The Lion and the Jewel (Masterplots II: Drama, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Wole Soyinka
- First Published: 1963
- Type of Plot: Comedy
- Time of Work: The 1950’s
- Setting: Ilujinle, a village in western Nigeria
- Principal Characters: Sidi, Lakunle, Baroka, Sadiku, The Favorite, A Wrestler, A Surveyor
- Genres: Drama, Postcolonial literature, Women’s literature, Comedy
- Subjects: 1950’s, Africa or Africans, Tradition, Power, personal or social, Love or romance, Sex or sexuality, Polygamy or bigamy, Progress, Nigeria or Nigerians
- Locales: Nigeria
The Play
The Lion and the Jewel takes place in Ilujinle, a small African village facing rapid change. As the play begins, it is morning, and the audience sees a marketplace, dominated by an immense odan tree. To the left of the stage is part of the village school, within which the students chant the “Arithmetic Times.” Sidi enters the stage; she is a beautiful, slim girl with plaited hair—the true village belle. Balancing a pail on her head and wearing a broad cloth, Sidi attracts the attention of Lakunle, the young schoolteacher, who looks out the school windows...
[The entire page is 2127 words long]
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