Abstract
Anger is a basic human emotion which has a force for constructive or destructive ends. Its expression in any circumstance can be a trigger for a desire to change a prevailing situation. In all cases, anger is a fundamental component of art. This study examines the use of anger in Osborne’s Look Back in Anger and Osofisan’s The Chattering and the Song. Osborne and Osofisan are two writers who are very anxious to change their societies through their art. In spite of differences in their origin (Osborne was a Briton while Osofisan is a Nigerian), they wrote at a time of certain social and political upheavals in their countries. They also share similar concerns and attitude towards art. My focus in this paper is on the early plays of Osborne and Osofisan where anger is strongest and where their artistic triumph is most poignant. Working within the formalist approach, the paper reveals that in Osborne and Osofisan, extreme anger is both material and style and is what marks their art out. The reification by the intellect provides a potent instrument for investigating society. Anger becomes the point of departure for their art, it is not mere hysterics but a cerebral one and it is the motivating force for their writings.
Highlights
This study is a comparative analysis of Osborne’s Look Back in anger and Osofisan’s The Chattering and the Song, an English and a Nigerian play whose aim is to reform society by drawing attention to its ills
The paper is based on a pivotal idea of anger that is germane and integral to the art of these two writers from disparate continents, and it focuses on their utilization of anger as an emotional construct
This paper has examined critically the representations of anger in the philosophy and dramaturgy of John Osborne and Femi Osofisan
Summary
This study is a comparative analysis of Osborne’s Look Back in anger and Osofisan’s The Chattering and the Song, an English and a Nigerian play whose aim is to reform society by drawing attention to its ills. The paper is based on a pivotal idea of anger that is germane and integral to the art of these two writers from disparate continents, and it focuses on their utilization of anger as an emotional construct. Since it discusses how anger is replicated in the selected plays, the paper attempts to demonstrate how this term is expressed in the theory and practice of playwriting of these two writers. Anger is revealed in their intense concern and disenchantment with the society. The methodological procedure adopted is to scrutinise and interpret the speeches of key characters while relying extensively on earlier studies to demonstrate our points
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