The Lion and the Jewel as an African Play
The Lion and the Jewel , an African play written in English, has paid attention to the English speaking audiences in different countries. The play has brought together some features of African, more definitely Yoruba, theatrical tradition. At the same time, it communicates with elements of English theatre tradition. Soyinka ’s own words clarify his intention in the play, and single out one by one, the elements or features of African theatre tradition in the play: “African drama is sophisticated in idiom. Our forms of theatre are quite different from literary drama. We use spontaneous dialogue, folk music, simple stories, and relevant dances to express what we mean. Our theatre uses stylized forms into the drama of the English language.” ( Quoted in Nkosi,108) The first and foremost quality of an African drama is its “spontaneous dialogue” which in the context means unprepared or extempore sentences spoken by the pe...