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Womanhood In Nigerian Drama

1630 Words7 Pages

Whatever be the genre, womanhood attracts a significant attention in all creative works of every generation. Our study focuses on Nigerian Drama. This is mainly because drama is distinguished from other literary genres essentially by its intensity and immediacy. The paper sets out to study three contemporary Nigerian plays, namely: The Wives’ Revolt by J. P. Clark, The Court of the Queens by Rotimi Johnson and A Parliament of Vultures by Emeka Nwabueze. The paper purports that perception of womanhood is neither static nor universal but highly variable. The work evaluates the role of women in current sociopolitical events in Nigeria as projected in the three plays chosen for the study. It should be pointed out, however, that our perspective …show more content…

For instance, Abigbo, the popular Mbaise song, ‘Onye gara hall ga-adi ime’ (She who attended a ball-room dance is now pregnant), through its rhythm, gives pleasure; but condemns the act of sexual immorality that leads to pre-marital sex and unwanted pregnancy. A study of the literary works of any age would depict a given perception of humanity at that point in time. The present study focuses on the perception of womanhood in contemporary Nigerian drama as presented in three Nigerian plays: The Wives’ Revolt by J.P. Clark (1991), The Court of the Queens by Rotimi Johnson (1991) and A Parliament of Vultures by Emeka Nwabueze (2000). J.P Clark’s The Wives’ Revolt is a comedy set in an oil-producing community in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria. In this comedy, Clark presents an interplay of men and their wives in a society where two-thirds of every thing to be shared for the benefit of all adults go to two categories of men, that is, the elders who get the lion share and the young men who get the second largest share …show more content…

In consonance with the present practice in the country, there is gross gender imbalance with regards to the number of male and female politicians. However, Madam Omeaku, the lone woman politician among the men, is as much of a vulture as her male counterparts. Through a symbolic representation of these politicians as vultures, Nwabueze paints the picture of a depraved political system where morality and integrity have no

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