Restoration and Representation of Yoruba Culture in the Lion and the Jewel: A Stylistic Study

Despite the existence of a robust scholarly attention on African plays and performance practices, not enough attention has been given to music, a unique art form, as a performance element in African theatre. This study investigates the use of music in African drama in selected play productions of Wole Soyinka and Femi Osofisan’s plays. Data for this study were gathered from primary and secondary sources. The primary sources included the use of structured interviews and non-participant observation methods. The playwrights whose plays are case studies, namely Wole Soyinka and Femi Osofisan, were interviewed. The researcher was on ground at the rehearsals of the selected plays and noted the methods of teaching the songs and the importance attached to the music of the plays during the rehearsals. The texts of the plays were critically studied in relation to the lyrics of the songs. Significant primary data arose from informal interactions with the cast and crew of the selected performances. Recordings of the performances were critically evaluated. The secondary source of data collection consisted of a robust library search and review of related literature. Comparative and descriptive analysis served as analytical tools for the discourse. The results show that music is used to reflect the subjective underpinnings and compositions important for the essence, character and statements in Soyinka and Osofisan’s plays. As a method of preserving their culture, histories, and identity, Soyinka and Osofisan exploit the oral performance traditions from their Yoruba culture, combining music and dance to achieve total theatre dramaturgy. The study opens new vistas of academic investigations into cultural studies. The study also contributes to scholarship of music in the theatre through the transcription and orchestration of some of the pieces, transcribed for indigenous instruments and Western symphonic orchestra. It was discovered from the study that as components of traditional African theatre, music is an artistic cultural index that Soyinka and Osofisan utilise predominantly in their plays. This study concludes that music is not, and should not be treated as an ordinary complimentary piece or a mere aesthetic embellishment. African theatre is incomplete without music, they both collaborate in the dramatic narrative process. Music in Soyinka and Osofisan’s plays (both in the form of literary drama and in realisation as performance), functions as a narrative device. Both Soyinka and Osofisan draw their music from Yoruba culture. (Culture both in its popular and pristine forms). Their use of music certainly goes beyond the bounds of embellishment. The various songs used in their works take some steps further into the metaphysical and spiritual consciousness of their people. It is through the concerted determination of theatre artistes in Nigeria and other African countries that traditional African theatre can take its rightful place amongst the theatres of the world. It also concludes that Africans should construct expressions that could suitably describe their music and give profound meaning.

The term gender is relatively new in such disciplines as Sociology, Anthropology, Political Science, Sociolinguistics, let alone with Literary Linguistics. As opposed to sex which refers to biological characteristics, gender is culture based. Nowadays, it is actively recommended to include aspects of gender in whatever project we undertake. The present article is an attempt at probing the language used by male and female characters in Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel to see how gender issues are grounded in the play to let it play its didactic role. The aim is to pinpoint the way female and male are represented through a lexicogramatical analysis with a special focus on its transitivity system as suggested by Halliday (1994) to enter Wole Soyinka’s characters’ inner and outer world as they use language to enable them ‘to build a mental picture of reality, to make sense of what goes on around them and inside them’ (1994:106). That Soyinka considers or does not consider women or just recounts the situation of women in Yoruba traditional societies is what is at stake in this study. The results of the investigation in the light of transitivity and Critical Discourse Analysis shows that Soyinka, consciously or unconsciously has represented male characters as strong, powerful and metaphorically as a lion, a symbol of irresistible power. They are also portrayed as initiator, doer of something, and commander in chief, the king while their female counterparts (Sidi, Sadikou) are represented as goals and/or beneficiaries of men’s actions and associated with processes of sensing and of emotion.

This research tends to prove that approaches which suggest the relevance of gender as being the only important variable in analyzing the linguistic differences in cross-sexual interactions should be urgently reconsidered. On the other hand, there are other variables that should be taken into account as they affect the participants' linguistic choices. These variables are: power, age, solidarity and most importantly, one's cognition. The research tends to investigate how relevant gender, power and the use of bold-on-record directives and expressives are relevant to each other. It also explores the relation between power and cognition. This is done through analyzing the frequency and phraseology of the directives and expressives used by the main male and female characters in Arms and the man along with Man and Superman, in addition to analyzing the characters' mental processes.The qualitative analysis is used in the analysis of this study to analyze the way the directives and expressives are phrased by both the male and female characters in addition to analyzing the mental processes stimulated by the characters.It has been shown that the assumption that politeness is highly relevant to gender is not always applicable. The argument that females are more polite has been refuted. Additionally, it has been proven that power and gender are not always related to the participants' politeness. This can be pertained to the fact that characters, whether males or females, use more on-record strategies than off-record ones where power is irrelevantly applicable. On the contrary, the less powerful characters almost use the same amount or even more on-record utterances, whereas the more powerful characters show a tendency towards using off-record strategies. Other variables prove themselves to be equally important as they play a considerable role in influencing the characters' linguistic choices in terms of their adherence or overlooking of adopting politeness strategies, amongst of which is one's cognition. Also, solidarity, social distance and age are influential variables that should be taken into account

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This article questions how women are represented in Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel and The Trials of Brother Jero, following a feminist stylistics theoretical framework. The plays were investigated keeping in view Mills (1995) three echelons of enquiry: lexis, syntax, and discourse. Soyinka’s plays are masterfully carved to expose the suppression of women by men. In these plays, female characters are represented through withering words and phrases, which presages their disapproval and also their voluptuous accessibility and attractiveness. Women are represented through a sexist and hidebound lingo. They are rendered as malevolent, deleterious, and calamitous, as they are only credited with transporting hitches to the lives of men. They are presented as creatures of the scrubland, ferocious, barbarous, unschooled, and stumpy. These deleterious attributes were given to them with a direct implication of their subordination by their male counterparts. Also, they are represented as receivers of actions, since men carry out most of the demanding tasks/actions in the plays in comparison to women. Following transitivity choices, this article concludes that men carry out actions and women are acted upon. They are given prosaic jobs such as homemakers, paltry traders, hawkers, child bearers, and caregivers to their husbands and children, whereas men are given more important roles such as schoolmasters and chiefs. Women are not given these arduous roles, as the patriarchy perceives that they are not capable of carrying out those roles because of their emotions and simple mindset. Finally, the article recommends further research with the aim of advancing and improving the representation of women in Nigerian drama. Keywords: discourse, feminist stylistics, focalization, fragmentation, lexis, patriarchy, semantic derogation, sexism, syntax, transitivity choices

Wole Soyinka’s first novel, The Interpreters (1965), presents a critique of European conceptions of romantic love, influenced by courtly love, that have not yet been considered in scholarship of this important novel. Through the animist materialist treatment of an ornate, heart-shaped wardrobe, inspirited by Sir Derinola, a parody of a medieval knight, The Interpreters presents trenchant criticism of the dominant courtly-romantic love complex. Soyinka’s materially embodied critique of an imposed idea of love constitutes a Yoruba-informed amorous materialism, where complex feelings in relation to love and reflections on love may be seen to re-enchant the physical world. Amorous materialism is Soyinka’s iteration of a postcolonial model of love, which is presented mainly in the relationship of Sagoe, one of the key interpreter figures in the novel, and Dehinwa, a female character often regarded as marginal in scholarship of the novel. This relationship is marked by the conventionally conceived features of romantic love, like exclusivity, loyalty and endurance, but the sentimentality, formality, courtesies and niceties of European models of courtly-romantic love are roundly rejected. Postcolonial paradigms of love, variations of which may also be seen in a range of other postcolonial literature, are conceptions of love that challenge colonially normalized ideas about love and romance. Soyinka’s representation of postcolonial love in its vitriolic, exuberant, masculinist disavowal of the European courtly-romantic love complex, however, inadvertently risks the charge of misogyny.

This paper discusses the power relation and gender in the novel Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed (2018). This study focuses on the four main characters, Amal, Abu, Jawad, and Baji, in which Abu, Amal ‘s father, has a relationship that puts her as a subordinate one as well as Jawad, who has the power from his economic aspect. The restriction experienced by a female character, Amal, became a gender issue regarding the oppression of women, which must be surrendered to certain power circumstances. This research explores the power relations between female and male characters and their effect on gender. This study uses a qualitative method and applies Michel Foucault's theory of power relations and the concept of gender. The results show that Amal’s resistance is echoed in the desire to destroy the power structure that put Jawad as the highest authority holder. Amal prioritizes resistance to free her choice in her gender identity, and power relations are obliged to change with the resistance. Power in this discourse installs itself and produces real material effects, which social power structure and the prescribed gender norms also affect the relationship between characters. Power relations exist as the main female character, Amal has a certain relationship with the other main male characters and another female character. The power comes from the relation then brings oppression toward women. Power is compiled, established, and realized through certain knowledge and discourse. In addition, Amal’s appearance, which represents her gender identity, also indicates resistance toward the oppression she experienced. To conclude, subordination and oppression toward women are undeniable, as men are socially and culturally designed to be powerful. Meanwhile, women are powerless.

The Lion and the Jewel (1959) is one of the gems in Wole Soyinka's oeuvre, which shines brightly with wit, humour, and sarcasm as Soyinka treats the themes like gender issues and conflict between tradition and modernity in the postcolonial context. The play draws its strength from performance through song, dance, mime, and play-within-play that bind the collective consciousness of the natives. It is central to the Yoruba tribe and it is an integral part of their culture. Different experiences in their lives like pain, trauma, joy, and happiness are manifested through performance. Soyinka uses this performance as a vehicle to resist, to protest, and to disapprove of the major issues and challenges that infest the post-independence Nigerian society, like the rigid patriarchal framework, marginalisation of women, and exploitation of the natives by the White man. This chapter focuses on how performance is employed and utilised by Soyinka to optimally reflect upon the binaries – powerful/powerless, dominant/inferior, male/female, and how these oppositions negotiate within the framework of performance, especially in the Yoruba theatre in the postcolonial context.

This article attempts to pinpoint the interaction of Cultural Representation in Wole Soyinka’s play The Lion and the Jewel. Culture can be perceived as a bunch of regular convictions that hold individuals together, these normal convictions lead to social practices, and practices that are instilled with significance. Culture is to incorporate every one of the aspects of human experience that stretch out past our actual truth, culture alludes how we comprehend ourselves both as people and as member of the society incorporates stories, religion, media, ceremonies, and even language.The Europeans colonization in African made many changes in their culture, some people thought that they are reformed by the European, but some thought that their culture was changed by them. The play sets in the village named Ilujinle in West Africa, and it has the characteristics like comedy, love, myth, folklore, dance, music, and cultural conflict between old culture and new culture, because the old culture was followed by uneducated people, they were led by Baroka and the new culture was followed by Lakunle, who works as a teacher in that village. Wole Soyinka presents the custom and traditions of Yoruba in the play The Lion and the Jewel and he created significant characters, who defends the modernity because they are deeply rooted with old custom and tradition of their culture.

Death and the King’s Horseman by Wole Soyinka was written as a play that provides a rich representation of the interconnection between tradition, personality and colonialism in the culture of the Yoruba community. Analyzing the sociological aspects of the play, this paper considers the aspects of ritual, personal and collective accountability, gender and power relations, and the collision of cultures and their influence on the shape of identity. Thus, through these themes, the work points to the importance of ritual as a means of social cooperation and cultural continuity. In moving the playground from its native territory to the world of the colonial masters, Soyinka underlines the brutal consequences of cultural imperialism and the epistemological closure of colonial and neo-colonial reasons over indigenous African wisdom. The paper also provides more insight into the parts Iyaloja and Olunde play as characters who represent the utilisation and preservation of Yoruba culture. Ancestors’ spiritual authority, demonstrated by Iyaloja and Olunde’s claim to collective liability, encourages Indigenous principles as methods of constructing identity and managing the disruption of society. This paper shows that Death and the King’s Horseman were written as a critique of colonialism and as a way to celebrate Indigenous culture. Similarly, through the culturally complex presentation of Yoruba cosmology, Soyinka presents the problem and seeks to show how cultural rivalry and imposition can be destructive when the value of cultural difference is not recognized. Consequently, this study will make a contribution to other ongoing discourses in postcolonialism, cultural heritage and tradition in maintaining societal fabric.

This research aims to describe gender relations towards female characters in short stories Jemani Kini by Djenar Maesa Ayu and Sepasang Mata Dinaya yang Terpenjara by Ni Komang Ariani. This research was conducted by applying descriptive qualitative method. The object of this research is short story Sepasang Mata Dinaya yang Terpenjara Karya Ni Komang Ariani and short story Jemari Kini Karya Djenar Maaesa Ayu. Data collection was done by reading and listening to both short stories. This research focuses on gender relations towards female characters. The results of this study found the existence of gender relations towards female characters in these two short stories, namely women are still placed in the position of housewives, women who try to overcome the thoughts that exist in the society. In this short story there is also a woman's lack of freedom after she gets married. Basically, women can get their rights in social interaction. There are still thoughts that influence traditions and ways of thinking that say that women are better off carrying out their obligations in household affairs.

The Western Nations have been dominating the third world nations and their culture through the cultural hegemony and superiority. Said criticized and exposed this cultural hegemony of the west in his book ‘Orientalism’ (1978). He believed that the occidental countries have certain prejudices and misconceptions about the orient. No doubt, the approach and outlook of the West to the third world countries is negative and exotic. They assume the superiority of their culture over the culture of third world countries. However, the resistance to cultural hegemony of the west can be noticed in the form of literature. The present research paper explores such resistance as presented in the most dominant African play of Wole Soyinka namely Death and the King’s Horseman (1975). The play is based on the theme of ritualistic suicide in the Yoruba culture. The in-depth analysis of the study of play reveals how the natives follow their cultural rituals without submitting to the western cultural hegemony. The layer of the play shows a deep cultural difference between the British and the Yoruba. The paper contemplates this resistance from the native Yoruba in the form of defiance.

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Wole Soyinka, best known as a Nigerian writer, playwright and Nobel laureate, has been a staunch supporter of the Nigerian cinema, and one of his plays, Death and the King’s horseman, is currently in the process of being adapted to the screen. He embodies the link between the Nigerian society, Yoruba culture and Nollywood. This book of essays in honour of Wole Soyinka’s life and works, offered to him on his 80th birthday, brings together a good number of contributions - short paragraphs, long essays, formal interviews, impromptu conversations and poems. The authors of these texts include a former general Commonwealth secretary, university dons from various fields, internationally acclaimed writers such as Ngugi, Aidoo or Mazrui, diplomats and politicians, journalists, students and personal friends.

This study seeks to investigate linguistic, stylistic devices in Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel. It aims at describing and interpreting lexical categories and figures of speech used to convey meanings. A mixed-method has been used to carry out this work. Thus, the quantitative method has helped collect the stylistic devices from the whole play, and their proportion has been discussed and interpreted on the basis of the qualitative method. As a result, the frequency distribution of the lexical categories is established as follows: verbs 37.07%, nouns 25.84 %, adjectives 22.47%, adverbs 14.6%. The proportions of figures of speech are as follows: smile 20%, metaphor 18.33%, personification 18.33%, repetitions 13.33%, parallelism 11.66%, alliteration 11.66% and irony 6.66%. The high proportion of verbs indicates the fundamental importance of the issues of tradition and modernity in societies. The massive use of Yoruba nouns suggests the triumph of tradition over modernity. Basically, adjectives are used to depict beauty and power for the purpose of highlighting the positive aspects of African cultural values and, more specifically, Yoruba culture and tradition. Lexical schemes have been used to denounce the influence of western civilization on African culture and tradition. Phonological schemes, namely alliteration, are used to create rhythmic speech sounds that stress the rhetorical structure of the play to attract readers' attention to the deep messages being conveyed.