NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF
THEATRE AND FILM
STUDIES
MODERN AFRICAN DRAMA (HOME AND DIAASPORA)
GROUP 8
ASSIGNMENT; Explain the intrinsic capacity of culture in man as reflected in
the character Olunde using Wole Soyinka’s proposition in The Fourth Stage.

Lecturer;Mr. E. Akpankwo
 ABSTRACT

Man and his relationship with other members of his society reveal in

profound levels, the identity and character of man which is best explained in

his culture. Culture serves as a mark of identity in man and a means of tracing

his origin to generations before him. Drama is an art that requires the

coalition of different component parts to make a whole. It is a holistic art

form that is impossible to achieve without professionals in different fields

come together to work towards a predetermined goal. Drama tells stories,

these stories may be fictional or non-fictional, it may be historical or an

adaptation of an existing work of art, however, the point the group that is

writing this essay tends to make is that, drama, is the recreation of an event,

using actors, directors, stage managers, etc. to communicate a message by a

playwright. As mentioned before, drama has a means of making statements

about ones culture which is intrinsic and profoundly embedded within his

psyche. This research work therefore attempts to depict the capacity of culture

embedded in one who truly understands cultural values while making

reference to the play Death and The Kings Horseman written by Wole

Soyinka, and the proposition by the same writer that precedes and created a

platform for the reception of the play titled The fourth Stage
 DRAMA AND THEORIES IN AFRICA

Drama in Africa is a popular art that is practiced in universities and

popular theatre auditoriums for the purpose of enlightening, educating and

entertaining audience. Playwrights use drama to make commentaries on their

society, while awaking the ideological consciousness of people towards a

better society. Death and The Kings Horseman is such a play that attempts to

wake the cultural essence in the minds of his audience. The Fourth Stage is a

theory written by the same writer of the book to project his perception of the

African world view as greatly influenced by his culture.

The Fourth Stage

This theory would be discussed in précis due to the limitation of page.

This theory sums up Wole Soyinka’s view on African drama. He gave his

proposition about the Yoruba world view, the cycle of existence and the

search for oneness. [ CITATION Wol76 \l 1033 ] affirms that;

Tragedy, in Yoruba traditional drama, is the

anguish from the severance, the

fragmentation of essence from self… the first

actor – for he led the others- was Ogun, first

suffering diety, first creative energy, the first

 challenger, the conqueror of transition. And

his, the first art, was tragic art. (145)

The Soyinkan concept of tragedy suggests an individual who has enough will

to bridge the chaos of the abyss through the paradoxical truth of creativity and

destructiveness thus laying his life as a sacrifice to liberate his community

from impending doom and catastrophe. According to [ CITATION Mic82 \l 1033 ];

Throughout the four essays which constitute

the book runs the theme of the search for

oneness … which the playwright sees the

individual achieving only by daring to bridge

the abyss of primal chaos, and triumphing by

an exercise of the will. (268)

Due to purpose of keeping this research work concise, the group has decided

to go directly into the play text Death and The Kings horseman which clearly

reflects and traduce the intrinsic capacity of culture in man in the character of

Ogunde.

After group interactions, polemics were made and a part of the polemic

suggested that the play reflected a clash of culture, due to the fact that the

western culture found the African culture mundane and derogated all
practices and rites concerned with their beliefs and religion. This group

however seem to be making salient points, by pointing out that the major

conflict within the diegetic world of the story was brought about due to a

clash of cultural ideologies.

OLUNDE AS AN EMBODIMENT OF PROFOUND CULTURAL

IDEOLOGY

Olunde is Soyinka’s ideal tragic hero in the play because he was able to

confront the will which he needed to faced the part which his father to whom

it was due has refused to face because of his hedonistic life style. His father,

Elesin Oba, who is the right hand man of the king is expected to commit a

ritual suicide to quail the cultural eruption which the death of the Oba has

caused, and also to aid his transition. However, he was unable to carry out his

duty due to the fact that he lacked the will that was needed to confront the

abyss. However, one important element to point out which strongly be tones

the bone of contention of this research work - the intrinsic capacity of culture

in man- is that Ogunde, in as much as he went to the west and acquired

western knowledge, knew within him the importance of the festival and its

significance to the community. He therefore did not see the alien culture as

one which is superior to his culture, he therefore, went ahead to sacrifice

himself for his people to reverse the cultural atomization that was set to bring
calamity on the lives of the people. One would suggest after a thought, that it

is rather strange to have Olunde who was seen the west in all its power but

was still humble enough and brave enough to put on the shoes of his father.

In conclusion, the affirmation that culture has an intrinsic capacity is

veritable and very evident in the play Death and the Kings Horseman, in the

character of Olunde as lucidly explained above.

 WORKS CITED

Etherton, Michael. The Development of African Drama. Kaduna: Tamza PUblishing Co. ltd, 1982.

Soyinka, Wole. Myth Literature and the Africa World. New York: Cambridge University Press,
1976.