Nigerian Playwright and Political activist Wole Soyinka received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986. He was born in 1934 in Abeokuta, near Ibadan, into a Yoruba family and studied at University college in Ibadan, Nigeria and the University of Leeds, in England. Upon his return to Nigeria, he founded an acting company and wrote his first important play, 'A Dance of the Forests' ( Produced 1960 and Published 1963) , for the Nigerian independence celebrations. The play satirizes the fledgling nation by stripping it of romantic legend and by showing that the present is no more a golden age that was the past.
An outspoken opponent of oppression and tyranny worldwide and a critic of the political situation in Nigeria, Soyinka has lived in exile on several occasions. During the Nigerian civil war in the 1960s, he was held as a prisoner in solitary confinement after being charged with conspiring with the Biafrans. In 1997, while in exile, he was tried for, convicted of, and sentenced to death for antimilitary activities, a sentence that was later lifted. Soyinka's poetry draws on Yoruba myths, his life as an exile and in prison, and Politics.
His more serious plays, such as The Strong Breed (1963), Kongi’s Harvest (opened the first Festival of Negro Arts in Dakar, 1966; published 1967), The Road (1965), From Zia, with Love (1992), and even the parody King Baabu (performed 2001; published 2002), reveal his disregard for African authoritarian leadership and his disillusionment with Nigerian society as a whole. From 1960 onward he taught literature and drama and headed theatre groups at various Nigerian universities. Soyinka has taught at a number of universities worldwide, among them Ife University, Cambridge University, Yale University, and Emory University.
Though he considered himself primarily a playwright, Soyinka also wrote the novels 'The Interpreters' (1965), Season of Anomy (1973), and chronicles from the Land of the Happiest people on Earth (2021), the latter of which drew particular praise for its satirical take on corruption in Nigeria.
He wrote a good deal of Poems from Prison while he was jailed in 1967–69 for speaking out against the war brought on by the attempted secession of Biafra from Nigeria. Wole Soyinka was long a proponent of Nigerian Democracy. His decades of political activism included periods of imprisonment and exile, and he founded, headed or participated in several political groups.
About A Dance of the Forests:
During Yourba festival, known as the 'Gathering of the Tribes' , A Dead man and Dead woman come out - from their burial ground. They are sent by Aroni - A God, with Permission from the Forest Head. Four villagers now come to the forest - Rola ( A Prostitute), Adenebi (A court Historian) of the emperor; Mata Kharibu. Agboreko (who was a soothsayayer to Mata kharibu and plays the same role in his life, and finally Demoke (who is now a wooden carver but, was once a poet in the court.
Aroni has selected these four in order for them to gain knowledge about their past lives and to atone for their sins. Obaneji (The Forest Head) disguised in human form, invites the characters to Join in a welcome dance for the Dead woman, and Dead woman. But, Eshuorou (A Spirit of tree) comes and interrupts the proceedings. He is seeking Vengeance for the death of Oremole [Demoke's apprentice], whom Demoke killed by Pulling him off. The top of an Araba tree they were carving. Yourba God - Ogun ( Gurdain of metal workers and artisans) wants to protect Demoke from Eshuoro, so he tries to distract Eshuoro.
Aroni and the Forest Head now transport the characters back in the time into the court of Mata Kharibu, where the Dead woman was a soldier. He refuses to go to war against another tribe. Because, Kharibu has taken by force one of the tribe leader's wife - Madame Tortoise. None of the courtious help the soldiers, who is castrated and given to a slave dealer. The soldier's wife comes in, pregnanat and it is left up to the audience to determine how she is killed.
The last section depicts the meaning of the last human and the natural worlds. One by one, varoius natural elements, earth, the sun, the water, the ants awaken and address the Forest Head. The Dead woman appears holding the hands of a half child. A figure is red also appears luring the child away with its games. The Spirit of Darkness speaks, than the Spirit of Precious Stones, than the Spirit of Pachyderms, than the Spirit of the rivers. They all move, and speak in a large chorus, when suddenly they all stop. The figure in red rips off his mask and reveals himself to be Eshuoro. Demoke succeeds, in taking the child to the Dead woman, and Aroni leads the mother and the child off.
The Dance of the unwilling sacrifice begins, and Eshuoro pushes Demoke towards a totem. Demoke climbs it and as he gets higher, Eshuoro lights the totem on fire. Ogun enters to catch Demoke, when he falls. As Igbale music plays, Demoke, Agboreko, The old man, Rola and Adenebi speak an epilogue. The Play ends with the mortal characters, who experienced rebirth, learning the lessons of their former ( Past) lives and evolving into new people.
Wole Soyinka’s A Dance of the Forests is a complex and highly symbolic play that was written for Nigeria’s independence celebrations in 1960. However, instead of glorifying the past or offering a simplistic vision of the future, Soyinka presents a deeply critical and philosophical reflection on history, memory, and the challenges of nationhood.
A Play of Past, Present, and Future
The play is set in an abstract and mythical space where the living and the dead interact. The Forest Head, a mystical entity, brings together mortals and spirits to force them to confront the realities of their past. The story revolves around a group of celebrants who expect to be honored by noble ancestors, but instead, they are confronted with restless, unacknowledged spirits from history victims of past injustices. This unexpected revelation disrupts their illusions of a glorious heritage and forces them to reckon with the darker aspects of their past.
Soyinka employs Yoruba mythology and ritualistic elements to create a layered narrative that transcends linear time. Through the character of Aroni, the limping messenger, and the enigmatic Forest Head, the play moves between past and present, exposing the hypocrisy, corruption, and violence that continue to plague society. The Dead Man and Dead Woman represent victims of oppression, showing how past crimes remain unresolved.
Themes and Symbolism
One of the central themes of A Dance of the Forests is the critique of historical amnesia. Soyinka warns against romanticizing the past and instead urges society to engage with its mistakes to build a better future. The play challenges the idea that independence alone is enough to cleanse a nation of its deep-rooted injustices.
The forest serves as a powerful symbol in the play. It is both a place of mystery and revelation, where truth is laid bare. The dance itself represents a cycle of history, suggesting that without self-awareness and change, society is doomed to repeat its past mistakes.
Soyinka also incorporates satire and irony, particularly in how the living characters react to the spirits. Instead of learning from the past, they resist and try to suppress uncomfortable truths. This reflects the tendency of political elites and society at large to avoid genuine introspection.
Language:
There are many different kinds of speech employed by Wole Soyinka in this Play. Agboreko speaks like a typical village elder, relying on his proverb-filled utterances to suggest the gravity and wisdom that he sorely lacks: "proverbs to bones and silence" is a particular favourite.
Rola and Madame Tortoise's speech is coquettish, swiftly changing to a vicious vulgarity when they are spumed or thwarted. Murete's speech is imaginative, filled with vivid insults.
Towards the end of the play the language takes on a heightened poetic quality, befitting the dignified anguish of the Spirits of the Rivers, Volcanoes, Precious Stones, Palm, Darkness and others. Even the ant leader and his followers are given considerable time to speak of the way in which their species has been decimated. Wole Soyinka also used non - verbal elements enhances the theatrical impact.
Issues:
Some of the issues of this play are - Nigerian Independence , the relation of tradition to history and the relation of the artists to Politics.
Nigerian Independence :
This play was performed as part of the celebrations of Nigerian Independence. In the beginning of the play we are told that all the people are going to an important festival, the ritual gathering of the tribes. This play, as mentioned earlier, is modelled on the Yoruba New Year festival which takes place in March and which includes purificatory rites in which people help one another to confess and to begin the new year afresh. The occasion of Nigerian independence would also be the beginning of a new era, a fresh start.
This play was first performed as part of the Nigerian independence celebrations. This celebration is one in which people from , the past have also been invited. As mentioned in the earlier section on Yoruba religion, ancestors are crucial to the Yoruba world view because they are seen as : links between the mortal and the immortal gods. They can intervene on behalf of the mortals. However, in this play, the living characters neither recognise nor offer help to the Dead Man and the Dead Woman who have invited to the festivities. In fact, a number of characters say that the wrong people have been invited to the festival. In fact, they reject them outright. This shows that the living characters are unable to distinguish between the good and the evil characters in history and that they do not want to accept their contribution in the cycle of historical injustice. The brave warrior who fought against the tyranny of Mata Kharibu (who reappears as the Dead Man) and his helpless, pregnant wife (who reappears as the Dead Woman) can hardly be termed thieves and traitors.
The relation of tradition to history :
By having the four living characters double as in the play-within-a-play in Part Two, Soyinka is perhaps saying that history repeats itself in the most distressing way. Human nature is only fitfully able to ameliorate itself, to learn from its own mistakes.
The warrior and his wife who made the supreme sacrifice of their lives are not welcomed or celebrated in the new age--they are treated with suspicion or indifference or their identity is misrepresented. Madame Tortoise is a type of shallow and flirtatious woman who uses her sexual charms in a completely ruthless and self-seeking way- she is quite content to let men risk their lives trying to rescue canary from a rooftop. The absurdity of the request- canaries are birds and so have no need of being rescued from heights; a bird's life is far more important than a human being's- underlines the callousness of the character. Rola, among the living characters, displays the same self-seeking ways. She feels she is irresistible to all men-any man who resists her must necessarily be less than a man.
The relation of the artist to society:
In a number of Soyinka's plays there is an artist or a craftsman figure. In A Dance of the Forests this figure is Demoke. We are told that he is a carver (and in the court of Mata Kharibu he appears as a poet) -he has been responsible for carving the totem pole for the festival of the gathering of the tribes. Demoke has pushed his apprentice Oremole to his death from the top of the pole. This act has come about partly because of the vertigo Demoke feels once he climbs high. However, at the end Demoke pays the price for his deed by trying to save the Half-Child from Eshuoro.
This play was first performed as part of the Nigerian independence celebrations. This celebration is one in which people from , the past have also been invited. As mentioned in the earlier section on Yoruba religion, ancestors are crucial to the Yoruba world view because they are seen as : links between the mortal and the immortal gods. They can intervene on behalf of the mortals. However, in this play, the living characters neither recognise nor offer help to the Dead Man and the Dead Woman who have invited to the festivities. In fact, a number of characters say that the wrong people have been invited to the festival. In fact, they reject them outright. This shows that the living characters are unable to distinguish between the good and the evil characters in history and that they do not want to accept their contribution in the cycle of historical injustice. The brave warrior who fought against the tyranny of Mata Kharibu (who reappears as the Dead Man) and his helpless, pregnant wife (who reappears as the Dead Woman) can hardly be termed thieves and traitors.
The relation of tradition to history :
By having the four living characters double as in the play-within-a-play in Part Two, Soyinka is perhaps saying that history repeats itself in the most distressing way. Human nature is only fitfully able to ameliorate itself, to learn from its own mistakes.
The warrior and his wife who made the supreme sacrifice of their lives are not welcomed or celebrated in the new age--they are treated with suspicion or indifference or their identity is misrepresented. Madame Tortoise is a type of shallow and flirtatious woman who uses her sexual charms in a completely ruthless and self-seeking way- she is quite content to let men risk their lives trying to rescue canary from a rooftop. The absurdity of the request- canaries are birds and so have no need of being rescued from heights; a bird's life is far more important than a human being's- underlines the callousness of the character. Rola, among the living characters, displays the same self-seeking ways. She feels she is irresistible to all men-any man who resists her must necessarily be less than a man.
The relation of the artist to society:
In a number of Soyinka's plays there is an artist or a craftsman figure. In A Dance of the Forests this figure is Demoke. We are told that he is a carver (and in the court of Mata Kharibu he appears as a poet) -he has been responsible for carving the totem pole for the festival of the gathering of the tribes. Demoke has pushed his apprentice Oremole to his death from the top of the pole. This act has come about partly because of the vertigo Demoke feels once he climbs high. However, at the end Demoke pays the price for his deed by trying to save the Half-Child from Eshuoro.
in conclusion, A Dance of the Forests is a bold and unsettling work that refuses to conform to the expectations of a celebratory independence play. Instead of offering easy optimism, Soyinka challenges his audience to confront history, acknowledge past failures, and strive for true transformation. The play’s dense symbolism, mythological references, and non-linear narrative make it a complex but deeply thought-provoking exploration of power, memory, and responsibility.
2)Write a proposed alternative end of the play 'A Dance of the Forest' by Wole Soyinka.
In "A Dance of the Forests" by Wole Soyinka, the play concludes with a symbolic dance of rebirth and renewal, celebrating the potential for positive change and transformation in society. The specific details of the ending can vary depending on the production and interpretation of the play, but it typically emphasizes themes of hope, renewal, and the possibility of a better future.
It is like a celebration of the possibility for things to change for the better in society. Overall, it is about hope and the belief that we can make things better if we can work together. It is a hopeful and optimitic way to conclude the story, leaving the audience feeling inspired and uplifted.
It is like a celebration of the possibility for things to change for the better in society. Overall, it is about hope and the belief that we can make things better if we can work together. It is a hopeful and optimitic way to conclude the story, leaving the audience feeling inspired and uplifted.
In an alternative ending to "A Dance of the Forests" by Wole Soyinka, the play could culminate in a moment of introspection and realization rather than a celebratory dance. As the characters confront the issues and conflicts presented throughout the play, they could come to understand the gravity of their situation and the urgency of taking action. Instead of a joyous conclusion, the ending could evoke a sense of somber determination, highlighting the challenges that still lie ahead and the sacrifices that may be necessary to bring about meaningful change.
In this alternative ending, rather than resolving all conflicts neatly, the characters might acknowledge that the journey toward transformation is ongoing and fraught with difficulties. There could be a sense of uncertainty about the future, tempered by a newfound resolve to confront injustice and oppression. The play could conclude with a powerful speech or exchange between characters, emphasizing the importance of unity, resilience, and perseverance in the face of adversity.
Ultimately, the alternative ending would leave the audience with a sense of urgency and a call to action, challenging them to reflect on the themes and messages of the play and consider how they can contribute to positive change in their own lives and communities. While it may lack the overt optimism of the original ending, this alternative conclusion would offer a more nuanced and thought-provoking perspective on the complexities of social transformation.
In this alternative ending, rather than resolving all conflicts neatly, the characters might acknowledge that the journey toward transformation is ongoing and fraught with difficulties. There could be a sense of uncertainty about the future, tempered by a newfound resolve to confront injustice and oppression. The play could conclude with a powerful speech or exchange between characters, emphasizing the importance of unity, resilience, and perseverance in the face of adversity.
Ultimately, the alternative ending would leave the audience with a sense of urgency and a call to action, challenging them to reflect on the themes and messages of the play and consider how they can contribute to positive change in their own lives and communities. While it may lack the overt optimism of the original ending, this alternative conclusion would offer a more nuanced and thought-provoking perspective on the complexities of social transformation.
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