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Literary Appreciation

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 A.A. Fakoya and S.A. Ogunpitan (eds.), The English Compendium 3 & 4, Department of
English, Lagos State University, Lagos, 2001, 350-362

LITERARY APPRECIATION

Harry Olufunwa
Department of English
University of Lagos, Akoka

Introduction

Literary appreciation refers to the evaluation of works of literature as an academic and

intellectual exercise. It is the process by which the recipient of a work of literature acquires an

understanding of its theme(s) and subject matter, and obtains insights into the ways in which its

formal structure helps realise them. Other terms used in place of literary appreciation include

“literary criticism,” “literary exegesis” and “textual analysis.” In literary studies, a highly-

developed capacity for literary appreciation is crucial to an understanding of the texts that are

prescribed for the courses.

Like any other form of analysis, literary appreciation has its own methodology, technical

terms and varieties of approach, and a proper understanding of them is crucial to success.

However, unlike scientific analyses, it does not offer conclusive interpretations, but it allows for

a wide range of opinions, as long as these are based on a thorough understanding of the texts. For

example, in Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, it is possible to argue that the central

character, Okonkwo, is representative of either the best or the worst aspects traditional Igbo

culture, or both. Evidence for these points of view are to be found in an analysis of his character,

what other characters and the omniscient narrator say about him, and the events that occur in the
novel. This tendency for literary appreciation to simultaneously affirm ostensibly contradictory

elements is one of its most characteristic features.

There are some general rules that are basic to successful literary appreciation. One of the

most important of these rules is to carefully read the literary text under focus, if possible, more

than once. It must always be remembered that these are creative works as opposed to history,

journalism and other forms of prose, which are not as heavily dependent upon the imagination,

and will require a correspondingly higher level a concentration if they are to be properly

understood. In literature, meaning is far more likely to be located in symbol, metaphor, irony and

even structure than in explicit statement. It is therefore necessary that literary texts be read,

initially with a view to obtaining a general grasp the ideas expressed, and at least once again, in

order to understand those ideas better, and to be able to see how they relate to other elements of

the work, especially its form and technique.

There are several ways in which literary works can be understood. Perhaps the most basic

is to determine exactly what kind of literary text it is that one is appreciating. If it is a novel, is it

mainly sociological in nature, offering a delineation of social processes and situations? If it is

dramatic work, is it an Absurd drama where what is portrayed seems to defy logic and common

sense? If the literary work is poetic in nature, is it a short meditative lyric or a long narrative

epic? While it is true that many works of literature cannot be definitively placed in just one

category, most of them will have a predominant feature (whether thematic or structural) that will

make it easy to position them within a particular location in the literary spectrum and thereby

enhance the task of literary appreciation.

Apart from determining the specific category or categories into which the work falls,

there is also the need to find out what its intentions are. Its purpose may be didactic, seeking to

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teach, or it may be satirical, seeking to correct, or it may be investigative, seeking to discover. It

might even be a combination of all of these aims in addition to others. This will open up further

areas of inquiry. If the work is mainly satirical in purpose, what are the vices being satirized? If

the works adopts a historical perspective, does it do this because it intends to rehabilitate an

aspect of a people’s history that had been denigrated or ignored? What moral lessons, if any,

does the work offer? Are such lessons explicitly stated through direct statement or unambiguous

action, or subtly implied, through symbol or structural pattern? Such questions relate to the

purpose of the literary work in focus, and should be raised during the process of reading the

work. Questions of authorial intention are closely related to matters of technique, since the

writer’s aims will be shaped by the use of methods s/he considers essential to the attainment of

those aims.

In this respect, questions of literary technique and devices utilized become significant.

Since it is a work of literature, the text being appreciated will make use of devices that make its

message more memorable, and thus make a lasting impression on the minds of its recipients.

Among the more common of such devices are the aspects of figurative language such as

metaphors, similes, personification and onomatopoeia. These devices rarely appear in the text

without reason because they are there for the purpose of helping to convey its meaning and

enhancing it as a work of art. In much of the poetry of African writers, for example, natural

phenomena such as rainfall and drought have symbolic value, often reflecting prevailing moral

states. Physical dirt or disease may symbolize moral corruption. Predatory animals may be

representative of tyrannical leaders. Literary appreciation cannot be undertaken successfully

without bearing the symbolic features the work deploys in mind.

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 Since knowledge of the terms which describe the various categories, modes of expression

and techniques in literature is so important to literary appreciation, it is vital to establish and

develop a vocabulary of literary criticism by taking note of such terms whenever they are applied

to particular texts. Consulting a comprehensive dictionary of literary terms can also build up

such a vocabulary. These terms are not meant to be deployed mindlessly as technical jargon.

They do not represent an end in themselves, but should be used in the task of evaluating the

qualities of the literary work.

The aims of literary works are sometimes better understood if the reader attempts to

obtain some knowledge of its historical and critical background. The works of most first-

generation African writers are more easily appreciated against the background of the momentous

social and political changes taking place at the time they wrote. A basic grasp of the principles

of feminism enhances the study of novels written by many modern women writers. It may also

be important to determine exactly where the particular text being studied can be placed in the

writer’s oeuvre, or body of work. It is generally agreed, for example, that the later fiction of

Ngugi wa Thiong’o is more radical than his earlier writing. Chinua Achebe’s novels can be

described as gradually moving from historical to contemporary issues. Such identification often

helps the reader to understand the literary work better, even though it may require that the

author’s other texts be studied in addition to the prescribed work.

The rest of this essay will offer approaches to the literary appreciation of selected fiction

drawn from Nigerian and foreign works of prose, plays and poems. It will show how each of

these genres has its own specific approach, how the process of literary appreciation helps readers

understand what the works are about and what their special significance is.

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Prose

Literary prose may be defined as those works of literature that appear as continuous or unbroken

text, as opposed to the regular lines and stanzas of poetry. They are not enacted and often lack

the tight structure of drama. Because of this, prose is capable of containing a great deal of detail,

and can fully explore aspects of human experience in a way that can only be hinted at in other

literary genres. Prose consists of short stories, novellas (mini-novels) and novels. Due to the fact

that prose is a descriptive category that also includes non-literary forms such as history and

journalism, the term “fiction” will be used in place of prose in the discussion that follows. In this

essay, fiction refers mainly to imagined narratives in prose.

The literary appreciation of works of fiction must take into consideration the principles

that are specifically applicable to them, as well as the more general rules that govern literary

appreciation generally. Features such as plot, setting and character, which are very significant to

fiction, must be taken into consideration in the task of literary appreciation. Knowledge of the

events recounted in the novel, while essential, is not enough in itself. For example, in Achebe’s

Things Fall Apart, the subject matter only relates to the events that are recounted in the novel. It

is distinct from the novel’s theme(s), which is the central idea(s) that emerges from an evaluation

of its subject matter. Thus, the novel deals with life in nineteenth-century Igboland – customs,

traditions and way of life – but its main theme centres upon the inevitability of change, the

“falling apart” of the novel’s title. This theme is dramatized in the changes which colonialism

and Christianity bring to Umuofia. To take the example of another African novel, The Beautyful

Ones Are Not Yet Born looks at the social and political problems in post-independence Ghana,

but its main theme is moral corruption. Novels in particular may have more than one theme,

usually made up of a central theme around which are woven several sub-themes.

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 In Achebe’s novel, the ineluctability of change (whether characterized as progress or

retrogression) is set against the life of Okonkwo, whose fate individualizes the larger issue and

makes it less abstract. He is considered successful according to the traditional criteria set by his

society, but an essential aspect of his tragedy is that he rises to prominence at precisely the time

when all Igboland is undergoing unprecedented change. His personal fears and obsessions give

rise to other themes, such as the question of how success is to be measured in a community

which, like all human societies, is inherently dynamic, the tensions that shape father-son

relations and the conflict between personal desires and communal dictates. An understanding of

the central ideas that emerge from a work of fiction is essential to literary appreciation because it

enables the reader to examine the other aspects and categories of evaluation in a more focused

manner, and see how the various elements represent parts of an organic whole.

Its plot is one of the crucial aspects which give Things Fall Apart its profound meaning.

The novel explores the nature of traditional Igbo society and the consequences of British

colonialism upon it by portraying the life of Okonkwo, who is in many ways an encapsulation of

the defining qualities of that society. In doing this, Achebe constantly raises questions of fate and

destiny, especially in relation to his central character who constantly wonders whether his

destiny is in his own hands or subject to the whims of fate. These questions are important not

only to an understanding of the fate of the central character, but also his society and culture. The

rise and fall of Okonkwo reflect the dynamism of culture itself which changes in response to

internal and external stimuli. In this light, it is significant that the novel begins in medias res, the

“middle of things,” when the fame of Okonkwo is at its height. By choosing to situate the

present of the novel after the central character has attained social prominence, Achebe

underscores the tragedy of his fall, highlights the flaws inherent in Okonkwo’s personality and

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emphasizes the impact of alien intrusion on local mores. Plot, therefore, relates to the causal

interrelationship between occurrences in the novel rather than the chronological succession of

events.

In a novel like Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge, the main character, Michael

Henchard, dies in exactly the same social position he was in at the beginning – that of

journeyman haytrusser. This kind of plot is cyclical, unlike the mainly linear plot of Things Fall

Apart, and its aim is to reinforce the author’s thesis that human destiny cannot be controlled, no

matter what measures people take to ensure that they are not made vulnerable to the harsher

aspects of life. In the case of Achebe’s novel, his intention is to detail the process of change Igbo

traditional society undergoes and this requires a plot structure which is mainly linear. However,

even Achebe interrupts the linear pattern in order to use another fictional technique, that of the

flashback. Flashback refers to the change in the temporal sequence of the story in order to

provide the reader with information that can offer a greater understanding of present situations or

characters. In the specific instance of Things Fall Apart, flashback offers insights into the nature

of Okonkwo as an individual: it recounts his determination to succeed by his own efforts and the

humiliations of his childhood whose psychological consequences have become so important in

his adult life. The use of flashback also helps to emphasize the nature of traditional Igbo society

as responding to the ebb and flow of events over time.

As described above, it is easy to see how plot is related to character. The movement of

the novel from one incident to the other is partly shaped by what Okonkwo does. This is, in turn,

a consequence of his character and personality. Character is one of the most crucial aspects of

literary appreciation with respect to fiction because a great deal of fiction, especially novels,

focuses upon individuals who are in some way in conflict with their societies, and is concerned

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to describe that conflict in terms that are essentially human-centred, rather than in terms of

supernatural beings or irrational forces.

In the specific case of Okonkwo, this is realized in a particularly complex way, because

he appears to be representative of its most cherished values, and is indeed, initially presented in

that light. However, it is evident that some aspects of his personality, especially his emphasis on

strength as the sole criterion of masculinity, stand in direct contradiction to the values of his

community. Even then, it cannot be said that Okonkwo is a simply a combination of virtues and

vices that cause him to suffer the fate he suffers. This is because the springs of motivation that

drive him are described by Achebe as a natural response to a deprived childhood which

degenerates into a pathological fear of being thought weak, even after the attainment of many

enviable accomplishments.

An analysis of character in fiction, therefore, must consider both the apparent and the

less-obvious motivations and desires that govern the behavior of individuals, and the ways in

which this shapes their overall realization in the work of fiction. Indeed, the best novels are often

those that refuse to portray their characters in the one-dimensional terms of black and white, or

good versus evil. Since they offer a complex view of life, it is unlikely that the characters which

help to convey that view will themselves be simplistically portrayed.

Another feature to be considered in evaluating Things Fall Apart as fiction is its status as

a historical novel. Written in 1958, it deals with Igbo life and culture of a period around the end

of the nineteenth century. Achebe thus writes from a dual perspective: as a descendant of the

people he depicts, and as one whose own life has been shaped by the consequences of colonial

incursion. His aims in writing the novel are therefore multiple in nature, such as his famous

statement that he wanted to prove that Africans possessed a rich and varied culture prior to the

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arrival of the Europeans; his desire to show contemporary Nigerians that they and a past to be

proud of; the intention of putting Africa and himself on the world literary map. In other words,

the historical status of the novel implicitly draws distinctions between past situation and present

reality in order to show how they are interlinked, especially how lessons can be learnt from the

past and applied to the present. The novel, then, has a significance beyond the purely literary.

Forms of literary appreciation that seek to use literature to gain insights into the world are known

as metacriticism or extrinsic criticism.

The status of Things Fall Apart as a historical novel is an indication of the variety of

categories into which the different kinds of fiction can fall. These categories are determined by

perceived emphases of the author, and include non-fiction, psychology, sociology and Marxism.

While these are useful groupings, it should be remembered that they are not totally discrete

because many works of fiction are so multi-layered that they easily incorporate several kinds of

perspective simultaneously. Achebe’s novel, for instance, has sociological and psychological

elements in addition to its more explicit historical content.

Poetry

Of all the literary genres under consideration here, poetry is perhaps the most problematic.

Meaning is often compressed into elliptical, highly personal poetic statements that are ostensibly

impenetrable, and poetry is therefore often considered a very unrewarding subject for literary

appreciation. Such perceptions change when it is realized that the rules and approaches outlined

at the beginning of this essay help to create a more purposeful mode of analysis that could make

the process of analysis much easier. The first thing is to know what poetry is. It can be defined as

a piece of writing or speech arranged in a consciously-designed pattern of lines and sounds

which seeks to imaginatively express some important truth, feeling or opinion. This is admittedly

9
provisional definition, but it recognizes that not all poetry is written and it takes cognizance of

the fact that its meaning inheres in its form and structure as much as in its content. In other

words, a poem’s very form is often essential to its overall meaning. It is therefore important to be

familiar with the various kinds of poetry that are available in modern literature: the ode, the epic

and the lyric among others. Many traditional African poems were originally meant to be chanted

or performed rather than read. Ignoring such aspects may render any attempt at literary

appreciation meaningless.

Another characteristic of literary appreciation in poetry is its heavy dependence upon an

awareness of the different aspects of poetic diction. This relates to the kinds of work utilized by

the poet in exercise of the so-called “poetic licence,” the freedom to write without taking

cognizance of grammatical, syntactic and semantic rules. In modern African poetry, for example,

common features of poetic diction include the use of untranslated African words, neologisms

(new words) and literal translations of African words and phrases. Also important to the analysis

of poetry is its figurative language, such as the metaphors, similes and various kinds of imagery

(visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory and kinaesthetic) that constitute it. All of this implies the

necessity for a two-pronged approach to the literary appreciation of any poem incorporating

questions of substance and manner, that is, what the poet is saying and how s/he says it.

In considering the issue of substance, the main aim is to discover the purpose behind the

poem, and this entails discovering its theme(s). The main difficulty lies in unravelling the

compressed meaning(s) of the poem and expressing it clearly. However, there are several clues

that can make this easier. If it is a long poem, it is likely to be a narrative poem, that is, one that

tells story, such as Samuel Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, where the narrative

structure is reinforced by the sailor himself in his determination to tell the wedding guest his

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strange story. It should be noted that narrative poems are to a large extent governed by the rules

of literary exegesis that guide fiction (such as the examination of plot and character) in addition

to specifically poetic tools of analysis. Shorter poems often contain an insight into the nature of

the human condition and the reader’s task is usually that of trying to understand what that insight

is, and determining the extent of its profundity.

Lyrics are a particularly good example of this kind of poetry because they are often

expressions of the poet’s feelings or outlook on life. In J.P. Clark’s ‘Fulani Cattle,’ for example,

the substance of the poem is to be found in the way the poet tries to understand the inner

motivations of cattle being driven to the slaughter. In doing this, Clark is able to make larger

statements on the inevitably of death, and the ubiquity of suffering and sacrifice in human life.

Regarding the issue of manner in the literary appreciation of poetry, the focus is on those

aspects related to how the poet says what s/he says. In his sense, the reader will be looking at

poetic features like style, rhyme (if any) and rhythm.

The style of a poet’s writing relates to his/her manner of expression, and this is a

consequence of poetic diction (especially choice of words, grammatical structures and other

aspects of language use) and the use of literary devices, such as figures of speech. The poetry of

the English Renaissance poet Edmund Spenser, for example, is very ornate in style, and this is a

reflection of the elevated nature of the subjects he chose to write upon, such as in Epithalamion,

where he celebrates a society wedding. In Nigeria, the poetry of Niyi Osundare is often

characterized by the use of neologisms that reflect his anger at the crass materialism and

corruption of contemporary Nigerian society. Such neologisms often involve joining at least two

distinct words, thereby combining their separate meanings.

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 Osundare’s neologisms include words like “excecuthieves” and “kinsvice.” A lot of

traditional African poetry utilizes various forms of repetition, such as alliteration (the recurrence

of initial consonant sounds), assonance (the repetition of similar vowel sounds) and parallelism

(the use of same grammatical form to represent equivalent ideas). All three types of repetition are

seen in the opening lines of the traditional Yoruba poem ‘Salute to the Elephant’:

O elephant, possessor of a savings-basket full of money

O elephant, huge as a hill, even in a crouching posture.
O elephant, enfolded by honour; demon, flapping fans of war

Repetition of this kind is prominent in oral poetry because it serves as a memory aid for the

raconteurs who recounted them from memory. It also gives such poetry the rhythm that is an

essential part of its overall meaning. In the specific case of ‘Salute to the Elephant,’ for example,

the heavy alliteration and emphatic rhythm appear to replicate the ponderous gait of the elephant,

reinforcing the poem’s portrayal of it as an awe-inspiring creature. Gabriel Okara’s ‘New Year’s

Eve Midnight’ examines a moment in time which marks the end of one year and the beginning of

another. He reinforces the never-ending progression of time and the inevitability of its passage

by using words that are mainly monosyllabic and seem to replicate the measured ticking of a

clock.

Literary devices such as those mentioned above rarely appear in poetry for their own

those but are there to enhance the poem as a work of art and to contribute to its overall meaning.

In Book Nine of John Milton’s Paradise Lost, the poet describes the way in which Satan

acquires control of the serpent for his evil purposes. The snake is described as a:

Fit vessel, fittest imp of fraud, in whom

To enter, and his dark suggestions hide
From sharpest sight: for in the wily snake.
Whatever sleights none would suspicious mark.
As from his wit and native subtlety

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 Proceeding, which in other beasts observed
Doubt might: beget of diabolic pow’r
Active within beyond the sense of brute.

A significant feature of this extract is the quantity of sibilants (the underlined /s/ sounds).

In this context, it is possible to argue that they suggest the hissing of the serpent after Satan has

possessed it. In a different kind of poem, the use of sibilants might help create atmosphere, such

as quietness in ‘The Rime of the ancient Mariner,’ or replicate natural phenomena, as in Percy

Bysshe Shelly’s ‘Ode to the West Wind.’ In poetry, the use of literary devices is a crucial aspect

of the poet’s style and it helps reinforce the meanings encapsulated in the poem’s theme(s).

Another feature of poetry that has to be taken into consideration during the process of

literary appreciation is the structure of the poem. This is particularly obvious in poetry that is

written to laid-down conventions, such as the Elizabethan sonnet. These lyrics often conform to

set patterns determined by their fourteen-line, iambic pentameter configuration. Shakespeare’s

version of these sonnets often developed an idea over three quatrains, and then tied everything up

in the concluding couplet. Other poets chose to divide the sonnet into an octave and a sestet.

Even in poems written in free verse, which are organized around the cadences of speech rather

than meter, the same rule holds true. In David Diop’s ‘Africa,’ the poem is not broken into

stanzas, but its portrayal of the stages the continent passes through corresponds exactly to

evolving states of the persona’s mind. As s/he moves form ignorance through questioning to

understanding, so does the poem traverse the dignity of the African past, the humiliation of the

African present, and finally the hope of the African future.

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Drama

Drama is often considered the oldest of the literary genres. It can be defined as any literary work

in which actors assume roles before an audience. It may also refer to the total body of work

written for the theatre. Drama is immersed in ritual and incorporates the storytelling element of

fiction, as well as the intensity of emotion and feeling that characterize poetry. In addition, it has

its own specific uniqueness, namely the fact that it is performed and thus represents a communal

experience involving actors, production crew and audience rather than the personal experience

that comes to the individual reader of prose and written poetry. Most students first approach

drama as a playtext rather than as a staged performance, and this to a very significant extent

inhibits their literary appreciation of the genre. With the exception of closet dramas, plays are

meant to be staged, and it is only when they are considered in performance that a true assessment

of their qualities can be made. Anthony’s eulogy of the slain Julius Caesar, for example, is quite

impressive as words on a page, but it truly acquires dramatic impact only when it is put on stage,

along with the accoutrements of language, gesture and spectacle.

Like the other genres, the literary appreciation of drama must first begin with an

understanding of the categories that constitute it and the methods of expression and technical

terms that determine the way it is analysed. Some of the categories include the internal division

of plays into main divisions called acts and smaller units called scenes, and the categorization of

plays into tragedy, comedy, tragicomedy and farce. Each of them has specific features and

characteristics which shape an understanding of the issues they examine.

Tragic drama is often regarded as depicting the downfall of the central character whose

life is significant in some way. In spite of the sense of loss implicit in the character’s decline,

there is still the belief that the character has managed to test the limits of human endurance and

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attains an undying heroic status even while paying the price for his/her daring. In Sophocles’

Oedipus Rex, Oedipus’s tragedy is underlined by his capacity to endure the traumatic

circumstances in which fate has placed him. In a similar manner, Othello’s nobility comes to the

fore in his realization that his wife is innocent of his suspicions of infidelity. Comic drama often

satirizes the follies of characters with the intention of exposing social vices to ridicule, and

thereby enhancing the moral values of society. Ben Jonson’s Volpone shows how the success of

fraudsters and dupes depends heavily on the cupidity of so-called respectable members of

society.

Tragicomedy, as the name suggests, is a combination of both comedy and tragedy. In

drama, this may mean that the plays so designated seem tragic until the happy ending; that they

combine comic and tragic scenes; or combine the elements of tragedy and comedy, such as the

anguish of the former and the ludicrous situations of the latter. Shakespeare’s Cymbeline and The

Winter’s Tale are examples of this kind of play. Farce refers to a sub-category of comic drama

which is characterized by overtly physical and verbal humour, exaggerated charter types and

implausible situations. Alan Ackybourn’s The Norman Conquests and Bedroom Farce are

examples. Most comedies contain elements of farce, such as Wole Soyinka’s The Trials of

Brother Jero. It is also common in Absurd drama.

As is the case in fiction and poetry, a proper understanding of the themes that are

contained in specific dramatic works enhances their literary appreciation. It has been argued that

theme in drama is a meaningless term. For instance, there is little connection between the

historical Julius Caesar and his dramatic realization in Shakespeare’s play. While this is true, it is

possible to say that the enactment of imaginary occurrences on stage does convey messages that

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are of a lasting relevance. Given the fact that these themes are dramatized rather than read, it is

especially important that such themes provide an entry into the play rather than emerge from it.

Plot is crucial to the literary appreciation of drama. It refers to the way in which the

dramatist arranges the events of the play to produce the particular effect (s) s/he is aiming for.

According to German playwright Gustav Freytag, the five-act play has five movements, namely

exposition, complication, climax, revision and denouement. This is often conceived of as a

pyramidal structure, and is best seen in Elizabethan plays such as those of Shakespeare. Plays

constructed with this kind of plot strongly emphasize the importance of conflict between the

hero, also known as the protagonist, and his chief adversary, the antagonist. Most plays also have

an exposition of some sort in which the antecedent action that is necessary to an understanding of

the events in the play is given. Exposition can also help the audience to have a better

understanding of characters, and can create atmosphere. However, in some contemporary drams,

there may be no plot in the conventional sense. This especially true of Absurd drama which

offers the idea that humans are powerless, isolated beings trapped in a meaningless universe. An

example is Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot, in which two characters spend most of the play

waiting for someone who never appears. Some plays may dispense with a central climax and

have instead a series of climactic events; others may have a double plot, in which two distinct

plots (such as the subplot and main plot) are related to each other in some way.

Characterization is another important aspect of the literary appreciation of drama.

Because the dramatis personae are onstage, actually performing their assigned roles rather than

merely existing only in textual form, the issue of characterization assumes added importance.

Depending on how fully they are realized, they may be identified as flat or round characters.

There may also be stock characters, which are characters that recur in plays and have recognized

16
functions, such as the fool (jester) in Elizabethan plays and the jealous husband, stubborn father,

and woman disguised as a man in many plays.

As in fiction and narrative poetry, characters are assessed in drama by what they do, by

what they say about themselves, by what others say about them, and by the setting in which they

move. Conversely, they may also be defined by what they do not do, by what they do not say

about themselves, and by what others do not say about them. These are the elements that

establish motivation, which is the basis in character and situation that make particular sorts of

behavior plausible in specific contexts. In Julius Caesar, the nobility of Brutus constantly

emerges through what he says, as in his acknowledgement of the enormity of the conspirators’

actions and by his praise for Caesar. In Rotimi’s Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again, Major

Rahman Lejoka-Brown’s antics helped establish him as a person unfit to head a political party

Iago’s boast in Othello that he will use Othello’s openness against him simultaneously points to

the duplicity of the former and the honesty of the latter.

In their attempt to enhance the portrayal of character, dramatists often use what is called a

foil, a character whose personality underscores the traits of another character, often the hero. The

main purpose is to draw an implicit contrast between the moral attitudes and worldview of the

main character and that of his/her foil. In Hamlet, the aggressiveness with which Laertes pursues

vengeance for the murder of his father contrasts with Hamlet’s hesitation in doing the same.

Baroka’s traditional approach to issues in Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel highlights the

artificiality of Lakunle’s Western-influenced modes of thought.

In addition to these features that are common to all types of drama, there are technical

terms which are closely related to the particular kind of drama under consideration. Tragedy

cannot be adequately analysed without an examination of some of the aspects of drama criticism

17
first identified by Aristotle. These include harmatia (tragic error), peripeteia (reversal) and

anagnorisis (recognition). In spite of their antiquity, these and other Aristotelian terms are a

useful way to approach an analysis of drama. For example, an understanding the nature of

Odewale’s fate in Rotimi’s The Gods Are Not To Blame cannot be complete without knowing the

way in which his impatience and quick temper hasten the impending disaster. Othello’s

unthinking trust of Iago and Macbeth’s desire to make the witches’ prophecies come true are

similar examples. Irony is also another feature of tragic plays, and is manifested mainly as ironic

acts and ironic speech. In the former, certain actions have the reverse of what the doer intends. In

Rotimi’s play, Odewale’s decision to pursue the killer of his predecessor is an example. Ironic

speech is seen in his vow to severely punish the offender once he is found. The irony lies in the

fact that his words mean one thing to him and another to the play’s audience.

Unlike tragedy, which usually concentrates on the tragic hero, most comedies focus on

the community and are communal in orientation. Again, in contrast to tragedy, comedy often

charts a movement from sadness to happiness and is therefore a celebration of life, renewal and

variety. This is why satire is such a prominent feature in most comedies, and is especially

important in satiric comedy. These are plays in which a particular section of society (often

conservative in outlook) is held up to ridicule, and its hypocrisy and folly exposed. Such plays

often end by offering new moral attitudes and modes of behavior.

The plays of Ben Jonson, Moliere and George Bernard Shaw are in this tradition of

seeking to reform immoral behavior by laughing at it. Another type of comic drama is the

romantic comedy, which focuses on the difficulties and obstacles faced by one or more couples

on their ultimately successful journey to the altar. The best-known of this type of drama is

Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night.

18
 Literary appreciation can be a rewarding exercise if it is undertaken in the proper way. It

requires that the texts be carefully read and carefully thought about. A good grasp of the

grammatical rules of English is also essential, as is the logical organization of essays. The

examination of critical works is also important, but it is not a substitute for one’s own insights,

which are what make literary appreciation a unique aspect of academic study.

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Barnet, Sylvan et. al., eds. (1989) Types of Drama: Plays and Essays. New York: HarperCollins
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Eastman, Arthur M., et. al., eds (1970) The Norton Anthology of Poetry. Shorter Edition. New
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