Is The Lion and the Jewel a comedy?
The category of "comedy" is a wide one, encompassing such literary works as Dante's Divine Comedy, which is not remotely funny. It has often been used to refer to any work of literature with a happy ending or any work that is not a tragedy.
Wole Soyinka's play The Lion and the Jewel is a comedy by any definition. It follows the structure of classical comedy, beginning with romantic complications and ending with a marriage ceremony. However, it subverts the common comic motif of the young couple whose love is threatened when an older man pursues the girl, usually with the approval of her parents. In The Lion and the Jewel, it is the old man, Baroka, who wins the love of the heroine, while his young rival, Lakunle, is humiliated.
This subversion of the traditional ending, however, does nothing to detract from the comedy in...
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the play. Indeed, it adds to the sense of riotous absurdity which is a feature of the writing. TheLion and the Jewel, therefore, is a comedy in both structure and content and in both the ancient and modern senses of the word, making Lakunle a foolish figure of satire who represents the ignorance and arrogance of those who want to destroy African traditions.
Why is The Lion and the Jewel considered a comedy?
Comedies, in the traditional sense, are stories that usually end with the character or characters overcoming some sort of conflict or adverse event. In Shakespearean works, most famously in Much Ado About Nothing, comedies often end with a marriage, and it is by this definition that The Lion and the Jewel can be considered a comedy.
Some might argue that The Lion and the Jewel can't be considered a comedy because of the dark events that occur in the story (e.g., Sidi being raped). This is not true. Even modern comedies often have the characters involved going through many emotional/physical trials before reaching some kind of happy ending. Such endings could include marriage, triumph over a foe, friends/lovers reuniting, an so on.
In conclusion, comedy is mainly defined by two things: the ending, and the actions or dialogue of the characters themselves. Humor is usually associated with modern comedies and can consist of a character or cast of characters who are humorously flawed in some way or who tend to make very human mistakes in a fashion with which the reader can relate. I hope this provides a better understanding of comedy as a genre.