The Road | The Road

At a glance:

Author: Wole Soyinka
First Published: 1965
Type of Plot: Postcolonial; psychological
Time of Work: The 1960’s
Setting: Nigeria, West Africa
Principal Characters: Professor, Murano, Kotonu, Samson, Salubi, Chief-in-Town, Say Tokyo Kid, Particulars Joe
Genres: Drama, Postcolonial literature, Psychological drama, Mythological literature, Tragedy
Subjects: 1950’s, 1960’s, Africa or Africans, Religion, Accidents, Death or dying, Corruption, Life, philosophy of, Nigeria or Nigerians
Locales: Nigeria

Professor, the protagonist of The Road, searches for the Word, or Logos, the inward rational principle of language, consciousness, and the natural universe. As the proprietor of the Aksident Store, Professor also dedicates his life to the knowledge and propagation of death, which the Word symbolizes: “The Word may be found companion not to life, but death.” Life is the field of activity, while death, as represented by the Word, is an absolute stasis in which all activity has its unified source. Pursuing the Word can involve the fear of death, which for the...

The Road | The Road

At a glance:

The Play

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