PROJECTING THE PLAYWRIGHT’S IDEOLOGICAL UNDERPINNINGS THROUGH PROVERBS: A STUDY OF SELECTED WORKS OF FEMI OSOFISAN AND SAM UKALA

Uwem Affiah, Offiong Ene Amaku, David Ekanem Udoinwang

Abstract


Language forms an important part of African drama, for it reveals certain aspects of African cultural experiences that are couched in indigenous language resources. From creating sound effects, to poetic imagery or to emphasizing meaning and offering wisdom or even cuckolding, oral language resources have in no small measure enriched and reinforced the ideological contents of Osofisan’s and Ukala’s selected plays. As exponents of indigenous theatre, one finds that Osofisan and Ukala wrap up meaning in a plethora of folktales, riddles, proverbs, songs, and oral poetry, which beyond edutainment, stimulate deep thinking and offer their drama, a distinctive linguistic richness that reveals the defining characteristics of an ethno-drama theatre. Therefore, the paper utilizes the ethnodramatic approach to interrogate the application and stylistic merits of these language resources and their centrality to Osofisan’s and Ukala’s dramas. In so doing, the paper establishes the aesthetic impact language resources wield on the thematic presentations of these playwrights.

 

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ethno-dramatics, language resources, African drama

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejls.v4i1.406

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