Inverted Reality and Cultural Response to Modernity in Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel (Le Lion Et La Perle)

Abstract

African dramatic literature is a product of and a response to the society which informs its creativity. This situation typically highlights the didactic nature of Nigerian dramatic literature. To this end, Nigerian playwrights such as Wole Soyinka have drawn inspiration for their dramatic creativity from the trajectory of events that occur in their immediate and remote environments. With the qualitative approach of textual analysis and literature review, the article adopts tenets of postcolonial theory to critique Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel (Le Lion et La Perle) – a play that has been critiqued by some scholars from the perspectives of cultural and ideological conflicts. The socio-cultural relevance of the play may have informed its translation into the French language. For this article, however, the English version of the play is used based on the fact that English has more exhaustive coverage in literary discourses. With the theoretical and analytical approach in this article, the play is discussed beyond the spectrum of culture and ideological conflicts by considering its characterisation and plot. The cultural response to modernity is the advocacy for an artistic synthesis of tradition and modernity, aiming for sustainable modernity. There is a need for collaboration and cooperation between tradition and modernity as advocated in the dialogues and actions of Baroka, the Bale of Ilujinle. Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel (Le Lion Et La Perle), like every other dramatic text, should be read as a “writerly” text to avoid fixation of meaning.

Key words: Soyinka’s postcolonial drama, African cultural nationalism, Tradition versus  modernity

https://dx.doi.org/10.56279/ummaj.v12i1.2