaf in the morning, when
The sun touches it.
SIDI: If you stat that I will run away
I had enough of that nonsense yesterday.
LAKUNLE: Nonsense? Nonesense? Do you hear that?
Does anybody listen? Can the stones
Bear to listen to this? Do you call it
Nonesense that I poured the waters of a=my soul
To wash your feet?
SIDI: You did what?
LAKUNLE: Wasted! Wasted! Sidi, my heart
Bursts into flowers with may love.
But you and the dead of this village
Trample it with the feet of ignorance.
SIDI: [shakes her head in bafflement]
If the snail finds splinters in his shell
He changes house. Why do you stay?
LAKUNLE: Faith. Because I have faith.
Oh Sidi, vow to me your own undying love
And I will scorn the jibes of these bush minds
Who know no better. Swear, Sidi,
Swear you will be my wife and
I will stand against earth, heaven, and nine
Hells…
SIDI: Now there you go again.
One little thing
And you must chirrup like a cockatoo.
You talk and talk and deafen me
With wit words which always sound the same
And make no meaning.
I’ve told you and I say it again
42

I shall marry you today, next week
Or any day you name
But my bride-price must first be paid.
Aha, now you turn away.
But I tell you, Lakunle I must have
The full bride-price. Will you make me
A laughing-stock? Well, do as you please.
But Sidi will not make herself
A cheap bowl for the village spit.
LAKUNLE: O n my head fall their scorn.
SIDI: They will say I was no virgin
That I was forced to sell my shame
And marry you without a price.
LAKUNLE: A savage custom, barbaric, outdated,
Rejected, denounced, accursed,
Excommunicated, archaic, degrading,
Humiliating, unspeakable, redundant.
SIDI: Is the bag empty? Why did you stop?
LAKUNLE: I own a Shorter Companion
Dictionary, but I have ordered
The Longer One-you wait!
SIDI: Just pay the price.
From this dialogue between Lakunle and Sidi, you can see that Lakunle
is an educated buffoon who wants to marry a lady in the village without
fulfilling the requirements of the people’s customs. He apes the white
man and despises the African cultural heritage. Sidi is a decent but
uneducated village girl who wants to maintain her dignity.
i. Open any page of one of the plays recommended for this course,
read that page very well and write the things you learn about the
characters and or the central idea of the play.
4.0 CONCLUSION
Dialogue is a verbal communication between two or more people and it
is very important to the dramatist especially in written plays. The story
of drama is presented through the characters as they talk to one another
43

and relate to one another. Characters are revealed through dialogue.
Also incidents and events are exposed and explicated through dialogue.
5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit you have learnt the importance dialogue in any dramatic
presentation. You learn everything you should know in any dramatic
piece through the dialogue. Every dramatist must construct the dialogue
in a logical and coherent manner. However it is not compulsory for the
dialogue in absurdist plays to be coherent or logical.
1. Explain what you understand by dialogue and state its importance
in drama.
Iwuchukwu, Chinweikpe (2001). Mastery of Literature Vol 3. Lagos:
Macckho Ricckho Press,
.
Scholes R. and C. H. Klaus. (1971). Elements of Drama. New York:
44

MODULE 2 CONVENTIONS AND TECHNIQUES
Unit 1 Dramatic Technique: Characterization
Unit 2 Other Dramatic Techniques
Unit 3 Dramatic Conventions
UNIT1 DRAMATIC TECHNIQUE: CHARACTERISATION
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Characterization
3.2 Character Analysis
3.3 Types of Characters
3.4 Discovering a Character
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
7.0 References/ Further Readings
1.0 INTRODUCTION
We have made a lot of references to characters in drama. This unit is
devoted to characterization as a dramatic technique. You will therefore
learn what you are expected to know about characterization and
character analysis.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
• distinguish between characterization and character analysis;
• discuss characterization as a dramatic technique;
• list and explain the major types of characters in drama.
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
Characterization is the playwright’s imaginative creation of characters
that can effectively dramatize his story. The action of the play is
presented through such characters. He does so by imbuing the
45

characters with certain recognizable human traits and qualities. These
qualities include physical attributes, moral, psychological and emotional
dispositions, their attitude towards other characters and situations, and
so on. At the point of conceptualization of the idea he wants to present
in his play, he thinks of the best way to present it to make it interesting
and at the same time informative. He builds this idea into a story form
and thinks of the type of characters that can tell this story effectively.
So he uses the characters to explicate his theme and propel the plot, His
ability to craft the play in such a way that each character blends well in
the plot is called characterization. These characters are presented and
they develop in the course of the action. In most cases, the characters
grow from innocence to maturity or from ignorance to knowledge. They
also change according to situations and events. When this is done, the
characters are referred to as round characters.
In Arms and the Man for instance, Raina grows from innocence to
maturity in the course of the play. You will recall that at the beginning
of the play, Raina is very romantic and full of fantasy first about Sergius
and later about her Chocolate Cream Soldier. Her understanding of love
is very shallow. By the end of the play, she realizes the difference
between reality and fantasy as she marries Captain Bluntschli. On his
own part, Sergius realizes his ignorance of the military and also the need
to marry for love and not for position.
The important elements in characterization are consistency and
motivation. A good playwright must craft his play in such a way that
his characters are consistent. You don’t expect a character to behave like
an educated young woman in the opening scene and in the following
acts like an illiterate village girl. This could happen if there is a proper
motivation for that. For example, if she is pretending to be what she is
not in order to obtain some information, get something or to escape from
danger. Motivation in characterization means that there must be a good
reason for any action that is taken by every character in the play. What is
the reason for Captain Bluntschli’s flight from the battlefield? A soldier
who is paid to fight cannot just run away like that. He runs away
because they do not have ammunition, he cannot fight with his bare
hand so he runs away to save his life.
The characters are the persons, in the play. They are endowed with
moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in their dialogues
and in their action. The reason or grounds for action, temperament and
moral dispositions constitute his motivations. They act out the story of
the play from the beginning to the end. They act within the limits of
possibility and plausibility. This means that they and their actions
should be as close as possible to reality. The playwright therefore
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creates a story that is credible for them to act. However, in an allegorical
play, each character acts within the limits of what it represents.
Each playwright, depending on his style, chooses how to develop his
characters. This brings us to a discussion on characters.
The ability to create characters and to ensure that they blend/suit the
action of the play is what we refer to as characterization. What is
created is called character.
Characters refer to the people who act the play. Drama is the most
active form of literary art and is presented in dialogue. It is not like the
novel or poetry where the novelist tells a story. The story in a play is
told as people talk to one another and interact in inter-personal
relationships. These people are referred to as characters. Characters in
a play must not necessarily be human beings. Animals or things can be
used as characters. This depends on the intention of the playwright and
the style he wants to adopt. In allegorical plays like Tess Onwueme’s
The Desert Encroaches or Everyman, a medieval play, animals and
abstract qualities are used as characters.
In the play, you can identify each character through his name, through
what he says, what he does, what other characters say about him and
what the playwright says about him. The playwright’s comment is
contained in the stage direction. The stage direction is usually enclosed
in a bracket and in most cases written in italics. You can find it at the
beginning of the scene or at any point in the play whenever the
playwright want to give information about the character, his action, the
environment, the mood or any other information that is relevant to the
action and which is not embedded in the dialogue.
3.3 Types of Characters
There are different types of characters in drama. They include the
protagonist, the dynamic character, the static character, the flat
character, the round character, and stereotypes.
Protagonist/Hero
He is the main character and at the centre of the story. He is called the
protagonist or the hero. If he is pitted against an important character,
like in Hamlet, the opponent is called an antagonist. In the play, Hamlet
is the protagonist while King Claudius is the antagonist and the
relationship between them is what we refer to as conflict. Usually the
story revolves around him and in fact the story is about him. He is
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easily identifiable because he stands out over and above most other
characters. Everything revolves around him as he influences the action
that he is going through. He creates a world for himself which could be
big or small, palatable or detestable. He lives to sustain or oppose what
happens to him. His role is usually central to the development of the
theme, and whatever happens to him or whatever he does has much
significance to the outcome of the story. He is often referred to as the
hero of the story or the protagonist and he is one of the major characters.
His central position in the story places him in a very important position.
The playwright therefore portrays him carefully. His many - sided and
complex nature is presented in details. He helps to inject life in the
story when he is properly presented. In Oedipus Rex, for instance, King
Oedipus is the protagonist. He is not just one of the major characters but
he is the major character. The story that is told in the play is about the
birth, the rise and the fall of King Oedipus. Sophocles uses him to show
his audience that man is helpless before the gods. This means that a man
cannot change his destiny no matter how hard he or the people around
him. In the case of King Oedipus, his parents try to change his destiny
by ordering, when he was born and they discovered that he has been
doomed to kill his father and marry his mother, that he be thrown into
the forest where he was expected to die but the servant spared his life
and offered him to the shepherd. As he grows, he tries to change that
fate but does not succeed. Instead he moves closer to it and eventually
fulfils it.
Dynamic/ Round Character
This is a character that changes according to the course of events in the
story. He may or may not be the protagonist or the hero. In most cases,
he grows from innocence to maturity or from ignorance to knowledge,
so he is consistently alert to his environment with its attendant problem
and reacts accordingly. He is found almost everywhere in the story. In
his own unique way, he participates actively as much as possible in the
course of the action. He seems to have no special alignment to any
group but tries not to lose his credibility or acceptability.
Static/Flat/Stock Character
Here the character is complex and does not change in any basic way in
the course of the story. He is presented in outline and without much
individualization. He is usually stable and is said to be static because he
retains essentially the same outlook, attitudes, values and dispositions
from the beginning of the story to the end of the story. He is the
opposite of the round character but lakes complexity in term of
presentation. He is presented with a few and broad strokes. In most
cases his activities are easily recognizable, so, his actions can be
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predicted. Such values and attitudes may be positive or negative
depending on the playwright’s intention. He can be a minor or major
character as long as he is hardly transformed as the events of the story
unfold. Stock characters are character types “that recur
repeatedly…”(Abram 163) in dramatic composition “and so are
recognizable as part of the conventions of the form.”
Character types are created by playwrights to represent particular
individuals in the society. They could be professionals, ethnic groups,
tribes or nationalities. They therefore act and behave in accordance with
the dictates of the person(s) they represent.
3.4 Discovering a Character
You identify a character in a play through what he does, what he says,
what other people say about him and what the playwright says about
him as contained in the stage–direction. In describing a character, you
are expected to give in details, his physical attributes and his moral,
psychological and social disposition. A character’s action helps to define
his personality and his behavior in any given circumstance or situation.
It also provides clues to the kind of person he is. Whatever a character
says also helps to reveal his inner disposition.
However, before you can draw a valid conclusion about a character’s
personality from his words, you must consider in addition to the words
themselves, the character’s mood, the situation/circumstance, his
relationship to the person about or to whom he is speaking and the
consistency between his words and his action.
.
i. What are the differences between character analysis and
characterization?
ii. Characterization is an important aspect of dramatic technique.
Discuss.
iii. List and discuss four types of characters.
4.0 CONCLUSION
Characterization is a very important aspect of dramatic technique. It is
through it that the dramatist presents his story. A good story can only be
really good and interesting if appropriate characters are created to tell
the story through their actions. The playwright tries to create characters
that are as close as possible to reality. He ensures that the characters are
consistent and are properly motivated.
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5.0 SUMMARY
You have seen in this unit that as the playwright conceptualizes a play in
his imagination, he thinks of the type of characters that will help him to
realize his objective of creating a good play. You have also learnt that in
character analysis, you are expected to write everything you know about
the character you are discussing.
1 List and explain briefly, the factors that you should consider in
character analysis.
7. 0 REFERENCES /FURTHER READINGS
Abrams, M. H. (1971). A Glossary of Literary Terms. New York: Holt
Scholes R. and C.H. Klaus. (1971). Elements of Drama. New York:
50

UNIT 2 OTHER DRAMATIC TECHNIQUES
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Foreshadowing
3.2 Planting
3.3 Deus ex Machina
3.4 Play-within-play.
3.5 Setting
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In the last unit, we discussed a very important dramatic technique-
characterization. In this unit we will discuss other techniques that are
employed by the dramatist in to create his imaginative world. They
include Foreshadowing, planting, deus ex machine, play-within-the play
and setting.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
• Identify other dramatic techniques
• Explain them very well.
• Explain their functions in plays
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 Foreshadowing
In drama, refers to actions, words, events, incidents or other things in a
play that predict a future occurrence in the play. Sometimes it
contributes to the mood and general atmosphere of the play. Hamlet
provides a very good example for us. We encounter a ghost at the
beginning of the play. Its appearance creates an atmosphere of fear. It is
an ominous sign of an impending evil or devilish act. It shows that
everything is not normal in the society. This evil act is revealed later in
the dialogue between the Ghost and Hamlet in Act I Scene v:
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GHOST: I am your father’s spirit…
If you did ever your dear father love-
HAMLET: O God!
GHOST: Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.
HAMLET: Murder!
This encounter foreshadows other unnatural deaths in the play.
3.2 Planting
In drama, one of the techniques that is used to present the action of the
play is planting. It is the use of certain props to give more information
about some characters, the environment or situations. If for instance you
are watching a home video, and a particular scene opens in the room
where a character is lying on a bed with a wheelchair beside the bed,
you will conclude immediately that the person on the bed cannot walk.
It might not be that person on the bed that is paralyzed but the presence
of the wheel chair indicates that there is a paraplegic character in the
play. Thus that wheelchair is planted and without any explanation you
are able to get more information about the play. planting device. In
planting, representatives of certain issues/places/things are used to create
an impression or point to an idea that will be exposed as the events of
the play unfolds.
Also in Arms and the Man, the ‘revolver on the ottoman’ gives a clue to
Louka that the fugitive might be in Raina’s room.
3.3 Deus ex Machina
Deus ex machina in Latin means “a god from the machine”. In Greek
theatre, it “describes the technique used by some playwrights to end
their plays with a god who was lowered to the stage by a mechanical
apparatus and, by his judgment and commands, solved the problems of
the human characters. The phrase is “now used for any forced and
improbable device - a telltale birthmark, an unexpected inheritance, the
discovery of a lost will or letter - by which a hard-pressed author makes
shift to resolve his plot” (Abrams 39). It therefore originated from Greek
drama and, in effect, when it is used in a play it means that the gods
have come on stage to save a situation. It refers to an unexpected power,
event or someone that saves a situation that seemed hopeless. This
technique enables the playwright to unravel some secrets, or resolve
certain issues that seem to be beyond human capabilities. This ‘god’
from the machine, in most cases, rescues the protagonist from an
impossible situation or enlightens him on how to resolve an issue at the
last minute. This causes a resolution of the plot by the use of an
improbable coincidence.
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In Oedipus Rex, the arrival of the shepherd is seen as deux ex machina.
Before his arrival, the Blind Seer has accused King Oedipus of being the
murderer of King Lauis. If the Shepherd does not come, the issue will
have remained unresolved because King Oedipus has accused Creon of
conniving with the Seer to accuse him of being a murderer. The
Shepherd arrives at this point and unravels the mystery of the King’s
parenthood. The servant corroborates the story and it becomes clear that
King Oedipus actually killed his father and married his mother.
3.4 Play-within-the Play
As the name suggests, a play-within-the –play is a play that is created in
another play. Usually it is a complete play with a beginning, middle and
an end. It has its own theme which in many cases is related to the theme
of the main play. It is created for a particular purpose. A very good
example of the play-within the-play is The Mousetrap in Hamlet.
Shakespeare uses the technique to confirm the claim made by the ghost.
The play is summarized in the “dumb show” presented before the
Mousetrap in Act III Scene ii.
The trumpets sound. A dumb show follows. Enter a
King and a Queen very lovingly, the Queen embracing
him and he her. She kneels and makes a show of
protestation unto him. He takes her up, and reclines
his head upon her neck. He lies down upon a bank
of flowers . She, seeing him asleep, leaves him.
Anon comes another man, takes off his crown,
Kisses it, pours poison in the sleeper’ ears, and
leaves him. The Queen returns, finds the king
dead, and makes passionate action. The Poisoner
with some … comes in again and seems to condole
with her. The dead body is carried away. The
Poisoner woos the Queen with gifts. She seems
harsh awhile, but in the end accepts his love.
Exeunt.
As the play progresses, the king becomes uncomfortable and leaves
before it ends. It becomes evident from his reaction to the subject of the
play that he is guilty.
Hamlet therefore becomes convinced that his uncle killed his father. On
his own part his uncle realizes that Hamlet is aware of his crime so
becomes desperate in trying to eliminate him. Each of them plans how
to deal with the other person and their plans culminate in their deaths at
the end of the play.
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3.5 Setting
Setting is the location of a play. It is the time and place when and where
the action of the play takes place. Setting is very important in a play
because it helps us to appreciate the background of the play. Also in
productions it helps the designers to design appropriate locale,
atmosphere, and costume for the play. You can identify the setting
through the names of characters. When you read The Marriage of
Anansewa or The Lion and the Jewel, you would know immediately
through the names of the characters that the former is set in Ghana and
the latter in Nigeria. Some playwrights use known landmarks through
dialogue or in stage direction. Ola Rotimi uses landmarks a lot. Try to
read his Our Husbsnd has Gone Mad Again and through these
landmarks you will know that the play is set in Lagos. Shakespeare uses
known landmarks. Have you read Hamlet? In Arms and the Man it is
more obvious as the playwright uses real life experiences to show that
the play is set in Bulgaria. Can you identify its setting through the
known landmarks? There are different types of setting.
Types of Setting
(a) Geographical/Physical/Occupational: This is the actual
geographical location of the story and whatever surrounds the
place where the story is located. It also includes the manner of
daily living of the people. This helps in locating the story; for
example, it helps you to know if the action of the play takes place
in an urban centre or a village, or a bush, or a market place and so
on. You can identify the physical setting easily in some plays
because the playwright mentions some known landmarks like the
names of towns or other important places in the town.
In the play, Hamlet, the physical setting is easy to identify because of
the fact that two of the major characters in the play are addressed as the
“Prince of Denmark” and the “King of Denmark”.
Physical setting also includes the manner of daily living of the people.
This helps in locating the story; for example, it tells if the play has an
urban or rural setting? The stage direction in the opening scene of the
play, The Lion and the Jewel shows that the play is set in a village and
that the play start in the morning as can be seen in the following excerpt.
Can you identify some other landmarks that will help you to locate the
play appropriately?
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MORNING
A clearing on the edge of the market, dominated by an immense ‘odan’
tree. It is the village centre. The wall of the bush school flanks the stage
on the right, and a rude window opens on to the stage from the wall.
There is a chant of the ‘Arithmetic Times’ issuing from this window. It
begins a short while before the action begins. Sidi enters from the left
carrying a pail of water on her head. She is a slim girl with plaited hair.
A true village belle. She balances the pail on her head with an
accustomed ease. Around her is wrapped the familiar broad cloth which
is folded just above her breasts, leaving her shoulders bare.
Almost as soon as she appears on the stage, the schoolmaster’s face
also appears at the window.(The chanting continues- ‘Three times two
are six’, Three times three times three are nine’ etc.) The teacher,
Lakunle now disappears. He is replaced by two of his pupils aged
roughly eleven, who make a buzzing sound at Sidi, repeatedly capping
their hands across their mouths. Lakunle now re-appears below the
window and makes for Sidi, only stopping only to give the boys
admonitory whacks on the head before they can duck. They vanish with
a howl and he shuts the window on them. The chanting dies away. The
schoolmaster is nearly twenty-three. He is dressed in an old-style
English suit, threadbare but not ragged, clean but not ironed, obviously
a size or two too small. His tie is done in a very small knot,
disappearing beneath a shiny black waist-coat. He wears twenty-three-
inch-bottom trousers, and blanco-white tennis shoes.
LAKUNLE: Let me take it.
SIDI: No.
LAKUNLE: Let me: [Seizes the pail. Some water spill on him.]
SIDI: [delighted.] There. Wet for your pains. Have you
no shame?
LAKUNLE: That is what the stewpot said to the fire.
Licking my bottom? But she was tickled
Just the same.
SIDI: The school teacher is full of stories
This morning. And now, if the lesson
Is over, may I have the pail?(1-2).
Apart from the information you get from the stage direction on the
setting, you can deduce from the short dialogue above that the play is set
in a village. In most cases, it is in the village that young girls go to the
stream to fetch water especially in the morning.
(b) Temporal/Historical Setting: This is the period in which a story
takes place. This includes the date, the season, the general
55

atmosphere in the locale like war, fuel scarcity, democratic or
military rule. This, like the physical setting, could be deduced
from the dialogue or from the stage direction. It could be stated in
some commentaries, especially the ones on the background of the
play. Sometimes, some publishers include the commentaries in
the play. In Arms and the Man for instance, the opening part of
Act 1, a date is given in the stage direction. This gives the reader
a clue to the historical setting of the play. It says:
ACT 1
Night: A lady’ bedchamber in Bulgaria, in a small town near the
Dragoman Pass, late November in the year 1885.Through an open
window with a little balcony a peak of the Balkans, wonderfully white
and beautiful in the starlit snow, seems quit close at hand, though it is
really miles away. The interior of the room is not like anything to be
seen in the west Europe. …(15)
(c) General Environmental Setting: The social, moral, emotional,
mental and religious backgrounds of the story. This is highlighted
through dialogue, stage direction and the characters interpersonal
relationships. In Arms and the Man for instance, George Bernard
Shaw presents a graphic picture of the Bulgarian way of life.
(The playwright “was able to pin the action down to actual
geographical locations and to a real life war. He took care to
incorporate descriptions of Bulgarian life” The playwright admits
that many aspects of the play were based on actual facts.
(Introduction to Arms and the Man)
How would you identify the setting of a play?
4.0 CONCLUSION
The dramatic techniques discussed in this unit will help you to
understand and appreciate dramatic texts. You need to learn them very
well especially those of you who may be involved in literary criticisms
in future.
5.0 SUMMARY
From the discussion in this unit, you will be able to identify the different
types of dramatic technique. I hope that you would be able to relate
them to texts. You are not expected to see all the techniques in one play.
In literary appreciation, your ability to identify them, relate them to the
56

texts and decide how effective their uses have been makes you a good
critic.
List and explain different types of setting.
Okodo Ikechukwu (1992). The Study of Literary Terminologies and
Appreciation. Onitsha: Footmarks Publications.
Shakespeare, William (1984). Hamlet. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Scholes R. and C. H. Klaus (1971). Elements of Drama. New York:
57

UNIT 3 DRAMATIC CONVENTIONS
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Dramatic Conventions
3.2 Prologue
3.3 Epilogue
3.4 Interlude
3.5 Aside
3.6 Soliloquy
3.7 Dramatic Illusion
3.8 The Fourth Wall
3.9 Chorus/ Narrator
3.10 Structure
3.11 The Three Unities
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This unit introduces you to dramatic conventions. By the end of the unit,
you should be able to identify them in dramatic texts or explain why the
dialogue of one play is in verse while another one is in prose and both of
them are accepted.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
• Understand these conventions
• Identify them in plays.
• Understand why they are found in some plays but not in others
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
Apart from the elements of drama and the dramatic technique discussed
above, there are also what we refer to as dramatic conventions. The
knowledge you gain from this unit will enable you appreciate any play
irrespective of the age in which it was written. It is also necessary for
you to be familiar with these conventions so that you can identify them
in your analysis or criticism of dramatic literature.
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3.1 Dramatic Conventions
In drama, the playwright tries to present life as it is lived in the real
world. However it is not possible to present real life on stage so he
presents an illusion of reality. He needs certain devices to make this
illusion as realistic as possible and the audience accepts the devices. In
Shakespearean plays, sometimes a character talks to himself and this is
called soliloquy. In real life people do not talk to themselves like that
but since the public especially in that age accepted it, it becomes a
convention. Also in the Classical Age the convention was that the
dialogue is presented in verse but in the modern convention in most
plays the dialogue is presented in prose. Another good example of
dramatic convention is in play production where the convention is that a
room has three walls instead of the four walls and the action of a play in
which the events take place in various places is presented on a single
stage. In the words of Abrams, “conventions are necessary or convenient
devices, widely accepted by the public, for solving problems imposed by
a particular artistic medium in representing reality” (33). There are also
conventions in terms of style. Abrams explains further: “conventions
are identifiable elements of subject matter, form, or technique which
recur repeatedly in works of literature. Conventions in this sense may be
recurrent types of character, turns of plot, forms of versification, kinds
of diction and style.” It is not compulsory for every work to conform to
preexisting conventions but what matters is how effectively an
individual writer makes use of them.
3.2 Prologue
This is the introductory part of the play. It could be an opening scene, a
speech or an address. In most cases, it introduces the action and makes
a statement on what the audience should expect in the play. In many
plays the prologue foreshadows the events in the play and sometimes
gives a background to the play as can be seen in the example below
taken from Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus.
[Prologue] Enter Chorus.
Not marching in the fields of Trasimene
Where Mars did mate the warlike Carthagens
Nor sporting in the dalliance of love
In courts of kings where state is overturned,…
The form of Dr Faustus’ fortune, good or bad:
And now to patient judgments we appeal
And speak for Faustus in his infancy.
Now is he born of parents base of stock
In Germany within a town called Rhode;
At riper years to Wittenberg he went
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Whereas his kinsmen chiefly brought him up.
So much he profits in divinity
That shortly he was graced with doctor’s name
Excelling all, and sweetly can dispute
In th’ heavenly matters of theology;
Till swoll’n with cunning, of a self-conceit,
His waxen wings did mount above his reach
And melting, heavens conspired his overthrow!
For falling into a devilish exercise
And glutted now with learning’s golden gifts
He surfeits upon cursed necromancy:
Nothing so sweet as magic is to him
Which he prefers before his chiefest bliss—
And this the man that in his study sits.
[Exit.]
3.3 Epilogue
This is the direct opposite of the prologue. It is presented at the end of
the play. It sums up the action of the play and in some cases, makes a
statement (an advice or a lesson to be learnt) on the action or events
presented in the play. In Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus, the chorus
comments on the fall of Dr. Faustus and cautions those who “practice
more than heavenly power permits.”
Enter Chorus
Cut is the branch that might have grown full straight
And burned is Apollo’s laurel bough
That sometime grew within this learned man.
Faustus is gone: regard his hellish fall,
Whose fiendful fortune may extort the wise
Only to wonder at unlawful things,
Whose deepness doth entice such forward wits
To practice more than heavenly power permits.
[Exit]
3.4 Interlude
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An interlude in a play is a short piece of entertainment that is presented
between the acts or major scenes in a play. It is believed that the term
came into drama during the Renaissance Period to describe the dramatic
form of early Tudor Period. It was then referred to as Tudor Interlude.
Queen Elizabeth loved entertainment, funfair and ceremonies so much
that she was accompanied by extravagant display of affluence each time
she made public appearance. These displays included some dramatic
shows among which the interlude was most popular. It was a short
dramatic presentation or a play performed indoors before a small
audience. Most of the Mboguo in one of our texts for this course –The
Marriage of Anansewa, is an example of interlude.
3.5 Soliloquy
Soliloquy is a speech made by a character when he is alone. The
audience hears it but the other characters are not expected to hear it. It is
very common in Renaissance plays. Shakespeare in particular made use
of soliloquies in his play a lot. Playwrights use this device to reveal the
thoughts or the feelings of specific characters in reaction to certain
events or situations. “Customarily, the soliloquy is a means of giving
expression to a complex state of mind and feeling, and in most cases the
speaker is seen struggling with problems of utmost consequence. This
accounts for the intensity we find in soliloquys” (Scholes and Klaus 29).
Here, the character thinks aloud as he talks to himself. He pretends that
the audience is not there. Soliloquy also offers the dramatist a means of
providing a point of view on the action of the play. Apart from serving
as a means for revealing characters, it is used to make significant
commentaries on events of the play. In the first soliloquy in Hamlet,
Hamlet presents the state of his mind and his view on the world:
O that this too solid flesh would melt,
Thaw and resolve itself into a dew,
Or that the Everlasting had not fixed
His canon against self-slaughter. O God! God!
How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
From it we learn of his father’s death, the incestuous affair between his
mother and his uncle and it foreshadows the catastrophe at the end of
the play when he predicts that the affair will come to no good. He
continues:
But two months dead- nay, not so much, not two-
So excellent a king, that was to this
Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother
That he might not permit the winds of heaven
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Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth,
Must I remember? Why, she would hang him
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on. And yet within a month-
Let me not think on it- Frailty, your name is woman-
A little month, before those shoes were old
With which he followed my poor fathers’s body,
Like Niobe, all tears- why, she-
O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason
Would have mourned longer- married with my uncle,…
She married- O most wicked speed! To post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!
It is not, and it cannot come to good
Break my heart, for I must hold my tongue.
(Act i scene ii)
3.6 Aside
Aside is a dramatic convention in which a character speaks to himself or
makes a comment in the presence of another character. However, that
other character is not expected to hear the comment but the audience
hears it. There is an actual stepping aside of the character who utters an
aside from the other characters on the stage. This makes it more
unrealistic because it is not possible for him to make the remark in their
presence and they will not hear it. An aside is a very brief remark and in
most cases it is indicated in the stage direction. Here is an example taken
from Hamlet when Hamlet feigns madness and is discussing with
Polonius:
POL. [Aside] Though this is madness, yet there is
method in it. Will you walk out of the air my lord?
3.7 Dramatic Illusion
Drama thrives on illusion because what is presented is not reality but an
illusion of reality. Whenever you are watching any dramatic
presentation, you know very well that they are ‘pretending’ to be what
they are not yet you empathize with the characters. Dramatic illusion
involves a willing suspension of disbelief. If the play Hamlet is
presented on stage or if you buy the film, as you watch the graveyard
scene, Ophelia’s burial, for instance, you would see the actress being
‘buried’. In reality, the actress’ name may not be Ophelia; she has not
died; the grave is not a real grave; and the grave diggers may be wealthy
professionals but you enjoy the play without bothering about whether
they are real or not. In other words, you pretend that what you are
watching is real.
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3.8 The Fourth Wall
The fourth wall refers to the fourth wall of the room that is pulled down
for the audience to watch the play. In reality, a room has four walls so if
a play, especially events of the play stage performances, is to be
presented with the four walls intact nobody can see the action. That is
why a good playwright should always have the stage in mind when he is
writing his play. The removal of the fourth wall helps to enhance the
illusion of reality in drama.
3.9 Chorus /Narrator
The use of chorus is a dramatic convention that was adopted by
playwrights, especially in the Classical Age, to comment on the events
of the play. In any play that has a chorus/narrator, the playwright uses it
to supply the information that could not be woven into the dialogue. In
many cases it serves as the authorial voice.
The chorus is not usually part of the main cast so does not participate
actively in the action of the play. In most cases they stand or sit by the
side of the stage and make their comments at the appropriate time. Some
playwrights use the chorus to comment on the events of the play. In
Oedipus Rex, the chorus is made up of the elders of Thebes.
The narrator performs the same function as the chorus. The difference is
that usually the chorus is made up of two or more characters while the
narrator is only one character. Each playwright uses the chorus or the
narrator to suit his purpose.
3.10 Structure
The dramatic structure, especially in written a play, is a dramatic
convention on the organization of the play. Most classical plays are
presented in acts and scenes. The plays are divided in this way for easy
presentation and understanding. In a stage performance, a curtain is
drawn to signify the end of each scene or act. In the modern stage, and
in night productions, light is used to demarcate them. Each scene
represents a particular setting. This is to give the actors time to change
their costumes. It also gives the stage directors time to change the
setting or scene for the next part of the action. During this interval,
music or interludes could be used to fill the gap.
3.11 The Three Unities
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Classical plays are expected to treat one serious action but later in the
sixteenth centuries, dramatic critics in Italy and France added to
Aristotle’s recommendation of unity of action, two other unites to
constitute the rules of drama known as “the three unites.” It became a
dramatic convention then. They contended that for the dramatist to
achieve an illusion of reality, the action presented in a play should
“approximate” the actual conditions of life being represented in the play.
They imposed the “unity of place” (that the action be limited to a single
location) and the “unity of time” (that the time represented should be
limited to the two or three hours it takes to act the play, or at most to a
single day of either twelve or twenty-four hours). Their decision may
have been influenced by Shakespearean platys that involved frequent
changes of setting and the passage of many years. In the modern period
it is no longer a convention but a playwright might still wish to adhere to
it.
The three unities are the unities of time place and action. It means the
principles of dramatic structure that involves action, time and place. The
principle of the unity of action entails that the action of the play should
contain one subject. There is no room for sub - themes or sub- plots. The
unity of place requires that the action of the play must take place in one
location. The unity of time insists that the play should not last for more
than one day.
We have to emphasize here that you are not expected to find all the
devices in one play. A playwright decides what to use and how to use
them.
Soliloquy and aside are dramatic speeches; discuss them by highlighting
their similarities and differences
4.0 CONCLUSION
It is difficult to find all the conventions in one play. As a matter of fact,
modern playwrights have jettisoned soliloquy and aside. They argue
that since drama presents life as it is lived, people do not talk to
themselves. It makes drama artificial and unrealistic.
5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit, you have been exposed to various dramatic conventions. It
is expected that this knowledge will help you to understand this course
more, especially, as you read the recommended plays.
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1. What is the difference between soliloquy and aside?
7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING
Crow, Brian (1983). Studying Drama. Ikeja: Longman.
Okodo, Ikechukwu (1992). The Study of Literary Terminologies and
Appreciation. Onitsha: Footmarks.
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MODULE 3 DRAMATIC GENRES
UNIT 1 FORMS/TYPES OF DRAMA: TRAGEDY,
COMEDY, TRAGI-COMEDY, MELODRAMA
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Meaning
3.2 Tragedy
3.3 Comedy
3.4 Melodrama
3.4.1 Definition
3.4.2 Characteristics of Melodrama
3.4.3 Comparison between Melodrama and Traged
3.5 Tragi-Comedy
3.6 Drame
3.7 Farce
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This unit introduces you to a detailed study of dramatic genres. You
need this background to enable you appreciate different forms of drama
in the course of your study. The classification is also necessary for both
the playwright and the critics in their appreciation of dramatic
composition.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should able to:
• Know and explain the dramatic genres.
• State and explain the major dramatic genres.
• Be able to distinguish in clear terms the characteristics of the
different dramatic genres.
• Be able, while reading a play, to determine its genre.
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3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 Meaning of Dramatic Genre
Etymologically, the term genre is taken from the French language and it
means type, kind, or form. In simple terms dramatic genre means type or
kind of dramatic composition. Drama is grouped into distinct types,
kinds or categories because there are qualities that are common to all
dramatic compositions. There are also qualities that make each
composition unique. It is these similarities and differences that
determine each genre.
The dramatic genres include tragedy, comedy, tragi-comedy,
melodrama, drame, mime, etc.
3.2 Tragedy
We are familiar with the words 'tragedy' and tragic as they are associated
with misfortune. Usually, they are used to describe personal
misfortunes that do not concern the rest of the society. For example, the
breakdown of a marriage or death of a dear one in an accident or even
natural causes could be described as tragic. Also, some public events
that are unpleasant like the assassination of a head of state or a political
leader, natural or human disasters like earthquakes, flood disasters,
plane crashes and other such disasters are referred to as tragedies. In
this unit we are not concerned with these tragedies or tragic' events in
our daily lives but as they relate to dramatic compositions.
Tragedy according to the Oxford English Dictionary is “a play of a
serious or solemn kind ... a very sad event, action or experience.” The
last part of the definition explains why the word is used to describe
misfortunes, natural and human disasters in everyday life. However, we
will be concerned with the aspect of the definition that sees tragedy as a
play of a serious or a solemn kind.
Tragedy in drama is believed to have originated from the Greek worship
of Dionysius, the god of wine and fertility. During the festival, the
dithyramb, a choral lyric in honour of the god is sang and danced around
the altar by fifty men dressed in goat-skin (goat was the sacred animal of
the god). This is perhaps from where tragedy got its name because in
Greek, “tragoedia” meant goat song. During this song, a story about the
god was improvised by the choral leader but later Thepsis stood out and
instead of singing in honour of Dionysius, sang as Dionysius. However,
the song continued but a minimal part of it was acted by one actor. As
time went on, the spoken part was increased and Aeschylus added a
second actor while Sophocles added a third actor. As time went on, the
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number of chorus decreased gradually as more actors increased. Thus
tragedy was born. The scope of the plays increased as they started
including myths concerning other gods. The plays became so popular
that by 534 BC, the state gave official recognition to tragedy and
instituted a prize for the best tragedy presented at the annual Donysian
festival.
Tragedy is the most esteemed of all the dramatic genres. It has attracted
many definitions and rules, from the days of Aristotle, who is the first
person to write on the circumstances of and what tragedy should be, to
the present day. According to him in his “Poetics”:
Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete and of a
certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic
ornaments, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play;
in the from of action not of narrative; through pity and fear effecting a
proper purgation of these emotions.
Aristotle explains all the aspects of this definition and moves further to
give the elements of tragedy as plot, character, thought, diction, music
and spectacle. Try to read Aristotle’s “Poetics”. These principles have
continued to influence the definition till date. However, some dramatic
scholars agree with him while some others disagree with him.
In drama, tragedy is a serious play that deals with the misfortunes of
man. It presents a man (tragic hero) who is not too virtuous or too
vicious but one who aspires for higher ideals. He tries to improve
himself and the world around him. In the course of this, he makes a
mistake, or commits an error of judgment. This leads to his fall.
Traditionally, in classical tragedies, the hero must be of noble birth,
suffer and is overwhelmed in the end. Tragedy presents injustice, evil,
pain, misfortunes, paradoxes and mysterious aspects of human
existence.
Greek tragedy has a set pattern or structure. It starts with the prologue
which introduces the play with the episodes of the play and the choral
songs in between and finally the exodus. The play contains a “single
integral plot” which is presented in a very short period with one setting.
The action could be simple or complex and contains a reversal of
fortune or discovery or both. They are very short plays and many of
them were presented in trilogies. The tragic hero is drawn from princes
and kings. He is a man who is not pre-eminently good, virtuous or
vicious but who commits an error of judgment. Oedipus Rex is a good
example of classical tragedy. It has a single plot, the story of how
Oedipus killed his father and married his mother. The setting is just in
front of the palace. Oedipus, the tragic hero is a king who by the end of
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the play, discovers the truth about himself, his fortune reverses from
good to bad. His catastrophe is caused by his tragic flaw which is
arrogance.
The plays were based on myth and legends drawn mainly from the
legends of the house of Atreus and the events of the Trojan wars. They
were presented as a part of a great festival and the state was involved.
Music, songs and dances were important elements of the plays. To
maintain a single setting, indoor actions and violence were reported on
stage. As part of a religious festival, the plays were used to show how
vices like arrogance and pride lead men to destruction. The gods also
play important roles in Greek tragedy. However, the dramatists differ in
their attitudes to the gods as characters in their plays.
Many critics argue that there are no tragedies in the modern period. The
argument is based on the fact that many playwrights do not adhere to the
Aristotelian principles of tragedy especially as regards the treatment of
the subject matter, tragic hero and the language.
Modern playwrights feel that they should not be restricted by any rules.
According to them, drama reflects the society, so they should reflect
their society in the works. In the modern society, little or no attention is
paid to kings, princes and their exploits so a poor man who is hard
working can rise to esteem. The society also encourages him to rise. He
also has the capacity to fall into misfortune through an error of judgment
and according to Arthur Miller, since kings and monarchs are no longer
available, tragedy should be based “... on the heart and spirit of the
average man” (Dukore: 897). Contemporary issues and human beings
should, therefore, be treated in tragedy.
The important factor is that the tragic hero pursues a particular goal he
believes in relentlessly to its logical conclusion even if he loses his life
in the pursuit. Tragedy attempts, therefore, to ask some basic questions
about human existence like, is there justice in the world?
3.3 Comedy
We use the words 'comedy' and comic to describe something that is
funny in our everyday lives. These include a joke, or a fantastic story
that is full of nonsense, or an absurd appearance that makes us giggle,
smile or laugh. Comedy is not inherent in things or people but the way
things/people are perceived. Comedy is a deliberate presentation of
events/experiences drawn from real life but not the same with real life.
We should therefore not expect dramatic comedy to be the same as real
life.
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Generally, the plays have good endings or resolutions, so when a play
ends happily, we refer to it as comedy. In most comedies, the principal
characters begin in a state of opposition either to one another or to their
world or both. By the end of the play, their opposition is replaced by
harmony. Aristotle in his “Poetics” insisted that in tragedy men are
shown “better than they are”, while in comedy “worse than they are”.
For him it is an artistic imitation of men of inferior moral bent, not in
every way but only in so far as their shortcomings are ludicrous. These
short comings cause no pain.
In the classical period there was no mixture of genres Horace maintains
that tragic characters must be noble while comic characters are ignoble
and of lower birth and foolish. Moliere believed that his audience could
learn from the dramatization of ridiculous and universal types. Comedy
therefore teaches through laughter. Philip Sidney, in “Arts Poetica”,
sees it as an imitation of common errors of life which is presented in the
most ridiculous and scornful manner so that the spectator is anxious to
avoid such errors himself. It should aim at being delightful though not
necessarily by provoking laughter. Ben Jonson also believes that
laughter does not really help to achieve the aims of comedy but may
subvert those aims. He draws his theme from human errors and follies.
He insists that the playwright should attempt to improve moral life and
arouse gentle affections. John Dryden insists that comedy should
portray the eccentricity of character while Northrop Frye says that
lightness of touch is the hallmark of comedy.
We recognize comedy through its style, characterization, diction and
other elements of style. The purpose of comedy is to delight, to teach
and to entertain the audience through the presentation of characters,
situations and ideas in a ridiculous manner. This helps to keep man close
to sanity, balance and to remind him of human frailties. It helps to keep
him humble and mindful of what he is rather than what he might wish
himself to be.
Modern scholars believe that the purpose of comedy is to correct vices
therefore should not exclude any class. Satire is an important instrument
in comedy because nothing reforms majority of men like the portrayal of
their faults. It is easy for people to endure being made fun of. Many
people may have no objection to being considered wicked but are not
willing to be considered ridiculous. The audience is thus expected to
learn from the stupidity of the characters and try to avoid such pitfalls
because nobody likes to be made an object of ridicule.
Generally speaking, comedy adopts a different approach from that of
serious drama. It presents the incongruity in people and situations. In
doing this, the playwright suspends the natural laws; for instance, a man
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falls flat on the floor but does not really hurt himself. Comedy is
usually presented as a moral satire used to attack vices like greed,
hypocrisy, lust, laziness, or ignorance. The aim is to correct social ills,
social injustice or to ridicule a particular human fault or social
imbalance. It thrives on exaggeration of situation and character to show
mankind worse than it really is.
Since drama is a conscious and deliberate presentation of
events/experience based mostly on real life but not the same with real
life, one should, therefore, not expect comedy to be the same with real
life. We recognize comedy, through its style, characterization and
dialogue. In both real life and drama, comedy should indicate a kind of
pleasure which finds physical expression in laughter or smile.
3.4 Melodrama
3.4.1 Definition
The word melodrama is coined from melo (music) and dran (drama). It
is, therefore, a play that utilizes music extensively. But the utilization of
music is not the only factor in melodrama, what really makes it
melodrama is its portrayal of the protagonist and the antagonist. The
protagonist suffers a lot but triumphs in the end while the antagonist
suffers. So, melodrama can be defined as a play that has serious action
caused by a villain and a destruction of the villain which brings about a
happy resolution in the play. The hero is usually involved in very
dangerous circumstances but is rescued or he disentangles himself at the
last possible moment. The rescuer is usually a benevolent character who
identifies himself with the good role of the protagonist. An ideal
melodrama, therefore, must have a protagonist and an antagonist. The
protagonist always fights the antagonist who is usually poised to destroy
goodness. In the end, the characters are easily identified by the audience.
The protagonist is admired and the antagonist is hated.
It is this identification by the audience that provides the grounds for
poetic justice because the antagonist loses in the end. This explains why
some critics insist that melodrama is an honest dramatic form.
According to them, it is the only form of drama that expresses the truth
of human condition as they are perceived most of the time. This is a
condition where vice is condemned and virtue applauded or where the
bad man is punished and the good man rewarded.
Like tragedy, melodrama deals with characters in critical situations. The
main difference is in the point of view. Outwardly, it tries to create the
illusion of real people at genuine risk or in jeopardy but the playwright
manipulates the play in such a way that it ends with a reprieve or a
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rescue, a reform or a triumph for the protagonist. There is always an
escape from danger in the plot line. In melodrama, there is always
serious excitement, suspense and thrills for the audience. The plot is
built on tension and great excitement but this is transitory and lends no
substantial significance to the action of the play.
The plot therefore contains stories with colourful but brave characters. It
creates opportunities for strong sensational scenes, powerful emotions,
and strong characters that struggle against deadly odds. Sometimes they
are trapped in precarious situations but they must hold on until there is
help ultimately.
The melodramatic hero is usually a one-dimensional figure who pursues
a goal in a straightforward manner. The opposition comes from the
world around him. He does not always think well before taking an
action. Consequently, he gets involved in entanglements or dangerous
situations which a more rational person might avoid. The characters are
usually simple in mind and heart and are conditioned or influenced by
their backgrounds and environment. Melodrama contains most of the
serious conflicts and crises of daily life. In melodrama, we are resigned
as we realize that our failures are not our fault but caused by others and
our victories are as a result of help from other people. It is a serious play
because most of the time, they rely on strong story lines but lacks the
essential magnitude in character and the action is usually over
exaggerated.
3.4.2 Characteristics of Melodrama
1. It looks at human beings as a whole. People are expected to
interact and help one another in the society. This explains why
the protagonist is usually assisted or aided by someone for him to
triumph or succeed.
2 It sees human beings as encountering and enduring outer conflicts
and not inner ones in a generally hostile and wicked world.
3 These human conflicts end in victory. Melodramatic characters
either win or lose. However, in the spirit of poetic justice, the
protagonist usually wins despite the difficulties he encounters in
the course of the action to show that good triumphs over evil.
4 There is an over simplification of human experiences which are
usually exaggerated in such a way that the main thesis of the play
is made transparent.
5 It treats a serious subject matter in a serious manner, though
exaggerated.
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3.4.3 Comparison between Melodrama and Tragedy
1. In tragedy, the tragic hero commits an error of judgment which
leads to his downfall. In melodrama, the hero faces
overwhelming problems but despite his sufferings, he triumphs in
the end.
2. Melodrama is usually episodic and contains elements of charm or
magic. It, therefore, lacks the honesty of tragedy.
3. While tragedy evokes fear and pity, melodrama arouses suspense,
pathos, terror and sometimes hatred. In tragedy, there is genuine
pity and fear as the audience empathies with the hero. Pity in
melodrama borders on sentimentality and emotion and when fear
is portrayed, it is usually superficial. Pity and fear in tragedy are
honest and lead to catharsis (purgation of emotions).
4 There is recognition for the hero in tragedy but in melodrama, the
protagonist wins or triumphs always.
5 Tragedy confronts good and evil with unblinking honesty, while
melodrama escapes from life. Tragedy considers eternal spiritual
problems and ideals but melodrama deals with the transitory
material/physical issues or problems.
6 Tragedy is known as a serious dramatic genre but the seriousness
in melodrama is only a pretense to create theatrical effects for the
audience.
3.5 Tragi-comedy
You have seen that tragedy is a serious play that ends on a sad note,
while comedy ends happily. In traditional tragedy, playwrights are not
allowed to bring in any comic action. If you read Oedipus Rex, for
instance, you will observe that the atmosphere is tense from the
beginning to the end. As time went on, even from the Elizabethan
period, comic characters were included in tragic plays. This is called
comic relief. Tragi-comedy is a play that mixes both comic and tragic
elements in equal proportion of each. It therefore elicits both tragic and
comic emotions.
3.6 Drame
Dame is a term of the modern period given to a category of dramatic
literature which deals with man in common place and contemporary
circumstance. The genre is presumed to have evolved from the French
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drama. The French regarded it as a play of serious intent dealing with
contemporary issues and lives. Playwright like Ibsen, Chekhov,
Osborne and many other modern writers are considered as the people
that made extensive use of this dramatic genre.
In their plays, they contemplate man with his dealings with
contemporary issues and relationships in his society. Drame is noted for
its great diversity, technical experimentation and a mixture of general
forms of writing. Sometimes, it is difficult to classify it as either tragedy
or comedy. The playwright here is not concerned with the genre but
concerned with the treatment of social issues to uplift his society. It is a
product of modem drama that thrives on innovations and experi-
mentations.
Drame has a relationship with other dramatic genres. It relates to
melodrama in the sense that it involves the spectator in action through
the identification of characters. It also makes extensive use of suspense
and tension. However, it differs from melodrama because its interest is
on political ideas and other serious issues and this brings it close to
tragedy. It has the capacity for provoking thought and discussion on the
issues raised after the presentation (reading) of the play.
Melodrama has characters that are easily identifiable. Drame also has
the same. But the difference is that characters in melodrama are divided
into protagonist and antagonist for easy audience identification. Drame
is close to tragedy with its concern with human conduct and the place of
drama in the modern world. It is also close to tragedy with regards to its
honest treatment of issues, especially with its portrayal of characters
with adequate human (realistic) motivation. It is different from tragedy
mainly because of its lack of elevation, narrowness of vision, and,
sometimes its lack of universality in its emphasis on contemporary life.
3.7 Farce
Farce which is referred to as comedy of situation, is a humorous play on
a trivial theme usually one that is familiar to the audience. The themes
that are treated in farce include mistaken identity, elaborate
misunderstanding, switched costume (men in women’s clothes) heroes
forced under tables, misheard instructions, discoveries, disappearances
and many such situations.
Farce is not considered an intellectual drama because it does not appeal
to the mind. It deals with physical situations and does not explore any
serious idea. It presents physical activities that grow out of situations
like the presence of something when something is not expected or the
absence of something when something is expected.
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Farce does not treat serious social issues. Sometimes it does not tell a
full story or present a logical plot. A good example is somebody
walking and slipping on a banana peel and falling in an exaggerated
manner. The main objective is to entertain by evoking laughter.
It presents mainly mechanical actions to show that human life is
mechanical, aggressive, and coincidental. .
(1) Discuss the characteristics of melodrama.
4.0 CONCLUSION
Categorization in drama helps us in our study of dramatic literature. To
a large extent it helps us in the appreciation of different forms of drama.
5.0 SUMMARY
You have learnt from this unit that there are different forms of drama.
Your knowledge here will help you to understand both dramatic
literature and dramatic performances. You will then be in a position to
understand why some actors act the way they do in certain
circumstances.
What differentiates tragedy from melodrama?
Crow, Brian (1983). Studying Drama. Ikeja: Longman.
Hagler, A. M. (1959). A Source Book in Theatrical History. New York:
Dover.
Molinari, Casare (1975). Theatre through the Ages. London: Cassell.
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MODULE 4 TEXTUAL ANALYSIS
Unit 1 Analysis of Texts
Unit 2 Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
Unit 3 Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Unit 4 Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
UNIT 1 ANALYSIS OF TEXTS
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Textual Analysis
3.2 Theme
3.3 Subject Matter
3.5 Setting
3.6 Language
3.7 Other Devices
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
7.0 References/ Further Readings
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In this Unit, you will be introduced to how to analyse plays and
appreciate their effectiveness as dramatic texts. The common approaches
to the analysis of literary texts are content and form. Content deals with
the theme and subject matter. Form comprises such stylistic features as
plot, characterization, setting, language and other dramatic devices used
in the play.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
By the time you conclude this unit you will be able to:
• Read and appreciate plays.
• Criticize any given play by highlighting its weak and strong
points
• State and explain in details the major dramatic techniques and
how to apply them in the texts.
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3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 Textual Analysis
Textual analysis in drama is the evaluation of a written play. In the
evaluation, you are expected to read the play very well and highlight
how effectively or otherwise the playwright has utilized the elements
and devices of drama in the composition of his play. The dramatic
techniques used are also discussed. As you analyse a play, you are
expected to identify the theme, how appropriate the characters are, if
they are consistent and their actions are properly motivated. The
language is another area that needs attention as you determine if there is
consistency. The relationship between the message of the play and the
method used to relay the message is also examined. You can take the
following steps for an effective textual analysis:
a) Read the play for the first time and enjoy the story.
b) Read the play again with your notebook and dictionary by your
side. Use the dictionary to find out the meaning of the words you
are not familiar with and form notes on the plot, theme,
characterization and other relevant information.
d) Read it again and again to fill in the gaps and ensure that you
have obtained the required information.
e) Rewrite your note properly, and revise it as many times as
possible.
3.2 Content/Theme
In the analysis of a play, the first issue that comes to mind is the theme.
Theme is the main idea in a play that permeates the entire play. How do
you identify the theme of a play? Themes are identified through the
dialogue, actions and manifestations in the actions of the major
characters as they interact with other characters in the play. The
interpersonal relationships of the characters help to highlight and
advance that particular idea. Themes in drama include corruption, love,
revenge, and many others. The theme is the message which the
playwright wants to send across to his audience and a play could have
more than one theme. The playwright could draw his germinal idea from
an incident or event in his contemporary society. It could also be drawn
from history, legend, myth or folklore but the important factor is that
there is a message he sends to the audience.
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Most playwrights try to make their societies better through the
exploration of the negative impacts of these ideas in the societies. A
playwright is normally influenced by his background and this is
reflected in his plays. In Nigeria many contemporary playwrights
explore the themes like military dictatorship, insecurity unemployment,
bad leadership, bribery and corruption. You will agree with me that
these and more are the vices that plague the contemporary Nigerian
society
The playwright is said to be the conscience of his society, a teacher and
an entertainer. He therefore strives to educate, inform and entertain his
audience. This explains why he presents his theme through an
interesting story and chooses the most appropriate dramatic form. For
example, Bernard Shaw decides to dramatise the themes of love and war
through comedy, while Shakespeare presents his theme of revenge
through tragedy.
The theme of the story is what gives it significance because without a
recognizable and definable theme, a story will be trite and pointless. A
clearly focused theme is the story’s “motivating force”. In Oedipus Rex
for instance, the theme is man’s quest for his identity. The sub-theme is
man’s helplessness in the hands of fate or the gods. If we take the main
theme, we will see that Oedipus’ search for his true parents leads him to
kill his father and marry his mother, while his search for the cause of the
plague in his kingdom and the murderer of King Laius leads to his
search for his own identity. The search for his own identity leads to his
doom. Everyman explores the summons of death for mankind and
man’s readiness to meet his creator. In explicating this theme, the play
dramatizes the struggle between virtue and vice for supremacy in a
man’s life. The question of man’s ultimate fate is also explored. It
concludes with the fact that only man’s good deed is important for his
salvation.
Consciously or unconsciously, every playwright has his theme in mind
in choosing the style to adopt. The characters, the setting, the language,
the plot, are chosen in such a way that should advance the major theme
of the story. However, you must bear in mind the fact that a story may
have one or more themes. It is also possible that each reader may
discover a different theme or a multiplicity of themes in the same play.
You should not worry about this. Literature is open to different
interpretations and as literary students, you should be able to identify
your position and substantiate it with facts from the play. You can see
that in the example of Oedipus above, I used the first theme of man’s
search for his identify. If I decide to use the theme of man’s
helplessness as the major theme, I will state how Oedipus was born and
there was a prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother.
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His parents believe that they can avert the curse by killing him.
Unfortunately the servant who was asked to kill him gives him to a
shepherd who in turn hands him over to his childless master. Oedipus is
brought up in Corinth but unfortunately, he tries to run away from the
same curse (fate) when he realizes that he is doomed to kill his father
and marry his mother. In running away from fate, he fulfills that
prophecy.
The theme of a play could be given in one word but ideally it is
presented in sentence or statement. A play could be complex and it
might be difficult to give the theme or the central idea in one word.
However, you should realize that whether it is in one word or in one
sentence, you must explain it further based on the play. You should also
be in a position to identify other themes, if the play has other themes.
Usually the theme is identified after you must have read the entire play.
Finally, theme is the controlling idea in a play which the reader extracts
consciously as he reads the text. It could be literal or symbolic. It is
that idea or message which the playwright wants to share with or convey
to his audience. In most cases, the theme emerges after the exploration
of the entire play. Some plays have more than one theme. The major
one which stands out is the main theme while the others are called the
sub-themes.
3.3 Subject Matter
The subject matter is the topic of discussion in the play. It is easier to
get the subject matter from the title of the play. Theme is the central idea
of the play while the subject matter is the object of discussion from
which the theme is extracted. It is means therefore that the theme is
subsumed in the subject matter. In The Lion and the Jewel, for instance,
the subject matter is the fame of Sidi (the Jewel) a young and beautiful
girl and her seduction by the Bale (the Lion) who is sixty two years old.
In The Marriage of Anansewa, the theme is love but the subject matter is
the marriage of Anansewa. From the two examples, we conclude that
the subject matter is indeed the object of discussion which other events
and incidents in a text or work help to highlight.
This is the statement the play makes about the social world. In most
cases, plays treat common human problems and make statements that
have universal validity or relevance for all ages. Each playwright treats
any of these human problems from his own perspective to give it a touch
of originality and uniqueness. This is the style.
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Characters are the persons in a dramatic work. The playwright endows
them with moral and dispositional qualities which are expressed (as
discussed earlier in Module 2 Unit 1) in their words and actions. The
reasons for the character’s action, his speech, his temperament constitute
his motivation. In textual analysis, one could evaluate the character
though the stage direction where some playwrights have some
comments on the character’s disposition, his age, his physical attributes,
his mode of dressing and other information that could be found there.
The next thing is to evaluate his interactions with other characters
through which you discover whether he is a flat or round character. A
flat character remains unchanged in his outlook and dispositions from
the beginning to the end but a round character could undergo a gradual
or radical change which is brought about by events in the play. It is
difficult to predict the actions of a round character because he is usually
very close to real human beings.
Anything you write about a character must be contained in the text. You
should therefore not infer, guess or suggest a characteristic moral
disposition or physical attribute that cannot be identified in the text. For
instance, you can rightly say that Baroka in The Lion and the Jewel is a
crafty rogue who excels in self-indulgence. One of the characters said
that about him and his action too in the scene where his current wife is
pulling the hairs in his armpit and also in his seduction of Sidi. We have
analysed the plays that are recommended for this course in subsequent
units and we discussed some of the characters.
3.5 Setting
Setting is the place or the time where or when the action of the play
takes place. In textual analysis, setting is also discussed. Setting could
be a tribe, a village a town or a country depending on the disposition of
the playwright. In some plays like Oedipus Rex, Arms and the Man,
Hamlet and many others, the playwrights mention specific
towns/countries like Thebes, Bulgaria, and Denmark. However, in some
other plays like The Marriage of Anansewa, The Lion and the Jewel,
and The Song of a Goat, the setting of each play is identified through the
names of characters or other landmarks. In The Lion and the Jewel for
instance, the reference to ‘sango’ by some of the characters highlights
the Yoruba background of the play. Setting in terms of time, period, or
locale can be mentioned, implied or alluded to in the text.
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3.6 Language
Language seems to be the most essential technique in the analysis of any
dramatic text. It is through language that the playwright communicates
his ideas; so he manipulates it to suit his intention. Language could be
in form of speech, gestures or other bodily signs/symbols. Dramatic
language is not just an ordinary language because the playwright is
compelled to incorporate descriptions about setting, character and the
overall presentation of the story through the characters. The language
must therefore be very economical, vivid and expressive. In Oedipus
Rex, for example, the language is concise but loaded with meaning. Let
us look at the following exchange in which Teiresias sums up the
misfortunes of King Oedipus.
Oedipus: Man, must you wrap up your words in riddles?
Teiresias: Where you not framed for skill for solving riddles?
Oedipus: You taunt me with the gift that is my greatest.
Teiresias: Your great misfortune and your ruin.
In the last line of this exchange, the Blind Seer states that by solving the
riddles and becoming the king of Thebes, Oedipus paved the way for his
misfortune, which is marrying his mother after having killed his father.
Consequently, there is a plague in Thebes and this leads to the search for
a solution. In the course of this search, Oedipus discovers his true
identity and this leads to his ruin. Another good example of condensed
language in Hamlet is Polonius’ advice to his son, Laertes: “Neither a
borrower nor a lender be / for loan often loses itself and friend/and
borrowing dull that edge of husbandry”.
So, in dramatic language, the dramatist must think in terms of the
characteristics of the characters, their speeches, their actions and the
environment in which they operate and incorporate them in language.
This is important because unlike in prose, where the novelist has enough
time and space to describe everything and this include probing into the
inner beings of the character, the dramatist relies only on dialogue to
explore characters, describe incident, create environment, atmosphere
and mood. This is the reason why he pays attention to the diction.
Diction is the choice or selection of the words which forms the dialogue
through which the playwright communicates his ideas to his audience.
The diction could be simple or difficult. A play that has very simple
diction invariably will have a simple and direct language so is said to be
accessible to a wider audience. This is because more people will read
and understand it. Also, when it is presented on stage, people will
understand the story and absorb the message with ease. In a play with
simple diction, the playwright uses familiar and simple words.
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On the other hand, some plays are difficult to understand. They are
usually filled with unfamiliar words, terms, and symbols. Such plays
are said to be obscure and the playwright is said to be writing for a
select audience. This is because many people will find it difficult to
understand and appreciate the play. The problem here is that if you do
not understand a play, you would not enjoy it or be entertained by it.
You can read a simple play just once and enjoy the story but it will take
at least a second reading for the story of an obscure play to be
understood. For instance, you can read two plays by Wole Soyinka, The
Trials of Brother Jero and Madmen and Specialists. The former is very
simple, direct and entertaining. It tells a story of a fake pastor who
swindles people to make money. The latter is on the Nigerian civil war
but you will have to read it several times to be able to decode the
symbols used in it for you to understand the play.
3.7 Other Devices
Imagery
A playwright could employ literal or connotative language in his work.
A literal language gives a direct meaning of the words while a
connotative language gives more than one meaning to the word. The
language here determines how we mentally visualize the object or
situation. This is called imagery. It also shows the playwright’s attitude
towards a particular character or situation. In The Lion and the Jewel,
for example, Baroka is referred to as a ‘fox’, a ‘crafty rogue’, ‘wiry’,
‘goated’, ‘tougher than his sixty-two’, these references helps the reader
to have a mental picture of Baroka. The image of a character and his
mode of dressing as described in a stage-direction helps us, to a large
extent, to evaluate the character’s disposition, personality, and the
attitude of the playwright towards that character.
Symbolism
In everyday life, you come across symbols and even use them at times.
Symbols are objects or things that communicate meaning or messages
without using words for example, a cross or a bible symbolizes
Christianity. It could be a character, an object, or an incident which
represents an idea, a person, a quality, a profession or situation.
Symbolism is an artistic device through which the playwright uses
factual language in a way that it deviates from its simple function of
describing or recording but used to stand for or represent something else
not directly named. This means, therefore, that in a play, you could have
symbolic action, symbolic object and symbolic character.
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Irony
A playwright uses irony to add flavour to his story. Here, a playwright
uses words or action to create certain kinds of discrepancy between
appearance and reality; between what is said or done and what is meant
or intended. The types are verbal irony, dramatic irony and situational
irony.
Verbal Irony
This is the simplest and commonest type of irony. It is a figure of
speech where the word is the opposite of what is meant; for example,
when he is a giant or the tallest man refers to a very short man.
Dramatic Irony
Here, there is a contrast between what the character says or does and
what the reader knows as the truth. If a speech is meant to be
understood in one way by a certain character in a play but the audience
understands it in a different way, the scenario becomes a dramatic irony.
In other words, a character is under a delusion of a certain fact which
has been overtaken by an intervening circumstance.
Situational Irony
In irony of situation, the expectation does not come out in the way it is
anticipated. It is a situation of appearance versus reality. The action of
a character here is at variance with the consequences or result of the
action.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE.
i. Read and analyze one of the plays recommended for this course.
ii. Discuss setting in any one of the plays set for this course.
4.0 CONCLUSION
We have tried in this unit to give you a detailed discussion on the steps
you take in the analysis of a play. This is very important because they
are tools you need to possess before you can appreciate, understand and
criticize any play. We have also tried to show you how to analyse plays
by identifying the dramatic elements and other devices used and how
appropriate they are.
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The reading of the play may be for an examination, entertainment or
even for a job. If for instance, you secure a job as a literary editor in a
print or even an electronic media, you need to know these techniques
very well to aid you in your job. Who knows you may aspire to write a
play, so the knowledge you have acquired in this unit will be of
immense benefit to you.
5.0 SUMMARY
Textual analysis in the study of dramatic literature could be seen as the
‘palm oil’ with which drama is eaten. In other words, you cannot give
what you do not have. So, you cannot talk of literary appreciation
without knowing what to look out for to determine whether the
playwright has done well or not. You have learnt from this unit that you
approach the study of a play through its content and form. The content
is the theme and the subject matter while the form is the style.
1. What are the basic steps in the textual analysis of a play?
Abrams, M.H. (1981). A Glossary of Literary Terms. New York: Holt
Rinehart.
Reinhart.
Miller, Arthur (1983) “Tragedy and the Common Man.” In X.J.
Kennedy, ed. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry and
Drama. Boston: Little Brown.
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UNIT 2 OEDIPUS REX OR KING OEDIPUS BY
SOPHOCLES
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Synopsis of the Play, Oedipus Rex
3.2 Themes
3.3 Style
3.3.1 Plot
3.3.2 Characterization
3.3.3 Diction
3.3.4 Music
3.3.5 Spectacle
3.3.6 The Tragic Hero/Tragic Flaw
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit, you will be introduced to a classical tragedy-Oedipus Rex.
We will use this play to illustrate the Aristotelian elements of drama.
The text is also called King Oedipus.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit you will be able to:
• Identify the elements of tragedy (drama) in a play
• Identify the protagonist/ hero in a play
• Determine what makes him a tragic hero
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 Synopsis of the Play Oedipus Rex
In the city of Delphi, a son is born to King Laius. The oracle of Delphi
reveals that this child is doomed to commit an abomination. He is to kill
his father and marry his mother. The King and his wife are sad with this
prophecy. Consequently, they take steps to avert its fulfillment. They
drive a peg through his two ankles, give him to a shepherd to expose
him at the hillside, apparently for him to die there.
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The shepherd gives him to the servant of the King of Corinth, Polybus.
This child grows up with them and takes them as his parents. One day
he is told that he is not actually what he claims to be. He goes to the
oracle to find out the truth. He is told he is fated to kill his father and
marry his mother. He tries to defeat the oracle by running away. He
resolves to stay out of Corinth until his parents are dead.
On his way, he meets an entourage and there is a quarrel over the right
of way. He kills everybody except one person who escaped. The city he
enters is besieged by a Sphinx who kills the citizens because they cannot
answer a particular riddle. Oedipus solves the riddle and is made the
king. Consequently, he marries the queen who, unknown to both of
them, is his mother. He lives with her and they have children.
The city is again besieged by a plague. The general belief is that the city
is not clean, so it is being punished by the gods. They inquire from the
oracle and they are told that the unknown assassin of the former king,
Lauis, is in their midst and unless he is discovered and punished, the
plague would continue.
Oedipus sets out in search of the killer and eventually finds out that he is
the killer. The queen tries in vain to stop the quest. She commits suicide
as the reality dawns on her that she had married her own son. King
Oedipus gouges out his two eyes and leaves Thebes with the children.
3.2 Themes
The main theme of the play is fate or destiny. The play dramatizes the
helplessness of man in the hands of the gods or in the hands of Fate. It
upholds belief in destiny and the fact that what is destined to happen to
anybody must happen to that person irrespective of what the person
does.
Another theme of the play is man’s search for identity. It shows that,
sometimes, we are not what we think that we are. If we, therefore,
decide to search, we might discover our true identities. In the play,
Oedipus’ search for his true parents leads him to kill his father and
marry his mother while his search for the plague in his kingdom and the
murderer of King Laius leads to his search for his true identity.
3.3.1 Plot
The play has a single unified plot. It is presented like a detective play
which is like an investigation into the cause of the plague. The play
therefore commences as a search and proceeds as a search until the
messenger from Corinth arrives. The events of the play run
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chronologically and causally from the beginning to the end. The
incidents have causes and consequences (interdependence of incidents).
Oedipus assures his subjects that he will solve their problems by
ensuring that the killer of Lauis is found and punished. He therefore
sends Creon to the oracle to inquire and also sends for the seer,
Teiresias. Creon returns with the news that the killer they seek is in their
midst. The seer confirms this information and goes a step further out of
provocation to accuse Oedipus of being the killer he seeks.
The queen tries to refute the seer’s claim and unwittingly tells Oedipus
the story of his birth. However, this fact is further revealed as the
messenger from Corinth arrives to inform Oedipus of the death of his
father. He explains the circumstance that took Oedipus to Corinth. This
circumstance is that Oedipus is not the prince of Corinth as he had
hitherto believed. The truth is that the Oedipus was given to him by the
shepherd who was asked to abandon the baby in the forest to die. He,
the messenger, gave the baby to his master who was childless then.
Oedipus was then brought up and treated like a prince. Thus the arrival
of the messenger provides a basis for revealing the true story. The
shepherd corroborated his story and this leads to the resolution of the
play. This section of the play is replete with dramatic ironies. It is
ironical that the killer which the king seeks is himself. Try to identify
other ironies in the play.
The play opens with a search. The first search is for the cause of the
plague in Thebes. This leads to the search for a murderer and the search
continues until the messenger from Corinth arrives with his news. The
information from him and the accusation from the seer leads to another
kind of search – the search for an identity. The revelations about the
true identity of King Oedipus lead to the resolution of the play.
The plot is also ironic because Oedipus sets out to secure peace and
tranquility in his kingdom by tracking the cause of the plague. He
realizes that this can only be achieved through the discovery and
punishment of the killer of King Laius. He becomes the killer he is
searching for. The major ironic twist in the play is that, it is believed
that the discovery of his true identity will lead to the solution of his
problems. Unfortunately it becomes the beginning of his problems. It is
also expected that the discovery of the murderer he is looking for will
end the plague in the land but he leaves the city as a blind man who does
not know if the plague ended or not. The play conforms to the
Aristotelian plot structure of beginning, middle and end.
Exposition - The play opens with a problem. There is a plague is the
land and the people are suffering.
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Complication - Creon returns and tells him that the oracle says that the
killer is in their midst. There is a conflict. He quarrels with Creon and
the seer. The search for his identity introduces more complications.
Climax - The climax begins with the arrival of the messenger from
Corinth and culminates in the revelation of his true identity.
Discovery - He discovers his true self and real parents.
Reversal - There is a reversal of fortune as a man who was once a
famous king is brought down and expelled from the society he once
ruled. The king leaves his city as a wandering blind beggar. In the
catastrophe, the Queen hangs herself while the king blinds himself and
goes on self-exile. The killer of Lauis is found and punished, so the
plague is expected to stop. Thus the conflicts are resolved.
3.3.2 Characterization
The characters are consistent and well-motivated. Oedipus remains
resolute and exhibits his bravery and arrogance throughout the play.
This aspect of his character is manifested more at the end of the play
when he gouges out his eyes. Only a brave man can inflict such pain on
himself. Each character’s action helps to advance the theme and propel
the plot. For instance, the insistence of the king on the search for the
killer of the late king sustains the play from the beginning to the end.
The chorus is used as a character. However, it speaks in an impersonal
way. It therefore does not participate in the action. It makes statements
or comments on man and the forces against him which he cannot
understand. Sometimes it thinks aloud as it expresses its fears on a
particular issue. A good example is when the messenger from Corinth
arrives with the news that Polybus is dead. The chorus is apprehensive
and wondered aloud. It feels that if the gods have failed, then the whole
system is destroyed. In the end, the gods did not fail. The truth is
revealed and the chorus reviews the entire action. The chorus acts as the
interpreter of events in the play.
Jocasta is an obedient wife. She obeys her husband as she agrees to hand
over her son to be killed. She marries Oedipus apparently in obedience
to the laws of the land. She is encountered briefly as she pleads with her
husband to stop the search. Her husband refuses to stop the search and
she does not confront him, instead she leaves quietly to hang herself.
3.3.3 Diction
The language is in verse. It is condensed but accessible. The language is
used to delineate characters. For instance, Oedipus speaks with the
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authority and arrogance of a king. The words are well chosen to reveal
both characters and incidents. The Blind Seer also speaks with the
authority of someone who possesses some supernatural powers. Other
characters speak in simple language as people speaking before their
king.
3.3.4 Music
There is an alternation of dialogue and songs. The chorus sings part of
its lines and dances in accompaniment of the song. The larger part of
the play in which the chorus sings is called the choral song or the
strophe. The practice is that as they sing the strophe, they dance. The
movement from right to left is called the anti-strophe.
3.3.5 Spectacle
The stylized acting, the costume and make-up, and the dance of the
chorus, all contribute to the spectacle of the play.
3.4 Tragic Hero/Tragic Flaw
Oedipus is a typical classical tragic hero. He is of a noble birth. Even
when circumstance would have forced him to the lower class, he leaves
Corinth, arrives at Thebes and is made the king.
His tragic flaw is arrogance and irascibility. In arrogance, he decides to
outwit the gods by running away from Corinth. In arrogance, he refuses
to concede the right of way to king Lauis and his men. In arrogance, he
challenges both Creon and Teiresias. In arrogance, he refuses to listen to
a plea, to stop the quest, from Jocasta. In arrogance he refuses to ask for
mercy or any other solution but gouges his eyes and leaves the city.
He is also temperamental which is why he kills King Lauis and his men.
He also threatens to deal with Creon and Teiresias. He pursues the goal
he believes in to its logical conclusion even to the detriment of his life
SELF-ASSESMENT EXERCISE 1
i. What is the thematic concern of Oedipus Rex
ii. Oedipus is doomed to kill his father and marry his mother.
Discuss.
4.0 CONCLUSION
Oedipus Rex is a good example of an ideal classical play that is still
relevant in our own times. It meets the Aristotelean postulations on
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tragedy. It contains a single integral plot which is presented in one
single setting within a very short period of time. It presents the story of
how Oedipus killed his father and married his mother. The setting is in
front of the palace. To maintain this single setting, indoor actions and
violence are reported. For instance Jocasta’s hanging of herself is
reported and not presented on stage. Oedipus, the tragic hero, is a king
who is not preeminently good, virtuous or vicious but he commits an
error of judgment. Towards the end of the play, he discovers the truth
about himself and his fortune reverses from good to bad. His catastrophe
is caused by his tragic flaw which is arrogance.
5.0 SUMMARY
You have seen in this unit, through a study/ reading of Oedipus Rex, that
man is helpless in the hands of the gods. For those who believe in
destiny, this play will be very relevant.
With it one can easily understand the Aristotelean postulations on
tragedy. He opines that tragedy should treat a single subject that
concerns a hero who must be of noble birth. The tragic hero has a flaw
which makes him to commit an error of judgement that leads to his fall.
The play must have a beginning, middle and an end. Can you identify
them in the play?
1. Describe King Oedipus as a tragic hero
2. What is the distinctive feature of the plot of Oedipus Rex?
Sophocles, (1978). King Oedipus in Three Theban Plays.
Harmondsworth: Penguin.
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UNIT 3 HAMLET BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objection
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Summary of the Play
3.2 Themes
3.3 Style
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
7.0 Reference/Further Readings
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This unit introduces us to the play of the greatest dramatist in literary
history. He is William Shakespeare. He is well respected and his plays
are widely read and referred to because of the wisdom they contain.
Hamlet is one of his tragedies. In fact, it is acclaimed to be one of the
best.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
By the end of this unit, you should be able to:
• Interpret Shakespeare’s Hamlet as a literary work.
• Be able to discuss the play in terms of content and form.
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
The King of Denmark was killed by his brother, Claudius, who married
the late King’s wife within two months of assassinating him. The action
of the queen, Gertrude, and her marriage to the brother of her slain
husband within a short time is condemned by everyone. So this action
of Claudius confirms the people’s opinion that he killed his brother so as
to become the king of Denmark and marry his widow. The lawful heir
to the throne, Hamlet, is therefore shut out of the throne, which he is
entitled to as a matter of right.
The result is that the Hamlet is troubled by the ignominy of his mother’s
marriage and the loss of his father whom he loves so much. His mind is
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troubled and he develops apathy towards his favorite pastimes like
reading of books, sports and princely exercises .What is more worrisome
is not even that his throne has been usurped, but that his mother has not
treated the memory of his father with respect and has to remarry a
murderer within two months of his brutal murder. It is this singular
stupid maternal action, much more than ten kingdoms, that dispirited the
prince.
He heard rumours that a ghost like the dead father had been sighted by
the palace guards for two consecutive nights. And his apprehension
increases when he learns that the ghost dresses in the attire worn by the
late king and that the outward appearance of the ghost looks sorrowful
but that it did not make any speech and disappears when the morning
cock crowed. He decides to keep watch with the guards. The ghost
appears and gives him sign to move to another location with him and
Hamlet determines and moves with the spirit while his friends dissuade
him to no avail.
At a quiet place, the spirit tells him that he is the ghost of the late king
who was murdered in cold blood by Claudius. Indeed, Claudius
murdered him to inherit his widow and his crown by creeping into his
garden in the afternoon when he was asleep and poured a poisonous
liquid into his ears, which killed him immediately; thus, he was cut off
at once from his crown and his queen by a brother’s hand. He therefore
urges Hamlet, the young prince, to avenge this cruel murder. Hamlet
resolves in his privacy to do the bidding of the ghost. He gave his
friends the details of the conversation but asks them to keep it a secret.
Hamlet, fearing that the new king may discover his intent and prompting
of the ghost, decides to feign madness.
He appears henceforth as a mad man in his speeches, dressing and
behaviour. He feigns this madness so masterly and craftily that the king
and the queen are deceived into thinking that it is love for Ophelia that is
driving him so mad. He writes many love letters to Ophelia, and sends
rings to her to cover his pretence of insanity.
He is poised to avenge his father’s death. In the process, he kills
Polonius, who is sent by Claudius to eavesdrop during the meeting
between Hamlet and his mother. Ophelia his girlfriend who is Polonius’
daughter runs mad. Leartes, his brother vows to avenge their father’s
death.
But the mission is not an easy one because of high security presence
around the king. Also, Hamlet is noble-hearted and the murder of a
creature makes him sad. He wonders whether the ghost’s command is
right or wrong. He wants further proof. So, he organizes a play that
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presents a story that is similar to the account of the ghost about the
murder of his late father. This play is presented before the new king in
the form of a play-within-the-play.
The king calls for light and develops a sudden sickness and quickly
leaves the theatre, and that brings the play to an abrupt end. Hamlet is
now convinced. He then tells Horatio that he believes everything the
ghost said. Hamlet was later invited to a private meeting by his mother.
In the meeting, the mother tells him that his behaviour has troubled
them, herself, and his uncle. Meanwhile, Claudius sent Polonius to
secretly watch and get the details of the meeting, because he is sure that
the queen would not tell him everything that transpired.
But Hamlet confronts his mother and accuses her of living in sin. In the
course of accusations and the argument that follows, his mother insists
on calling Polonius and is prevented by the prince. She shouts for help
and a voice is heard behind the curtain, “Help, the queen!” Hamlet
draws his sword and strikes, thinking that it is the king but it is Polonius
who dies.
Incidentally, Polinius is Ophelia’s father. The shock of his death at the
hands of her beloved drives her mad and she dies later. Her brother
Leartes, decides to avenge the two deaths. The king seizes the
opportunity to use him to kill Hamlet. They agree to kill Hamlet with a
poisoned foil during a fencing match to be organized for Leartes and
Hamlet. Before the match, the king offers a cup of poisoned wine to
Hamlet but he declines. His mother who is not aware of the poison
drinks the wine and dies as the match is going on. During the match, the
foils are exchanged and both of them are wounded. Hamlet stabs the
king with the poisoned foil, and forces him to drink the remaining
poisoned wine.
As they all die, Fortinbras comes back from Poland, takes over Denmark
and promises to restore peace while Horatio arranges for the burial.
3.2 Themes
The main theme of the play is the “natural streak of evil in nature” of
the royal house of Denmark which threatens its existence. This evil in
nature taints everything that is good in Denmark, disrupts its equilibrium
and brings it to ruin. This sin against nature is manifested in the murder
of the late king by his brother, young Hamlet’s feigned madness, his
mother’s hasty marriage to Claudius and the eventual death of Hamlet,
Leartes, Claudius and the Queen.
Enclosed in this main theme are the themes of betrayal and revenge.
Hamlet feels betrayed by his mother and uncle and that both betrayed
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his late father. However, his mother’s betrayal hurts him more for his
father loved his mother so much that even in death he (late king)
intercedes for her. Olivia feels betrayed by Hamlet. The entire play
revolves around Hamlet’s decision and move to revenge his father’s
death.
3.3 Style
The Shakespearean style used in this tragic play is unique as Hamlet
tries to avenge the death of his father, the late king of Denmark who was
murdered by his uncle, Claudius. The aftermath or consequences of this
venture plunge the entire state into a state of cataclysm. The style and
dramatic technique adopted therein are as follows.
1. Plot/Structure
The play has a linear and casual plot. It is presented in a five-act
structure. The action follows a chronological, logical sequence from the
beginning to the end except for the interruption for the “Mousetrap”.
Each action leads to the other and they all contribute to the progress of
the entire play. However, there are sub-plots but they are equally
essential to the play. All of them depend casually upon each other with
their climax coming together to re-inforce each other and their
denouement (resolution) is interdependent. The play is hinged on
conflicts. These are the struggles or conflicts between Claudius and
Hamlet, between Hamlet, Polonius and Leartes, and between Claudius’s
regime and Fortinbras’. The interesting and unique thing is that they are
tightly woven together casually and logically from the beginning to the
end.
2. Suspense
Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s best constructed plays. It begins at the
Castle of Elsinore in Denmark and its exposition carries one of the
greatest suspense in dramatic history. It reveals the present, takes us
back to the past (flashback) and also foreshadows the future. The
suspense is steady till the end of the play. Hamlet knows that his
father’s spirit is not happy, but feels that probably he died in sin. This
fact leads to his indecision which sustains the suspense throughout the
play and also to the anticlimax of the play when he dies eventually.
3. Soliloquy and Aside
Soliloquy is employed to reveal the inner workings of the minds of
characters in this play, Shakespeare uses it in its finest form especially
in the character of Hamlet. The audience, through this technique, shares
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in Hamlet’s psychological disturbances and the innermost aspects of his
character. It helps to reveal Hamlet’s character and also serves as a form
of significant commentary on the events. The first soliloquy, for
instance, reveals Hamlet’s predicament.- to be or not to be, to kill or not
to kill the king- this is a weighty issue that burden him.
Soliloquy is a very important technique used in this play. Although
Hamlet’s soliloquies do not represent the greater part of the play, but the
main action which is the revenge plot, depends to a great extent on the
working out of Hamlet’s private mental processes. Almost everything
he does or does not do, is the result of one soliloquy or the cause of
another. You will notice that when Hamlet stops soliloquizing, when he
turns from private thought to definite public action, the play comes
quickly to an end.
Aside is a dramatic convention that enables a character speak to himself
or make a comment on the action or speech of another character. That
other character is not expected to hear it but others could. Sometimes, an
aside is directed to a particular character on another character’s speech
or action. In the example below, Polonius, in an aside, calls the king’s
attention to what Hamlet said:
Queen. Come hither, my dear Hamlet, sit by me.
Ham. No, good mother, here’s metal more attractive.
Pol. [aside to the king] O ho! Do you mark that?
Ham. [lying at Ophelia’s feet] Lady, shall I lie in your
lap?( Act 111, Scene11)
4. Play-Within-the-Play
The play-within-play is a short but complete play incorporated into the
main play. A good example of this in Hamlet is the “Mousetrap” which
presents a story that is similar to the way the late king was killed. This is
another major device used by the playwright as a searchlight directed to
Claudius, to examine his soul and mind. It serves as a point of
recognition. Hamlet recognizes his uncle as the murderer of his father,
Claudius on his part sees Hamlet as a big threat to him and his kingdom.
Therefore, the king determines to eliminate him while Hamlet convinces
himself that Claudius is responsible for his father’s death vows to kill
him.
5. Foreshadow
The appearance of the ghost and the directive it gives to Hamlet
foreshadows the tragic catastrophe at the end of the play. Its subsequent
appearances help to propel Hamlet to action.
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6. Language
The play is written in verse and not in prose. It is written in blank verse
which “…has no end rhyme; its rhythm is particularly suited to drama
because it so closely resembles the rhythm of normal English
speech” (Introduction to Hamlet by A. L. Rowse, p xvii).
7. Setting
The playwright captures the beauty of the environment. It is however a
turbulent and fearful environment which symbolically reflects the
turbulent state of Hamlet’s mind. You see that just as the kingdom of
Denmark is about to collapse, Hamlet’s consciousness is also on the
brink of collapse. The play is set in Denmark. The actions take place
mainly in the Castle of Elisnore. It is not easy to locate the historical
setting as the play is based on the legend of Hamlet which is found in
the folk literature of Iceland and Denmark
8a. Characterization
The characters are round/realistic/multi-dimentional. Hamlet, for
instance, grows from innocence and indecision to maturity and takes a
definite decision to revenge his father’s death. It is difficult to predict
his actions. The perfection of character development in this play is
reflected in a pattern of events as the characters take over the plot and
change as it progresses.
8b. Character Analysis
Hamlet
He is the tragic hero of the play. He is the son of Queen Gertrude and
King Hamlet, murdered by his brother, Claudius. The ship that was to
carry him to England to be executed suffered in the hands of the sea-
pirates and he sees himself rescued by fate and comes back home to
avenge the death of his father in the hand of (king Claudius) who had
planned and executed these evils. The Ghost urges Hamlet to avenge
but could not guide him to live to tell the story; rather, the story is
relayed to the entire Danish people by Horatio his bosom friend.
Ophelia says of Hamlet “what a noble mind is here o’erthrown”. Thus
Hamlet is noble minded, gentle but dignified. Hamlet is a moralist who
condemns his mother’s “quick but unthoughtful” second marriage to the
king. He also criticizes the king’s life of pleasure and debauchery.
Hamlet is a philosopher and a deep thinker. He refuses to kill Claudius
when he had the opportunity because Claudius was praying at that time,
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and he feels that Claudius will go to heaven, if he is killed at his prayer
moment.
His love of Ophelia is incontestable to the point of jumping into her
grave possibly to be buried with her. While Hamlet feigns madness,
Ophelia’s madness is caused by an emotional turmoil and that of Hamlet
a deranged mind occasioned by the tragic death of his father, the late
king. Thus, Hamlet and Ophelia share the same experience in this
respect. Hamlet is one who can wilt in the face of hardship and
difficulties; thus, he contemplates committing suicide when he reflects
on the futility of life and the whole melancholic situation that have
engulfed him.
Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is a scholar and is very intelligent and
these virtues guide him to escape from the wiles and evil machinations
of Claudius. Hamlet feels that, though the Ghost’s directives should be
followed, there is no need to be credulous and sheepish, rather the
advice of the apparition had to be subjected to a test by staging a drama
on the theme of murder and seeing how the king will react to it. Hamlet
is a good student of drama and he usually quotes easily the lines of plays
he has studied.
Claudius, King of Denmark
He murdered his brother, the late king and becomes the king and
married his brother’s wife. He is a schemer who knows what he wants
and how to get it, but his last plot to kill Hamlet boomeranged and he
died in the process. He married Gertrude after eliminating her husband,
though he later regrets his actions, but refuses to give up the throne and
his illegal wife. He does not seriously atone for his sins but plans
complete liquidation of the dynasty of the former king by plotting and
executing the death of the Prince. He is a selfish ruler who wastes his
kingdom’s resources in revelries and drunken orgies. The king is vulgar
and coarse-natured and is not a man of the people as one can say of the
former king. When Claudius, Gertrude, Laertes and Hamlet die, it is the
body of Hamlet that Fortinbras asks to be brought to the foyer and not
that of the king. His reign as a king is marked by violence and
turbulence because he is a hypocrite who came to power by murdering
his brother, the late king. Claudius has the ability to seduce with smile
and cunning.
Queen Gertrude
She is the wife of both the late king and the present one. Her hasty
marriage to King Claudius which was condemned by her son, Hamlet,
brings out clearly her weakness of character for she lacks the moral
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strength to say ‘no’ to evil. She is capricious as she emotionally
changes from the grief of her late husband to savour the happiness of her
second marriage to Claudius. No doubt, Gertrude loves her son, Hamlet
but does not do much to warrant the return of his love. Many examples
abound in the play to show that Gertrude would do everything possible
to preserve the love she has for Hamlet. The king for instance sends
Polonius to eavesdrop and find out the outcome of the meeting between
Gertrude and Hamlet because the king is sure that Gertrude would not
disclose to him all that transpired in the meeting.
i. What is Hamlet’s tragic flaw?
ii. What is play-within-play?
4.0 CONCLUSION
Hamlet remains one of the best tragedies written by Shakespeare. It is
full of philosophies about life and living that have timeless relevance.
You may have heard people say from time to time, “to be or not to be,
that is the question”. I hope you have identified where it is in the play
and its significance in the dilemmas inherent in the plot of the play.
5.0 SUMMARY
Hamlet shows Shakespeare’s skill as a playwright and a stage director.
It is a remarkable play because of its thematic concern and unique form.
The play condemns immorality, murder and vaulting ambition.
1. Hamlet is a tragic hero. Discuss.
Clarke, Waldo (1976). A Short History of English Literature. London:
Evans.
Hagler, A. M. (1959). A Source Book in Theatrical History. New York:
Dover.
Iwuchukwu, Chinweikpe (2004). The Mastery of Literature. Lagos:
Macckho Ricckho.
Shakespeare, William (1984). Hamlet. New York: McGraw-Hill.
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UNIT 4 DEATH OF A SALESMAN BY ARTHUR MILLER
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Synopsis
3.2 Theme
3.3 Plot
3.5 Language
3.6 Tragic Hero and Tragic Flaw
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This unit is concerned with the study of a play with a peculiar technique.
In the play, Arthur Miller challenged the Aristotelian concept of tragedy.
He discarded the notion that tragedy befalls only the people from the
upper class of the society. He created the tragedy of the common man
through the character of Willy Loman.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
• Identify the characteristics of the tragedy of the common man.
• State what makes Willy Loman a tragic hero.
• State what his tragic flaw is.
• Appreciate a complex play.
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 Synopsis
The play presents the story of Willy Loman, a Salesman. In his younger
days he was well-liked and popular, at least he believed so. He struggles
to maintain his family. He lives a false life and this affects the way he
brings up his children. He talks of the American Dream but does not live
up to it. He inculcates this attitude in his children and they grow up
believing to be what they are not. He makes them believe that they are
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excelling in every thing when in actual sense they are not. Biff failed
Mathematics and does not retake it. Consequently, he is unable to
graduate from high school. The reason for his refusal to retake the
subject is known only to him and his father (he met his father with a
prostitute in a hotel room shortly before the exams) as shown in one of
the flashbacks. Consequently, he is demoralized and despises his father.
He is not qualified for any profession. To make matters worse, he steals
himself out of every opportunity he has for employment. Yet, his father
refuses to acknowledge these facts and flatters and encourages him to
aspire to greater heights when it is clear that he is not qualified for those
higher positions.
Linda, Loman’s wife, knows that her husband is living a false life but
refuses to confront him in order not to deflate his ego which is very
important to him as a man. She tries to manage whatever her husband
provides for her without complaint. She mends her old stockings always.
So when Biff meets a woman with new stockings given to her by his
father, he hated his father and carries this hatred throughout the play.
Willy Loman works in a company as a salesman for thirty years.
Unfortunately, he is sacked when the company feels that he is no longer
productive due to old age. He is not compensated adequately so he could
not take care of himself in retirement and old age. His children are
loafers so cannot take care of him. He still does not realize that he
cannot sell the way he used to sell and that he is not well-liked. He goes
to his old customers but tragically nobody notices him. He goes back to
the company but his new boss, (the son of his old boss) prefers to listen
to machine instead of to Loman.
Loman does not give good example for his children. He refuses to tell
his wife that he lost his job and continues borrowing money to keep his
family and could leave any positive legacy for them. They grow up as
failures while he gets frustrated. He breaks down physically,
emotionally and psychologically. He talks to himself more often.
Suicide becomes inevitable. He attempts to take his life in the house but
Linda unobtrusively prevents it. Later he dies in an accident in his car. It
is believed that he killed himself deliberately and made it look like an
accident. His funeral is very solemn and only members of his family and
one of his friends and son are present.
3.2 Theme
The theme of the play is misplaced priorities. The play makes a crucial
statement on the economic situation in the then American society where
the social security was grossly inadequate. It was a society that had no
retirement provision for the working class The play highlights the
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situation in the society where industries use and dump their employees
and leave them with nothing to fall back on when they retire. This play
is said to have influenced the industrial revolution in America. In fact, it
is believed that the entire American industrial sector was reorganized
after the production of the play. Loman spent the greater part of his life
working as a salesman in a company and he is discarded like an orange
peel when he is no longer active. Miller, in this play suggests that
establishments should make provisions for their staff to be comfortable
in their later years.
A man should, as much as possible, be realistic with himself and the
world around him. Willy Loman looked forward to his funeral which
will be attended by many people because according to him he is well-
liked. Ironically, only members of his family plus his steadfast friend
Charley with his son, Bernard, attended the funeral.
The play shows that there is no short-cut to survival especially in the
case of dignity. Willy Loman lives a life of falsehood and believes in the
lies he tells his children and himself. Consequently, he fails as a
professional, as a father, and as a husband. He refuses to heed Charley’s
advice. Loman spends his life fighting for dignity, recognition, self-
worth and against being reduced to the level of an imbecile in his
capitalist society and ends up committing suicide.
3.3 Plot
This play has a peculiar plot structure. Although the present events in
the play run chronologically and sequentially from the beginning to the
end, there are interruptions from thoughts in Loman’s head.
The action of the play covers Loman’s experiences one late evening
through to the next day. However, these events are interwoven with the
events in the past which sometimes overlap with the present. In some
cases, he talks to a character in the present in one line and in the next
line he talks to another character from the past.
Miller uses the expressionistic technique to achieve this in such a way
that the illusion of reality is not destroyed. He uses this technique to
superimpose Willy’s consciousness in the play. He realizes the
difficulties inherent in this type of technique which is easily realizable in
the novel where the novelist has the time and space to describe clearly
what goes on in a character’s head. Miller overcomes this handicap
through detailed stage directions throughout the play. One of the
important ones is that at the beginning of the play, where there is a dual
setting. The elevations and their specifications are given in details in the
stage direction. He also mentions specifically that the apron should
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serve as the locale for Willy’s imaginings and of the city scenes
involving Loman.
You will observe that these events in his head are not presented
chronologically as in flashbacks but as the need for each recollection
arises in relation to the action of the play.
Miller utilizes realistic characters. You can feel Willy Lomans’s
frustrations and fears as he struggles through life. The playwright has
been able to create the right characters to dramatize his story. He creates
Charley as a foil to Willy. Charley is more realistic and cool headed. He
realizes the need for industry and inculcates same in his son, Bernard.
Consequently, while Bernard succeeds in life, Loman’s sons fail
because they got the wrong values from their father. Willy deceives
himself, tells lies to himself, his wife, his friend and his wife. His
children continue with the same self-deceit and lies. They know that
they are deceiving themselves but seem incapacitated in confronting
themselves with the truth or in making an effort to change. However,
Biff who is more rational realizes it and faces himself after his encounter
with Oliver:
Biff: [breathlessly] I did a terrible thing today, Hap. It’s been
the strangest day I ever went through. I’m all numb, I
swear.
Happy: You mean he wouldn’t see you?
Biff: Well I waited six hours for him, see? All day. Kept
sending my name in. Even tried to date his secretary so
she’d get me to him, but no soap.
Happy: Because you’re not showin’ the old confidence, Biff. He
remembered you?
Biff: [stopping Happy with a gesture]: Finally, about
five o’ clock, he comes out. Didn’t remember who I was
or anything. I felt like such an idiot, Hap.
Happy: Did you tell him about my Florida idea?
Biff: He walked away. I saw him for one minute. I got so mad I
could have torn the walls down! How the hell did I get the
idea I was a salesman there? I even believed myself that
I’ve been a salesman for him! And then he gave me one
look and – I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life
has been. We’ve been living in a dream for fifteen years. I
was a shipping clerk. (82)
Eventually he confronts his father with the truth as he insists that he
never got anywhere because his father made him to be so arrogant that
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he could not stand take orders from anybody (104). His brother Happy
continues with his life of illusion.
Linda is presented as an understanding wife. She supports her husband
and makes him feel wanted. She encourages her children in vain to do
the same. She loves her husband so much that he does not want their
children to hurt him. She knows that her husband is living in a dream
world but does not confront him with the truth so as not to deflate his
ego even when she finds out that he attempted suicide. The creation of
Linda as a devoted wife is deliberate because it will not be proper for
everybody in the family to abandon him.
The playwright’s dramatic incursions into the mind of Willy Loman
give us an insight into his mental state at any given time. Miller presents
these images from his mind and superimposes them on the present
action. In spite of this montage, Miller is able to structure the play in
such a way that Willy comes out as a realistic sane man and not as a
lunatic who talks to himself.
3.5 Language
There is no effort by the playwright to use an elevated poetic language
characteristic of classical tragedy. He uses the everyday language of the
contemporary man. Consequently, slang and other forms of language are
used freely as can be seen in this conversation between Willy and
Howard.
Howard: Yeah, but Willy, see I…
Willy: I tell ya why, Howard. The kids are all grown up, y’know.
I don’t need much money any more. If I could take home
– well, sixty-five dollars a week, I could swing it….
Howard: I appreciate that, Willy, but there just isn’t a spot here for
you. If I had a spot,I’d slam you right in, but I just don’t
have a single solitary spot… it’s business, kid, and
everybody’s gotta pull his own weight. (62)
Music is used to enhance the mood and define locale sometimes. For
instance the music from the flute helps to highlight Loman’s solitary
funeral and the solemnity of the occasion at the end of the play.
3.6 Tragic Hero and Tragic Flaw
Usually, a hero is associated with noble deeds but Loman is an
unsuccessful salesman; what then qualifies him as a hero? In the
portrayal of this character, the playwright calls for a redefinition of
tragedy and tragic hero in modern times. According to him, since kings
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and princes are no longer available, tragedy should be based on the heart
and spirit of the common man. He therefore created Loman in his daily
struggles to earn a living as every other man in the society. He is not a
character of high social status but he struggles to maintain his family.
Despite the obstacles, he tries to secure his rightful position in the
society, at least to maintain his conceived image of himself. In this
struggle, he is willing to throw in all that he has into the contest and this
makes him a hero. He pursues his set goal to its logical conclusion even
to the extent of losing his life.
Tragedy is the consequence of a man’s compulsion to evaluate himself
justly and the action reveals a tragic flaw in the tragic hero. This failing,
according to Miller, is not peculiar to noble characters alone. This flaw
is usually as a result of inherent unwillingness to remain passive in the
face of what he conceives to be a challenge to his dignity, to the image
of his rightful status. So, a common man who is ready to lay down his
life to secure his sense of personal dignity is also a tragic hero.
Loman is neither too vicious nor too virtuous. He is a hero because of
his brave attempt to confront negative forces entrenched in the capitalist
society. This society discards him like an orange peel once he is no
longer strong and useful to the society. The society at this point no
longer regards him as a man. However, he does not relent but fights on
till the end.
We do not blame the society entirely for his failure. He has his own fault
which is his tragic flaw. He is a dreamer. He refuses too face reality and
keeps on believing that he is well-liked by everybody. Unfortunately, he
dies and is buried as Mr. Nobody.
Discuss the unique nature of the plot of the play.
4.0 CONCLUSION
Arthur Miller’s major contribution to modern drama is his elevation of
the common man to the status of a tragic hero. This is a deviation from
the earlier conventions of drawing the hero from the noble class. The
hero’s fate is no longer determined by his personality.
5.0 SUMMARY
This play shows clearly in practical terms that drama is not for
entertainment alone but it is used also as a tool for social change in the
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society. To achieve this aim, the playwright uses everyday language to
make it accessible to a wider audience.
What is the tragedy of the common man?
Miller, Arthur (1981). Death of a Salesman. Harmondworth: Penguin.
Molinari, Casare (1975). Theatre Through the Ages. London: Cassell.
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MODULE 5 TEXTUAL ANALYSIS
Unit 1 Song of a Goat by J. P. Clark
Unit 2 Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
Unit 3 The Marriage of Anansewa by Efua Sutherland
Unit 4 The Lion and the Jewel
UNIT 1 SONG OF A GOAT BY J.P CLARK
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.2 Theme
3.3 Setting
3.4 Language
3.5 Chorus
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit, we introduce you to a Nigerian play with a familiar
background. You should get a copy of the play, read it before studying
this unit. At the end of this unit, you should be able to compare and
contrast King Oedipus and Zifa as tragic heroes.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
• Identify why Song of a Goat could be regarded as a classical tragedy.
• Discuss the major themes of Song of a Goat
• Draw character sketches of the main characters in the play.
• Discuss the language used in the play.
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3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 Summary of Play
In the play, Zifa, the major character in the play is sexually impotent. In
addition to that, he bears the burden of a family curse. His aunt,
Orukorere, has the gift of prophecy and foretells the tragic consequences
of Zifa’s burden of impotence and the family curse. Zifa’s wife, Ebiere,
goes to the Masseur for help and he tells her that an empty house (her
womb) is dangerous because if men will not use it, bats or grass will.
The encounter with the Masseur establishes Zifa’s impotence by
indirection. This perhaps, leads her to take a lover.
Ebiere, takes as her lover Zifa’s younger brother, Tonye. She becomes
pregnant. Unfortunately, Zifa discovers her infidelity. In a proud rage,
he ritually slaughters a goat and asks Tonye to put the head of the goat
into a pot that is too small for it. When the pot breaks, the symbolism of
Tonye’s adultery is complete which indicts his brother and his wife and
their illicit relationship.
Tonye could not bear the shame and the consequences of his action so
he hangs himself instead of waiting for Zifa to kill him. Ebiere
collapses. Zifa walks down to the sea, apparently to drown himself.
The play does not state specifically what happens to Ebiere, Dode and
Orukorere. Ebiere suffers a miscarriage. The important issue is that the
people of Deinogbo survive the loss. The catharsis in the play is
highlighted. The people learn to bear their lives, maybe more stoically
after the example of the fall of Zifa’s household as a messenger
describes his suicidal walk into the sea.
3.2 Theme
1. Impotence
The reason for most marriages in all the countries of the world is for
child-bearing. Children are therefore of a great importance in marriage.
A family is not considered complete without a child. This is more so in
African societies where a marriage is basically for bearing children and
bringing them up.
In Deinogbo, where the play is set, impotence has great social
significance because children are major proofs of a man’s substance,
wealth, and prestige. Economically, children form part of the labour
force in the family. So, the increase in potential labour carries with it
social rewards.
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Children help to ensure the survival of the family and its perpetuation
from one generation to another. They also promise the ancestors future
sacrifice and thus enhance the spiritual life of the community. It means,
therefore, that failure to have children robs the living and the dead of
their increase and honour.
In this community, children are so necessary that the impotent man will
usually find a surrogate to father his children, since the children of his
wives are part of his own household. He can choose a trusted friend or a
brother.
However, in the case of a younger brother, a ceremonial propitiation is
required of them because it might be unacceptable to the ancestors.
Among other things needed for this ceremony is the blood of a goat.
It is believed that male impotence upsets the social order and lies outside
the presumed natural order. Zifa refuses to accept the reality and seeks
solution to his problem and this contributes to the catastrophe that ends
the play.
2. Infertility
Infertility, like impotence is seen as an anathema. Infertile wives are
treated with contempt. They are usually not happy. This explains why
Ebiere has” grown very queer of late”. She seeks a solution to end her
supposed infertility. In desperation to prove herself she has an affair
with her brother-in-law without the recommended ceremonial
appeasement of the ancestors.
3. Curse
Zifa inherits a family curse but the playwright is vague about its
antecedents. The curse affected Orukorere and Zifa’s father. The former
became the bride of the sea while the latter dies of leprosy and
apparently, Zifa buried him instead of depositing the corpse in the evil
grove. Thus, he commits a crime against the gods and the land. The
gods do not forgive without compensation and Zifa is not willing to
carry out the propitiation ceremony that involves a goat. It appears,
therefore, that the curse is the cause of Zifa’s impotence.
3.3 Setting
The play is set in Deinogbo, an Ijaw town in the Niger-Delta area of
Nigeria. It is a town located by the sea-side in the colonial period.
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3.4 Language
The language of the play is poetic. However, Clark has been able to
capture the nuances of the Ijaw language. The dramatic dialogue is
constant in its allusion to the circumstances of mode of life in the delta
communities of southern Nigeria.
He uses proverbs and riddles freely in the play. The riddle is a verbal
entertainment in Ijawland. Clark has been able to use riddle not for
mere entertainment but as a vehicle of communication of ideas that are
too sensitive for direct speech. The images used in both the riddles and
other aspects of the dialogue are drawn from the playwright’s
background – the Ijaw world. The effectiveness of the device derives
from the fact that the playwright is consistent in his use of imagery. A
very good example is the imagery of ‘house’ used for Ebiere’s womb
and love-making.
MASSEUR: An empty house my daughter is a thing/of danger…
EBIERE: It is not my fault. I keep my house/Open by night and
day!
But my lord will not come in …why?
Who bars him?...
My house has its door open I said … Masseur …
MASSEUR: Has he a house elsewhere?
3.4 Chorus
The neighbours are used as chorus. They make comments on the events
of the play and make some philosophical statements about life and
living.
Zifa
Zifa is the tragic hero of the play. He conforms to the standard of the
classical tragic hero. He is a notable man in the community. He has a
tragic flaw, pride, which causes him to commit an error of judgment that
leads to catastrophe.
He is impotent and also bears a family curse. He arrogantly refuses to
acknowledge his impotence. Consequently, he refuses to carry out the
ritual that will help to solve his problem. He rejects the Masseur’s
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suggestion that he allows another man to assume the role of husband to
Ebiere.
In his pride, he defies the tradition in respect of his father’s second
burial and on the ceremony of the goat. In this process, he insults the
gods.
Zifa has for years neglected the gods. Orukorere has been urging him to
perform the propitiation ritual, but he does not pay any attention to her.
However, as soon as he discovers that Tonye impregnated Ebiere, he
performs the sacrifice. Unfortunately, it is not done in a proper manner
despite the warnings from Orukorere.
He performs the sacrifice without ritual cleansing. He slaughters the
goat, splashes the blood and insists that it should cleanse the compound
immediately.
He is rash in taking decisions. He resolves to kill his brother as soon as
he discovers that he was having an affair with his wife. However, he
does not carry out this threat because Tonye courageously hangs himself
instead of waiting for his brother to kill him.
Ebiere
Ebiere is a beautiful woman. She is a dutiful wife and loving mother.
She is considered infertile so she goes to find out. The Masseur assures
her of her good state of health and suggests an affair between her and
another man. She accepts the suggestion and becomes pregnant for her
brother-in-law. Unfortunately, her husband discovers and threatens to
kill his brother. She faints at the end of the play.
Orukorere
Orukorere is Zifa’s aunt. She has the gift of prophecy but she fluctuates
between madness and sanity. She is said to be chosen by the sea-god, so
would not get married. Her words are, in most cases, philosophical.
Her role, apart from being Zifa’s aunt is confusing. Dode calls her
mother and calls Ebiere by her given name. It is not clear, therefore, if
Dode is really (biologically) her son.
Masseur
Masseur is a very important character in the play. He plays the role of
choral leader. However, in this play, he also plays his role as a healer.
Women who fail to bear children consult him. He massages the women
to correct any default in their reproductive organs. His successes or
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failures are manifested by whether a massaged woman gets pregnant or
not.
He also acts as a confidant. He knows the secrets of many members of
the community but does not divulge them.
i. Discuss Zifa’s tragic flaw?
ii. What is his error of judgment?
4.0 CONCLUSION
J.P Clark is one of Nigeria’s foremost playwrights. In Song of a Goat he
constructs a classical tragic play. He presents characters that are
life-like who operate naturally in their traditional environment. He
captures the Ijaw speech pattern perfectly and still presents them in
correct English language. The play is accessible and contemporary.
5.0 SUMMARY
Clark presents in this play the story of a man who is so obsessed by
pride that he destroys himself and his entire household. From this you
have learnt to heed positive and progressive advice.
1. Discuss the theme of impotence in the play.
Clark, J.P. (1964). Three Plays. London: Oxford University Press.
Wren, Robert M. J.P Clark (1984). Lagos: University of Lagos Press.
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UNIT 2 ARMS AND THE MAN BY GEORGE BERNARD
SHAW
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Plot
3.2 Themes of the Play
3.3. Setting
3.4 Language
3.5 Humour/Ridicule
3.6 Dramatic Irony
3.7 Stage Direction
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This work brings us to the study of comedy in a text. We have decided
to use George Bernard Shaw’s play because he is one of the greatest
playwrights of the modern period. His themes have timeless relevance.
This play is considered unique because of the way the playwright
trivialized war which is a very serious issue.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
• Appreciate Shaw’s Arms and the Man as a literary work.
• Discuss the thematic interests and the techniques of the play.
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 Plot
The play has a straight forward and simple plot that starts from the
beginning and moves swiftly to the end. It has no flashback or sub-
plots. The plot is simply divided into three acts. The events of the play
span about five months; it begins in November 1885 and ends in March
1886. Shaw uses dates and known towns and countries to establish the
historical mode of the play.
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As we know, the structuring of events in sequence is a plot. The play
begins with Raina’s reveries, of how Sergius, led a victorious cavalry
charge against the enemy. Meanwhile, the Serbian forces who were
defeated are on the run chased by the Bulgarians. One of the fugitives,
Captain Bluntschli, runs into Raina’s bedroom and she protects him
when the search party came in. Bluntschli prefers chocolate to bullets
when he is at the war front. He tells Raina that Sergius and his cavalry
charge succeeded because someone forgot to supply ammunition to the
Serbs at the appropriate time. The captain’s life is saved as he leaves in
disguise, wearing Major Petkoff’s coat. (This revelation was made
towards the end of the play, when Bluntschli returns the coat to Raina
and her mother).
The war ends, Raina’s father, Major Petkoff, returns home with Sergius,
the hero, to recount the story of a certain Swiss officer who impeded
them at the exchange of prisoners. This officer, according to them,
escaped death by chance as a certain girl and her mother protected him.
Meanwhile, contrary to expectations, Sergius is attracted to Raina’s
maid, Louka. Unexpectedly, Captain Bluntschli arrives to return the
coat which Raina and her mother lent him.
He is the Swiss Officer talked about, so the men give him a rousing
welcome while the women pretend that they do not know him.
However, he is persuaded to stay for lunch. After the lunch, he helps
Serguis and Petkoff in their arrangement to demoblise the military
formation with ease. Raina who, right from the first day she met
Bluntschli, had romantic ideas about him to the extent of sending her a
picture and calls him her chocolate cream soldiers, develops stronger
feelings towards him. However, she still feels obliged to go on with
Sergius. On the other hand, Louka who has fallen in love with Serguis,
informs him that Raina is in love with Bluntschli. Sergius accuses
Raina of making love to Bluntschli while Raina accuses him of doing
same to Louka. The crisis is resolved as Bluntschli proposes to marry
Raina. Her parents are happy. Sergius accepts to marry Louka.
3.2 Themes of the Play
The Futility of War
The play is a satire on war. It is a deflation of military glory and a
brazen onslaught on falsehood, and pretence. It is an exposition of all
military spurious claims of bravery and heroism. In short, Shaw is
saying in the play that warfare is criminal and bad and should not be
seen as a mark of progress, achievement or of national greatness. This
explains why a soldier who should be trigger - happy, is content with
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and settles for his chocolate in a serious life-and-death situation which
the war represents.
Love and Marriage
The second theme of the play is marriage. Shaw is of the view that
marriage is a union between a man and a woman which should be built
on concrete traits of their character and not on illusions and fantasies.
He fells that marriage is good and should be encouraged. The primary
decision of Raina to marry Sergius is based on the illusion that Sergius
is a war hero whom she could be proud of anytime, and anywhere.
Raina declares that her fiancé Sergius, is “just as splendid and noble as
he looks, that the world is really a glorious world for women who can
see its glory and men who can act its romance”. The same fantasy leads
her to take Sergius’ portrait and address it while on her bed in the night
and say, “my hero, my hero”. The same emotion governs her parent’s
choice of partner in marriage for her. This is simply because they
discovered that Bluntschli inherited a lot of wealth from his late father.
3.3 Setting
The play has both physical and historical settings. It is set in Bulgaria of
1885 when Prince Alexander I of Bulgaria revolted against the Serbs
and refused to pay compensation. The Serbs declared war against them
but were defeated in the Battle of Slivinitza. Austrian officers fought
with the Serbs while Russian officers led the Bulgarian army. Swiss
mercenaries (professional soldiers who are hired during wars) fought on
both sides. Captain Bluntschli fought on the Serbian side but when he
met Raina, he wished he “had joined the Bulgarian army instead of the
other one”.
Captain Bluntschli exemplified the Swiss mercenaries in the play. All
the actions of the play take place in Major Petkoff’s house - Raina’s
bedroom, their library and their garden.
3.4 Language
The language of the play is simple, straight forward and direct. It is
devoid of flamboyant imagery and symbolism. The dialogue is true to
life and appropriate. All these enhance an easy understanding of the
play. However, Shaw made extensive use of humour and ironies in the
play.
In the play there is an extensive use of imagery. The imagery help to
create a mental picture of all the wars fought and won (real war and
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romance) to the reader. The language is simple, this makes it easy for
the reader to read and understand it.
3.5 Humour and Ridicule
The play presents an extravagant exhibition of humour. It is ridiculous
that a soldier should prefer chocolates to his gun to the extent that he is
nicknamed “chocolate cream soldier”. See also, the way Captain
Bluntschli attacks the chocolate box and licks his fingers.
And that the Petkoffs should conclude among themselves that they are
superior to their neighbors simply because of the mere possession of a
library and an electric bell. The scene when the Captain returns and
Raina and Catherine pretend not to know him and the eventual
discovery of the truth are some of the scenes that provoke humuor.
The accepted views of heroism and nobility are also ridiculed in the
play. Raina and Sergius are the main targets here.
3.6 Dramatic Irony
It is ironic that a soldier, Sergius, who has learnt the horrors of war and
becomes so worn out that he declares that “soldiering…is the coward’s
art of attacking mercilessly when you are strong and keeping out of
harm’s way when you are weak,” is treated and regarded as a hero by
Raina. It is also an irony of situation that “Raina’s chocolate cream
soldier” whom she sheltered from the ravages and wreckage of war,
eventually marries her, regardless of her avowed expectations to marry
her fiancé, Sergius, and her day-dreams of striking a lasting
companionship with her childhood hero.
3.7 Stage Direction
The playwright uses elaborate and detailed stage directions. These help
to enhance the mental picture of the reader, as plays “are meant to be
performed not read”. Thus, those who are not opportuned to watch the
real performance can watch it with their minds’ eyes. These stage
directions also help to give insights into the characters hence he
describes Catherine Petkoff as “…imperiously energetic…a very
splendid specimen of the wife of a mountain farmer, but determined to
be a Viennese lady…”(16).
Shaw presents well-developed characters who are consistent and
properly motivated. Each character acts consistently from the beginning
to the end; for instance, Raina and Sergius remain romantic throughout,
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Bluntschli maintains his unperturbed and unpretentious pose throughout.
Shaw also uses characters to foster his theme. For example, Louka
maintains her derogatory attitude towards Raina and even the entire
household. Her attitude questions the issue of social status in the
society.
Raina Petkoff
Raina is a beautiful young lady. She is twenty three years old but
behaves like a school girl of seventeen, perhaps because as an only child
of her parents, they pampered and spoilt her. To her mother she is still a
child and her father calls her ‘little one’. (p. 78). Her parents are rich, so
she is accustomed to very comfortable establishments like going to
Bucharest every year for the opera session and spending a whole month
in Vienna.
She is very romantic, and appreciates beauty as she is seen in the
opening scene; intensely conscious of the romantic beauty of the night,
she has heroic ideas about love and marriage. Though she does not
really love Sergius, she wants to marry him because of his heroic
qualities. However, the marriage does not work out and she agrees to
marry her chocolate cream soldier, another hero. Raina is generous,
hospitable, compassionate and impulsive. These aspects of her
character come out clearly in her relationship with Blutschli. It is on
impulse that she decides to hide him from the Bulgarian soldiers; she
takes pity on him and calls in her mother to help save his life. As
Bluntschli notes later, she had accepted him a fugitive, a beggar and
starving man, her hand to kiss, her bed to sleep on, her roof to shelter
him ( 83). Above all she offered him chocolate.
Despite the above sterling attributes, Raina tells lies and pretends a lot.
Her pretentious character is made manifest especially in her relationship
with Sergius. Both of them played roles expected of people who are in
love while in the real sense, neither cared deeply for the other. Her
pretence is found out by Bluntschli who is a practical man. Her mother
also is aware of this aspect of her character for she once acclaimed “Oh
Raina! Raina. Will anything ever make you straightforward”(511). She,
however, shows that she could be natural and sincere when she is in a
congenial company. She told her mother the truth about how she felt
about Sergius and declared that she did not “care whether he finds out
her chocolate cream soldier or not” ( 51).
Catherine Petkoff
Catherine is Raina’s mother and is very fond of her only child. She is
well “over forty, imperiously energetic, with magnificent black
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eyes”(16). She makes effort to live like a wealthy woman by “wearing
fashionable tea gown on all occasions” (16). She is determined to live
like a modern aristocrat everyday despite the fact that it gives her sore
throats. Her husband observes that she goes”… too far with these
modern customs … Carrying the things to a ridiculous extent” (39). She
also likes showing off her modern acquisitions and social status as is
clearly shown in her pride at owning a library and an electric bell.
She is domineering and rules the Petkoff household. Her husband takes
instruction from her even in official state matters. She is fully involved
in the political affairs of the country and is respected and feared more
than her husband. Her husband confirms this as he prepares to go and
give orders on the demobilization exercise when he said “…Catherine,
you may as well come too. They’ll be far more frightened of you than of
me”(60). She is ostentatious and materialistic. She encourages her
daughter to marry Sergius who she believes is a hero and also rich but
changes her mind as soon as she realizes that Bluntschli is richer than
Sergius.
Major Petkoff
Major Petkoff is an amiable easy-going man. Though he is a major he is
not knowledgeable in military strategy and organization, so one can
easily conclude that he does not merit his rank but earned it because of
his social status in the town.
That he is not even interested in politics is evident from one of the
important questions he asked his wife as soon as he came back from the
war: “you haven’t been campaigning”. For him the best thing in the
world is for them to sit down in their house “after a good lunch, with
nothing to do but enjoy ourselves” ( 58).
He is complacent and is ruled by his wife. In fact, he is afraid of his
wife and takes instruction from her most of the time. He is content to
have others do his work for him.
He loves his only daughter and pets her. He is gullible as he is deceived
by his wife and daughter when Bluntschli arrives in the house. He is
also materialistic and wanted his daughter to marry a rich man because
according to him, she is “accustomed to very comfortable
establishments” ( 83).
In conclusion, he is, as the playwright puts it, “a cheerful, excitable,
insignificant, unpolished man of about 80, naturally unambitious” (37).
He is not interested in modern way of life. His wife describes him as a
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“barbarian at heart” (39), but he is not bothered, and prefers to shout to
call his servant instead of using the electric bell.
Major Sergius Saranoff
Sergius is a tall handsome man. He is rich in their local estimation, as
he owns twenty horses. He is Raina’s romantic hero. Like major
Petkoff, he is not well versed in military strategy and organization. He
allows Bluntschli to map out their disengagement strategies and proudly
appends his signature. This is why he led a suicide squad in the name of
a cavalry charge. He escaped with his life because the enemies had the
wrong ammunition. He does not admit his error instead he is cynical
about their Russian officers who he said have been promoted while he is
“…still a simple major” (41).
This shows that he is arrogant and selfish. He wants to be promoted to a
higher rank despite the blunder he committed at the war front. He
resigns because he was not promoted. He claims that he never
apologises when he offends anyone. He does not consider anybody’s
feelings as long as he gets what he wants.
He is affectatious as seen in her relationship with Raina. He pretends to
love her while in actual sense he does not, but flirts with her maid,
Louka. He honors his words in the end by proposing to marry Louka.
He is boastful, impulsive and proud. He challenges Bluntschli to a duel
when he learnt that Raina had an affair with Sergius, according to him “
I brook no rival”. However, he is a coward and the fight did not take
place eventually.
Louka
Louka is a maid in the Petkoff’s household. She is not contented with
being a maid and hopes to get out of that situation. She is ambitious and
realizes this ambition of not remaining a maid for the rest of her life
when she accepts the proposal to marry Sergius. Nicolas describes her as
having “a soul above her station” (80)
She is proud, self-righteous and contemptuous of her employers. She
feels that there is really nothing spectacular about nobility. Her
contempt for them is as a result of the fact that she had seen or known
some of their illicit affairs. She also feels that she could use what she
knew about them to blackmail them into not harming her. Hear her “l
know some family secrets they wouldn’t care to have told me as young
as l am. Let them dare quarrel with me” (36).
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She is fearless, strong willed, impudent and vicious. She believes that
the end justifies the means. She goes to any length to get what she
wants even if it means to malign another person just like she did to
Raina. She blackmailed Sergius into the marriage proposal he made to
her. She is a gossip. It is true that Raina and Sergius do not really love
each other, Louka’s gossip facilitated the break up and Sergius settled
for her instead of Raina. When she was caught eavesdropping on
Bluntschli, Sergius and Raina, she stood her ground and declared
unabashedly, “my love was at stake. I am not ashamed” (77). She is
very courageous and is the only person who deflates Sergius arrogance
by forcing him to apologise to her publicly.
Nicola
Nicola is a good servant who is obedient and loyal. He is ambitious in
his own way, he hopes to open shop at Sofia and would still need his
employer’s patronage. He therefore, does not want to lose that
patronage by being disobedient. He is complacent and is contented to
be used to avoid trouble in the household. For instance, he accepted
spoiling the cake pudding in order to cover his mistress’ secret.
He is respectful, principled and faithful, he respects his superiors and
does not interfere or intrude in their affairs or conversation like Louka
does. Despite Louka’s insults, he remains faithful to her and tries to
educate her on the realities of life. He does not talk about the family
secrets of the Petkoffs. He is more experienced than Louka and realizes
that if he fell out with the Petkoffs, they could make life miserable for
him in the end. This explains his words to Louka: “You don’t know the
power such high people have over you and me when we try to rise out of
our poverty against them ”(36).
He has served the Petkoffs faithfully for ten years and is not prepared to
jeopardize his benefits for any reason. He is a noble gentleman despite
the fact that he is a servant. Bluntschli describes him as “the ablest man
I’ve met in Bulgaria” ( 80).
Bluntschili
Bluntschli is a Swiss mercenary who fought on the side of the Serbs
during the Serbian- Bulgarian war. He abandoned a comfortable life in
his father’s business to become a mercenary. Though he claims that he
carries chocolates instead of ammunition, he is a fine and competent
soldier to the core.
He is very smart and practical. He makes the best use of every
opportunity he gets; when he entered Raina’s bedroom, he used her
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cloak to prevent her from opening the door to call for help. However, on
a second thought he gave it up, and made her believe that he will not
surrender easily to the Bulgarian soldiers as he will not to allow them
burst into”… this pretty room of yours and slaughter me here like a pig,
for l’ ll fight like a demon… are you prepared to receive that sort of
company in your present undress” (21).
He is an intelligent soldier who knows all the tactics, strategies and
organisation of the army, soldering and war. He informs Raina of the
military blunder which Sergius committed and maintained that in an
ideal situation “he (Sergius) ought to be court-martialled”.
He also realizes the futility of war. This explains why he fights it
dispassionately. As a mercenary, he is not patriotic but is just concerned
with his fees. No wonder, he carries chocolates instead of bullets. He is
humble, modest and adjusts easily to any situation. Those attributes are
obvious during his second visit to the Petkoffs. He sensed the ladies’
confusion on seeing him and decides to play along with them. However,
at the moment of decision when the picture was found, the practical and
natural aspect of him took over, He shows his military efficiency and
organizational skills in the way he handles the demobilization exercise
for Major Petkoff and Sergius. As a humble and modest man, he does
not brag about it, instead, he allows Sergius to append his signature and
Petkoff to go and give the orders. So both of them take the glory for the
work he actually did.
He is not a man of many words but believes that action speaks more.
When Sergius challenges him to a duel, he does not ask for the reason
for the fight but simply assures him that there “…shall be no mistake
about the cartridges this time” ( 72). Also, when he realizes that Raina
was free to marry him, he proposes immediately. Finally, he is truthful
and asks Raina to be truthful and natural with him. He is also a good
businessman for he does not allow marriage plans to disrupt the business
he had at hand.
i. List and discuss the themes in Arms and the Man.
4.0 CONCLUSION
Arms and the Man presents to us the pretensions and foibles of the
upper and noble class. It also shows that nobility does not guarantee
intelligence. Shaw highlights this by making Louka, the maid more
intelligent than her master and mistress. She uplifts her life as she
outwits and makes fun of them.
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5.0 SUMMARY
You have seen in this unit, in practical terms, how comedy is used to
ridicule men in the society. It shows that while we laugh at the follies of
characters like Catherine, Sergius and Raina, we try to realize and avoid
such weaknesses in our lives.
Write a short note on the futility of war.
Iwuchukwu, Chinweikpe (2000). The Mastery of Literature. Lagos:
Macckho-Ricckho Press.
Shaw, George Bernard (1984). Arms and the Man. London: Longman.
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UNIT 3 THE MARRIAGE OF ANANSEWA BY EFUA T.
SUTHERLAND
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 The Plot
3.2 Style
3.3 Language
3.3.1 Suspense
3.3.2 The Story Teller
3.3.3 The Players
3.3.4 Property Man
3.3.5 Musical Interlude
3.3.6 Mime
3.3.7 Humour
3.3.8 Play-within-the play
3.3.9 Symbolism/Allegory
3.3.10 Audience Participation
3.4 Setting
3.5 Themes
3.5.1 The Sub Themes
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This unit introduces you to another text in comedy. We have decided to
use an African text written by a woman. You may have noticed that we
have been using the male instances throughout the book wherever we
refer to scholars, critics, or a playwright just for convenience and not
because we do not have female scholars and playwrights.
In Marriage of Anansewa, Efua Sutherland develops the Akan art of
story-telling called Anansesem (Ananse stories). The play is a folklore
based on the exploits of Ananse (spider). In different countries, people
have their own legendary animal around which so many tales (exploits)
are woven. These animals like tortoise, ram, and fox and so on get
involved in very difficult and intricate situations but escape unhurt or
triumph in the end through a cunning way. Many of these stories/fables
are didactic while some of them are just for mere entertainment
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2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of the unit, you should be able to:
• Appreciate another African play
• Identify more dramatic techniques that are used because of the
background of the playwright
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 The Plot
The play tells a story of how Ananse, a wretched poor man gets rich
through cunning and fraudulent means. Ananse has an only daughter
called Anansewa who is a student of E. P. Secretarial School. He is so
poor that he could not pay her school fees. She was driven from school
and has stayed at home for about two weeks.
He devices means of paying his daughter’s school fees and feeding
himself .He gets completely out of poverty. In his plan, he visits four
Chiefs and promises to give each of them his only daughter Anansewa
in marriage. He returns from the trip and dictates letters to the Chiefs,
assuring them that their discussion on the ‘object of their interest’ is still
as planned. Anansewa types the letters, oblivious of the fact that she is
the object being referred to in the letter.
However, when she realizes that the letters are for choosing a husband
for her, she protests. She feels that her father wants to “sell her like
some parcel to a customer”(11). However, her father convinces her of
the necessity of such plan. He arouses her interest in one of the Chiefs,
Chief Who-is-Chief, whom he describes as “ finely built, glowing black,
large eyed, handsome as anything, courageous and famous”(12). In
addition, the Chief has already given Ananse some money with which to
pay Anansewa’s school fees. Consequently, Anansewa becomes
interested and actually falls in love with this Chief. Ananse receives
gifts from all the Chiefs, he improves his lifestyle considerably,
renovates his house and buys new clothes. They are all interested in
marrying Anansewa. Ananse is in a fix. He decides that Anansewa
should “die”. He invites his mother (Aya) his aunt (Ekuwa) and Christie
to outdooring ceremony for Anansewa.
This ceremony is cut short to enable him carry out his next plan
successfully. He bundles his mother and aunt home on the pretext that
“… enemies have set fire to our hope, our cocoa farm at their home
town Nanka. He then connives with Christie and Anansewa to announce
that Anansewa is “dead”. The news gets to the Chiefs and they send
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their condolences with gifts and inadvertently reveal the
intention/motive for deciding to marry Anansewa. The last messengers
to come are from Chief-Who-is-Chief. It is revealed that he wanted to
marry Anansewa for true love and devotion. Ananse then goes into a
trance and invokes Anansewa to resurrect.
Ancestors, I am pleading with you
If it is your desire
As it is ours
That Chief-Who-Is-Chief
Should marry Anansewa
See to it that she returns to life!
Wake her.
See to it that Anansewa awakes
And returns to become a bride!
At that invocation, Anansewa awakes and claims that she could hear
Chief-Who-Is-Chief calling her. The play ends on a happy note as the
power of love ostensibly triumphs.
3.2 Style
I have taken time to treat the dramatic techniques in detail. I have tried
to explore all the devices used by the playwright to create this beautiful
comedy.
3.3 Language
The language is simple, direct and humorous. The playwright uses
ludicrous exaggeration and flattery, especially while Ananse addresses
or talks about the chiefs. He uses praise-songs and appellations to
address the chiefs. This also brings into focus the love of flattery by our
chiefs and leaders.
3.3.1. Suspense
Suspense is a very good technique in playwriting and Efua Sutherland
uses it very well in this play. The audience is kept in suspense from the
beginning to the end. The question in everyone’s mind is, how would
Ananse wriggle himself out of this mess? The answer is not got until the
end of the play. Ananse’s plans are not disclosed even to Christie. The
Storyteller who comments on the progress of the play does not disclose
it.
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3.3.2 The Story Teller
The Storyteller relates to the actors on stage, the players and the
audience. So, he is both a commentator and an actor. His story could be
interrupted and he complies as in the traditional way of story-telling in
many African countries.
Songleader: “ Hold your story for a while”.
Storyteller: “It is held for you brother”
3.3.3 The Players
All the actors, except the key actors, appear on stage from one side and
do not wear costume as specific actors. They enter at the appropriate
time to play their roles. They are used as actors when the time comes
and go back to join the players. For instance, they play the role of the
messengers from the chiefs.
3.3.4 Property man
The playwright defies convention here and brings her Property man
(popularly known as prop master in modern theatre) on stage, Usually,
he is hidden backstage with the prop hands and he appears during scene
changes when the lights are out. Contrary to this usual practice,
Sutherland brings him on stage to give the props to the actors in the full
glare of the audience. There is no illusion of reality. In fact, he plays the
role of a stage manager for he sees to it that all is well.
3.3.5 Musical Interlude (Mboguo)
The musical interlude is used to make comments on Ananse’s plans. It
emphasizes the action of the play at a particular point or illustrates the
importance of custom. In each case, it is used to advance the story of the
play. In some cases, the key actors start the song to emphasize their
point and the players join in the song.
3.3.6 Mime
Mime is used extensively in the play by the players. They mime the
songs. For instance, Storyteller and two women among the players mime
the song on Odum’s Child. (21-22). The mime helps to highlight stories
which the songs tell. They also mime certain actions of the play like the
Post Office Staff, when Ananse goes to open his letters in the opening
scene. The postman also mimes checking the address on the letter
against the address on the streets (p. 19).
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3.3.7 Humour
This is expected as the play is a comedy. Humour is created mainly
through language, (Postman: “Are you house No. AW/6615”) We also
see humour in the recurrent visual jokes of the property man as he hands
the props to the actors; and in the exaggerated crafty energy with which
Ananse presents his actions.
3.3.8 Play-within-the-play
The play-within- the- play device is used in the play to emphasize the
importance of custom. The Akwani and Akosua episode is used to
emphasize the fact that until the head-drink is placed by a suitor for his
bride-to-be, he has no claim over her.
3.3.9 Symbolism/Allegory
(a) Some schools of thought believe that the play symbolises Ghana
after her independence. It is an allegorical representation of
Ghana’s policy of non-alignment in her relations to other nations
following her independence. Anansewa is Ghana, Ananse is the
leader (more specifically, Kwame Nkurumah while the chiefs
represent the international community. The fact that he deceives
the chiefs, extorts money and gifts from them while at the same
time, does not antagonize them, shows that it is legal to get aid
from other nations by holding out promises of trade alliances but
not making the commitments until the donor nation’s motives
have been tested and known.
(b). The web used in the play is used to link Ananse’s cleverness in
its spinning out of his tricks with the spider’s clever spinning of
its web.
3.3.10 Audience Participation
Though the audience is not involved in the dialogue or any obvious
action, the actors do not pretend that it is not there. In the beginning of
the play, Ananse throws some rhetorical questions to the audience. Also,
the Storyteller’s comments are directed mainly to the audience. Like
Sutherland said, he is “capable of inducing the audience to believe that
they are there with him and similarly involved”. This helps to draw them
closer to the actors on stage.
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3.4 Setting
There is no definite mention of any locale in the play. However, since
the playwright is a Ghanaian and as she explains in her foreword, the
play is an adaptation of one of the Ananse (spider) stories. The Ananse
story is popular among the Akan people of Ghana. Her claim that
Ananse is a kind of Everyman, shows that the society presented in the
story could be any contemporary society which is expected to criticize
itself through the play.
Notwithstanding the above claim, one can rightly say that the setting of
the play is the contemporary Ghanaian society. It is a society that is both
materialistic and ostentatious.
3.5 Themes
1. The main theme of the play is love – the triumph of love. In the
playwright’s own words, it is love for a rosy future for his
daughter that makes him , Ananse set out to negotiate the
possibility of each of them marrying his daughter in the first
place, though he also wants to acquire wealth. This is made clear
at the end, when he considers the intention of each chief who had
wanted to marry his daughter. He ensures that she is given to the
chief who loves her most.
On the part of Anansewa, she agrees to be part of her father’s
plan because she wants to marry Chief-Who-Is-Chief. Her love
for him, which though began as mere attraction (his virility and
handsomeness), is sufficient justification for her to agree to ‘die’
in order to win this chief.
Love triumphs at the end of the play, as Ananse’s deception
allows the young ones to marry each other for true love. This is
apparent when Ananse pretends to be in a trance and
ritualistically pours libation of head drink sent by Chief-Who-Is-
Chief and calls on his ancestors to ‘resurrect’ his daughter. Hear
him:
If it is your desire
And it is ours
That Chief-Who-Is-Chief
Should marry Anansewa
See to it that she returns to life. (79)
He then invokes his daughter to wake:
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Anansewa, … love, is calling you, return…
Chief-Who-Is-Chief loves you true. (80)
On that note, Anansewa stirs, springs out of the bed and claims
that she “could hear Chief-Who-Is-Chief” calling her.
Efua Sutherland however does not only emphasize individual
love but love on a wider social scale. She also believes that a true
lover is both a giver and a helper. This is seen in the closing song
of the play which emphasizes the need for them to relate in love.
2. The play shows man’s capacity in using his intellect and cunning
to overcome life’s difficulties. Ananse uses his intellectual power
to attain a higher social status without antagonizing anybody. He
outwits the chiefs.
3.5.1 The Sub Themes
The sub themes of the play are seen when the play is analyzed as a satire
and not just as a Ghanaian folklore adapted for the stage.
1. It is a satirical reflection of the hopes, and aspirations of the
ordinary people to become rich. They are the common people
who hope to survive in their contemporary world by owning the
luxurious things of life like cars, refrigerators, electric fans, soft
bouncy Dunlop pillow and other things. Ananse wants his
daughter to marry into wealth that is why his trips are to wealthy
chiefs.
2. It is a satire of the contemporary ostentatious and materialistic
society where you are not respected unless you are rich. Note the
postmen’s attitude to Ananse before and after his acquisition of
his wealth. Also only the rich are invited to state social functions,
so everybody aspires to be rich.
3. It satirizes contemporary Christianity where people go to church
only to show off their clothes and wealth. At the beginning of the
play, when he is still indigent and poverty- stricken Ananse asks
his daughter… “Tell me, how many times have I missed going to
church because there is nothing in my pocket to deposit in full
view of the public?” (p 4). And after acquiring wealth, he
declares (sings), “Yes tomorrow, go to church. To deposit with
the best of the spenders” (p. 24).
4. Casual tradesmen and labourers are not spared in the satire.
Ananse gives them contract to renovate his house and they would
be paid on a daily basis (wages). They decide to spend five weeks
on the job so that they would be paid more. However, this is
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because work is scarce, as the Mason asked the Carpenter who
suggested three weeks. “… If you have found another place
where they want to give you job after you’ve finished here…
finish your share quick and go”(25).
This is later doubled to ten weeks when they discover that they have got
Ananse in their ‘pocket’ (p. 26).
Ananse
Ananse is the comic hero in the play. He is intelligent, shrewd and
crafty. One can even describe him as a rogue. He has the talents for not
only surviving by using his wits, but also to be prosperous. He is able to
eradicate his poverty and improve himself. He is pretentious and
condemns wealth. Anansewa, asks “so you desire all those things?
Haven’t you condemned them often. “He is clever, and resourceful but
cunning. He suffers mental torture, while trying to get wealth, but due to
his cleverness and intelligence, he turns an established custom to his
advantage (i.e), he is not obliged to give his daughter’s hand in marriage
until the head drink is placed for Anansewa. He knew this very well and
continues to not only accept presents from the chiefs but encourage
them to bring more.
The secret of his success lies in his knowledge of the society and of
human nature. He is very optimistic and secretive. He has no doubt in
his mind that his plan will succeed and he does not disclose his
intentions to anyone until he needs the person. He gets her daughter to
type letters for him but does not reveal the purpose of the letter to her
and towards the end of the play, when he tells her that she should ‘die’
and why. He informed Christie of the “death” plan only at the point of
Anansewa’s death because he wants her to help him attend to the
visitors.
Anansewa
Anansewa is a beautiful young lady who is a student of E.P. Secretarial
School. She is intelligent. This is apparent from the speed with which
she typed the letters for her father at the opening scene, despite the fact
that she had not graduated.
She is very inquisitive, and not as materialistic as her father, so is
somewhat contented with what they have. This does not mean that she
does not like wealth. She is obedient. This is manifested when she
accepts to stay and type her father’s letters despite the fact that she is
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about to go out when her father comes in. Initially, she is impatient with
her father and does not accept his idea on how she should get married.
Again, once her father convinces her of his plans, she gets along with
him.
Anansewa is proud and noble and tries to maintain her self dignity and
integrity. Inasmuch as she wants to get married, she refuses to be sold to
the highest bidder. She protested to her father in the following words. “I
will not let you sell me like a parcel to a customer. Not ever! (p. 11)
Aya
Aya is Ananse’s mother from her first appearance in the play, she cuts
the figure of a Patrician. She is not materialistic and as such, she is not
moved by his son’s newly acquired wealth and its consequent display.
Thus, she prays for Anansewa to marry a good man and does not like
Christy who she feels is working tirelessly to get to Ananse through
Anansewa. She describes Christie as being “senselessly extravagant.”
She is also a loving mother who loves her son and grand daughter
dearly. She is gullible, for Ananse deceives her easily that his cocoa
farm had been set on fire. She does not pause to ask questions but
believes immediately and starts wailing. However, she is brave and
courageous, as she leaves for home promising to: “sweep up these off-
springs of vipers and punish them”(54). It may be said that she does
not like his son’s and Christie’s cunning ways of getting what they want.
She is contented with the much she has as can be seen from her gift to
her grandchild at outdooring ceremony. She has no money but prayers.
Christie
Miss Christina Yamoah is described in the play as a fashionable woman.
From all indications, she is friendly with Ananse hence, he sent for her
from the Institute for Prospective Brides in his moment of need. She is
described by Ananse as an experienced worldly-wise woman. She is
very humane and is always eager to find out what Ananse’s personal
problems are and tries to solve them. She tells Ananse, “once I know
what kind of trouble it is I can help.” Christie is very charitable. This is
evident in the way she presents her precious “sovereign” to Anansewa
on her outdooring ceremony. She is with Ananse throughout his travails
and ordeal. No wonder Ananse describes her as a helper and a
supporter.
It could also be said that Christie is an overzealous person or at best is
being over enthusiastic in her a bid to win Ananse’s hand in marriage.
From all indications, she may have succeeded, for Ananse notes in the
end: “Rare helper! Supporter, your thanks await you.”
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The Other Characters
The other characters in the play are mainly animators and agents used to
enhance the theme and action of the play. Ekuwa is sensible and
understanding. Though she belongs to the older generation, she tolerates
and accommodates the younger generation. She is therefore moderate in
her assessment of characters and situations.
The Story teller who is a commentator is convivial. In the words of the
playwright, the “Storyteller has the right to know everything and to be
personally involved in the action.” All the messengers who are part of
the players are just there to deliver their messages. There is no effort by
the playwright to develop their characters. The Labourers and the
Postman are used to show the priorities of the society in which
emphasis is placed on wealth.
Also, the Chiefs are not seen in the play but heard through their
messengers. They are all rich, generous and love flattery. The Property
man is simply the state manager and not necessarily a character in the
play. In a more conventional play, he should not have been seen on
stage.
i. Discuss the themes in The Marriage of Anansewa.
4.0 CONCLUSION
Marriage of Anansewa is an interesting play. As we laugh at Ananse
and his antics, we identify such people in our societies. Some of us also
laugh at ourselves and try not to fall into such pitfalls.
5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit, you have read another play, a comedy. You should try to
read all the plays we have treated in this course. In the play, you are in a
familiar terrain, Africa, so you must have appreciated it more than
others. In the next unit, we will come home to a Nigeria play.
1 List and explain four dramatic techniques used in the play
Sutherland, Efua. (1975). The Marriage of Anansewa. London:
Longman.
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UNIT 4 THE LION AND THE JEWEL BY WOLE
SOYINKA
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Plot
3.2 Theme
3.3 Language
3.4 Setting
3.6 Flashback/Play-within-the-play
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This unit introduces you to another comedy. The play is written by a
Nigerian and it has a Nigerian background.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
• Increase your knowledge in textual analysis of plays.
• Appreciate Yoruba culture as reflected in the play.
• Learn more about the role of Nigerian traditional rulers in the
development of the nation.
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 Plot
The play has a chronological causal plot. The action starts in the
morning and ends at night. In the play, the playwright draws a parallel
between the modern ways of life and traditional values and institutions
as well as depict the impact and ineffectual assault of modern values on
traditional values.
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The play shows how the village teacher, Lakunle who represents the
modern era, loses out against Baroka, the Bale of Ilujinle, in their
separate bid to win the love of Sidi, the village belle.
The morning scene takes place at the outskirts of the market square,
outside the school building. Sidi, dressed in her traditional apparel,
exposing her shoulder and carrying a pail of water on her head, appears
first. Lakunle dressed in an old English suit and white tennis shoes
comes along and ridicules Sidi by saying that only spiders carry loads
the way she does. He rebukes Sidi for exposing her body for people.
According to Lakunle, the custom will be replaced by modern machines
to take over most of the work women do. Sidi sees his views on their
tradition and custom as madness. Lakunle proposes to marry Sidi but
insists that the customary bride price will not be paid. On the contrary,
Sidi insists that she will only marry him if he is ready to settle the full
bride price so that she will not make herself “A cheap bowl for the
village spit”(7). Lakunle considers this custom as being not only
“barbaric” and “out-dated” but “savage” and “ignoble’. Sidi sees
Lakunle’s modern project as a dream.
The scene in which a photographer (the man from the outside world)
visited Ilujinle in the past to snap photographs of Sidi is recreated here.
The pictures snapped feature extensively in a magazine which is a sort
of toast to the whole world. Baroka also features in the magazine but
little attention is given to him as he is seen therein near the village
latrine. Bale does not like the unimportant attention given to him. Sidi
is full of herself because of her prominent appearance in the magazine.
She becomes the talk of the town and the village beauty who has
brought fame to the village.
Sidi is seen engrossed in the admiration of her pictures in the magazine.
Sadiku, the old woman, sends effusive greetings to Sidi and intimates
her of the Bale’s intention to marry her. Sidi discountenances an offer
of marriage to a man as old as Baroka whose main intention is to subdue
her and stall her rise to stardom. Lakunle dissuades Sidi from accepting
such an offer.
But Sadiku convinces Sidi to marry Baroka just as Sidi continues to
praise herself even as her ’fame has spread to Lagos/And beyond the
seas.’ Sadiku tells her that being the Bale’s last wife is an honour
because when the present Bale dies, she would be married to the new
Bale with the privilege of ‘living in the outhouse’. Conversely, Sidi
argues further that every woman who has supped with Baroka one night
‘becomes his wife or concubine the next’. And to strengthen Sidi’s
position, Lakunke adds that Baorka is ‘a die hard rogue’ who ‘Foiled the
public works attempt/To build the railway through Ilujinle’(24).
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Sadiku unveils Baroka’s carved figure as Sidi stands by the school room
window admiring her own pictures. Sadiku praises herself on her past
exploits and what women can do to their men. Sidi is carried away by
the melodious music and as she dances to it with Sadiku, they do not
notice Lakunle who appears on the scene. Sidi volunteers to visit
Baroka at his palace for the supper he promised her, to ensure that the
devil is mocked and to seek forgivness on her part for refusing Baroka
in the first place. Sadiku welcomes the idea while Lakunle tells Sidi not
to go. Sidi visits Baroka in his bedroom to mock him on his impotence.
Unfortunately she discovers that it was a trick. She has no option than
to marry Baroka, since she is no longer a virgin.
3.2 Themes
a) The Triumph of African Tradition Over Western Culture
Lakunle represents modernity in the play. He has acquired a bit of
western education and wants to impose their culture on his people.
Naturally the old ways of doing things cannot change so easily. The
custodians of the custom will always find a way of thwarting the modern
trend no matter how logical, beautiful and trendy it may be. Lakunle
thinks that he could change the cultural values of a traditional Yoruba
society. Is it possible for one to stop the people from getting involved in
traditional marriage ceremonies, wrestling, invocation of ancestral
spirits, elders or parental blessings of marriage, intermediaries in
marriage, festivals, traditional dancing and merry-making that are part of
traditional marriage ceremonies.
Baroka thwarts the efforts of the colonialists to build a road in Ilujinle.
The implication is that he prevented the spread of western civilization in
the stopped the town. He also destroys Sidi’s opportunity to an exposure
to modern ways of life and fame by subduing her through his marriage
to her.
b) The Negative Influence of Traditional Practices on the
Female Folk
The playwright implicitly suggests that women are over laboured in the
society: they carry loads and do all sorts of manual jobs. It is not also
proper that an old man should trick a teenager into marriage just to boost
his ego.
3.3 Language
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This is a witty, light – hearted and humorous play which explores the
conflicts between two cultures, the traditional African culture and the
Western culture, and between the modern and the traditional ways of
life. It presents the life of Sidi, a simple, innocent and naive village girl
who helps to uphold the traditional value system of her community. She
therefore speaks simple English that in some cases are transliterations of
the Yoruba language. Other characters in the play speak in the same
manner and in some cases certain words are presented in the local
dialect. Some of the songs are presented in Yoruba language. In
accordance with the comic mode of the play, the language is designed to
ridicule some of the characters and to evoke laughter in the audience.
For instance, Baroka mimics Lakunle thus:
‘Guru morin guru morin ngh – hn! That is all we get
from “alakowe” You call at his house hoping he sends
for beer, but all you get is Guru morin. Will guru morin
wet my throat? (16)
The play is a one-act play that is divided into morning, afternoon. and
night. The language is replete with proverbs, witticism, and traditional
Yoruba greetings (like Baba Kabayesi). Music, songs and dances are
used extensively in the play and they are integrated to advance the
theme and propel the plot.
Mo te’ ni. Mo te’ ni.
Mo te’ ni. Mo te’ ni.
Sun mo mi, we mo mi
Sun mo mi, fa mo mi
Yarabilo m’eyi t’ le d’ omo (64)
This is a song sang by Sidi at the end of the play. The song is an
invitation for a closer relationship and an embrace. It states that it is only
God that can determine the mating that will result in pregnancy
Although she was not prepared for a marriage to Baorka, she accepts her
fate and decides to make the best out of it.
3.4. Setting
The play The Lion and The Jewel has a rural setting. This explains the
use of some Yoruba rituals and local songs, customs and traditions in
the play. The physical setting is in the village of Ilujinle. The play
compares the old and the new cultural imperatives. It, accordingly,
makes use of some modem phenomena like magazine, school,
photographer, pictures, English suit, etc. The historical setting is
therefore the post-independence period in Nigeria, between 1960 and
1963.
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Sidi
Sidi is the heroine of the play. She is looked upon as a source of
inspiration and one capable of launching the village into limelight. Her
picture in the international magazine is a source of wonder and reference
even to the Bale. The teacher, Lakunle, himself is amazed at the
sensation that these pictures create in the village. She occupies such a
prominent position in the village that even the Bale promises to insert
her image in the postal stamps.
She is conservative and detests Lakunle’s new romantic ideals and
kisses. Lakunle’s radical trend and insistence to avoid payment of
bride-price is unacceptable to her. She cannot demean her personality
just for the sake of marriage. Sidi does not appreciate western education
but prefers traditional education. Sidi is a flirt. She flirts with the
photographer and Lakunle before the play began and Baroka towards the
end of the play. She pays for it as Baroka seduces her.
She is beautiful but is a braggart and very pompous. Hear her: “my
name is Sidi, and I am beautiful. The stranger took my beauty. And
placed it in my hands”(20).
She is, nonetheless, a custodian of custom, for she believes that it is only
what the custom says that will apply in her marriage. And that is that
payment of the bride price is a pre-condition for any validly concluded
marriage.
Baroka
Baroka is the Bale, the village head of Ilujinle. He is a polygamist and
at sixty-two is still not only very active sexually but trickish. He is
described as a ‘wiry, goated, tougher than his sixty two years’. He has
to have sex with Sidi by trickery and through same means, he marries
her eventually. He prevents the whiteman from building a road in the
town. He is not a progressive king. He is very selfish and wants to own
every good thing. He does not want any other person to be famous. This
explains why he married Sidi at all costs to subdue her. Baroka is
described as a crafty rouge and a fox. As if to nail him finally, Lakunle
concludes: “Baroka is a creature of the wilds, untutored, mannerless,
devoid of grace”(58).
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Lakunle
Lakunle is a semi-literate reformist and a teacher of Geography who
would like to introduce some radical and revolutionary reforms into the
political and social lives of Ilujinle. He loves Sidi and would
compromise a lot to marry her. For instance, he promises Sidi that
regardless of Baroka’s tricky and subsequent carnal knowledge of her,
he could still go on to marry her. Notwithstanding his level of
education, Sidi acknowledges that she learnt a lot of things from him.
Sidi never gives him opportunity to demonstrate his love for her. She
agrees to return his love but only as a wife whose bride price has been
paid. Lakunle hates Baroka’s way of life and siezes every opportunity to
criticize him. He hates him also because Baroka is equally interested in
marrying Sidi.
Despite his reformist tendencies, Lakunle still enjoys some traditional
dance of the village, as exemplified in his dance of the lost traveler. At
the end of the play, Lakunle is not left forlorn as he is consoled by
another young lady. He does not succeed in his reforms because he
appears not to be reasonable.
Sadiku
She is the eldest wife and favourite wife of Baroka. She is the last wife
of the last Bale and was inherited, as a matter of custom by Baroka. She
has been in this position for forty-one years, no wonder Lakunle refers
to her as a ‘withered face’. She is a good dancer; “Sadiku of the
duiker’s feet….. That’s what the men used to call me. I could twist and
untwist my waist with the smoothness of a water snake….”
Sadiku is wily and does not keep secrets. This is why Baroka, her
husband, capitalizes on this weak point to clip Sidi’s wings. She is
described by Lakunle as’ The goddess of malicious gossip. She believes
and earnestly undertakes the duty her husband assigns to her diligently.
At the end of the play, when Sidi has settled with Baroka, he blesses her.
Sadiku is a good planner and a strategist. She never permits Lakunle to
convince Sidi but rather puts up a convincing argument on behalf of
Baroka to Sidi. And at the end, her machination plays out. Lakunle is
not a match for her; he accepts defeat but threatens to take her to school.
Sadiku is tricky too. She, for instance, dips hands in Lakunle’s pocket,
brings out a piece of coin and presses it on the foreheads of drummers.
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3.6 Flashback/Play-within-the-play
In the play this technique is used to recreate the scene where Baroka
prevented the construction of a rail line across the village. Mime as a
veritable literary technique, is also used considerably in the play.
Sidi and Baroka, who is superior?
4.0 CONCLUSION
In this play, Soyinka ridicules the educated Africans who look down on
their culture. Baroka uses his traditional wisdom to get everything he
wants. Lakunle who apes the whites is neither here nor there. He is a
man torn between two worlds. The play does not condemn Western
education but insists that the good traditional values of the Africans
should be encouraged.
5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit, you have seen that comedy teaches through entertainment
and laughter. The playwright satirizes the foolish educated Africans
through Lakunle’s antics. The play observes the classical “principle of
unity”. The action of the play starts and ends in one day.
Discuss the main theme of the play.
Soyinka, Wole (1963). The Lion and the Jewel. London: Oxford
University Press.
139

Elements of drama

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Elements of drama