A Dance of the Forests - Wole Soyinka

 A Dance of the Forests is one of the most recognized of Wole Soyinka's plays. The play "was presented at the Nigerian Independence celebrations in 1960, it ... denigrated the glorious African past and warned Nigerians and all Africans that their energies henceforth should be spent trying to avoid repeating the mistakes that have already been made."^[1] At the time of its release, it was an iconoclastic work that angered many of the elite in Soyinka's native Nigeria. Politicians were particularly incensed at his prescient portrayal of post-colonial Nigerian politics as aimless and corrupt. Despite the deluge of criticism, the play remains an influential work. In it, Soyinka espouses a unique vision for a new Africa, one that is able to forge a new identity free from the influence of European imperialism.

A Dance of the Forests is regarded as Soyinka's theatrical debut and has been considered the most complex and difficult to understand of his plays.^[2][3] In it, Soyinka unveils the rotten aspects of the society and demonstrates that the past is no better than the present when it comes to the seamy side of life. He lays bare the fabric of the Nigerian society and warns people as they are on the brink of a new stage in their history: independence.

The play was published in London and New York in 1963 by Oxford University Press (Three Crowns Books).

(Wikipedia)

Here I am sharing the brief overview of the play with critical analysis:

        

        A dance of the forests from yeshab68

A Dance of The Forests - Wole Soyinka - Points

 

             

 Important points:

Ø Aroni introduces the play

Ø Dead man Dead Woman enters

Ø Asks help form Adenebi, Obaneji, Demoke and Rola

 

Ø Discussion (1) about current scenario and why these characters are there – Rola (happy with the condition) – Demoke (Famous totem) – Adenebi (Wants some peace)

Ø Murete tells about Deads and mortals to Aroni – Aroni went to search for them – Ogun is also searching Demoke – Agboreko is also searching everybody - Eshuoro is also searching mortals

Ø Discussion (2) Aroni planned to find out the guilty one (Demoke – Rola – Adenebi) - Adenebi is afraid of the act of Aroni as he was also involved

Ø Discussion (3) Obaneji and Adenebi about the lorries and fire – Revelation of past ( Political hypocrisy)

Ø Discussion (4) Death – How would you like to die? (Past deeds – Life to death – Becoming a reason for other’s death)

Ø Discussion (5) – Revelation of identity) (Rola – Demoke – Adenebi is afraid)

Ø Agboreko and Old man talk about the plan of Aroni

Ø Eshuoro complains about Forest head and deeds of human - Demoke

Ø All spirits enter and discusses about the human

Ø Forest head took all in past

Ø The story moves eight centuries ago – Court of Mata Kharibu – the whole story of injustice – Madame’s behaviour and making dead man eunuch.

Ø Eshuoro and Oremole arguments about Oremole and Demoke – Eshuoro left

Ø All spirits give speech about the condition of forest

Ø Woman enter with half-child – symbol of incompleteness – Not alive nor dead

Ø Questioner(Eshuoro) enters and asks Dead woman why she died – tries to ask Dead man something but Aroni arrives and reveals that he is Eshuoro

Ø Eshuoro tries to kill Demoke and Ogun saves him

Ø Old man asks Demoke what he learned from this?