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A Caribbean Examinations Council® Study Guide


CXC® STUDY GUIDES
Developed exclusively with the Caribbean Examinations Council®
for students following CSEC® programmes, this brand new series of
Study Guides provides candidates with extra support to help them
maximise their performance in their examinations.

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Joyce Jonas • Martin Jones • Mala Morton-Gittens

A Caribbean Examinations Council® Study Guide


Contents

Introduction 1 2.7 Themes 1 78


2.8 Themes 2 80
Unit 1 Drama 2.9 Point of view 82
1.1 Where did drama come from? 2 2.10 Structure of the narrative 1 84
1.2 How to study drama 4 2.11 Structure of the narrative 2 86
1.3 Plot, characters, conflict and themes 6 2.12 Language 1 88
Old Story Time 2.13 Language 2 90
1.4 Old Story Time – the plot 8 2.14 Irony 92
1.5 Understanding the play 10 2.15 Comparing the beginning and
1.6 Dramatic devices 1 12 the end 1 94
1.7 Dramatic devices 2 14 2.16 Comparing the beginning and
1.8 Dramatic devices 3 16 the end 2 96

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A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2.17 Writing about prose – collect your
1.9 A Midsummer Night’s Dream – evidence 1 98
introduction 18 2.18 Writing about prose – collect your
1.10 The main plot 20 evidence 2 100
1.11 The fairy sub-plot 22 Short stories
1.12 The comic sub-plot 24 2.19 Short stories – parental love and
1.13 Conflict and themes 26 children in need 102
1.14 Dramatic devices 28 2.20 Parental love and children coping
1.15 The language
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1.16 The significance of the title
30
32
with challenge
2.21 Children and racism
104
106
The Lion and the Jewel 2.22 Between two cultures 108
1.17 The Lion and the Jewel – 2.23 Children learning important lessons 110
Unit 2 Practice exam questions 112
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the background 34
1.18 The plot 36 Unit 2 Practice exam questions 114
1.19 African cultural traditions 38
Unit 3 Poetry
1.20 Contrasting characters as
a dramatic device 40 3.1 Understanding poetry 116
1.21 Conflict and themes 42 3.2 Introduction to poetry 118
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1.22 Themes and irony 44 3.3 The structure of the poem 120
1.23 Comedy and the minor characters 46 3.4 The sound of poetry 1 122
1.24 Costumes, setting and props 48 3.5 The sound of poetry 2 124
Julius Caesar 3.6 Poetry as pictures 1 126
1.25 Julius Caesar – introduction 50 3.7 Poetry as pictures 2 128
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1.26 The plot and main character 52 3.8 Additional poetic devices 1 130
1.27 The principal characters 54 3.9 Additional poetic devices 2 132
1.28 Contrasting pairs of characters 56 3.10 Analysing poems 134
1.29 Contrasting speeches 58 3.11 ‘A Contemplation Upon Flowers’
1.30 The supernatural, irony and suspense 60 by Henry King 136
1.31 Sound, language and imagery 62 3.12 ‘Orchids’ by Hazel
Unit 1 Practice exam questions 64 Simmons-McDonald 138
3.13 ‘A Stone’s Throw’ by Elma Mitchell 140
Unit 2 Prose 3.14 ‘Ol’ Higue’ by Mark McWatt 142
2.1 Features of prose 66 3.15 ‘This Is the Dark Time, My Love’ by
2.2 Plot 68 Martin Carter 144
2.3 Setting 70 3.16 ‘Theme for English B’ by Langston
2.4 Characterisation 72 Hughes 146
2.5 Dialogue 74 3.17 ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ by
2.6 Conflict 76 Wilfred Owen 148

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Contents

3.18 ‘South’ by Kamau Brathwaite 150 Unit 4 Writing


3.19 ‘West Indies, USA’ by Stewart Brown 152 4.1 Writing practice 172
3.20 ‘Forgive My Guilt’ by Robert 4.2 Structuring a comparative essay 174
P. Tristram Coffin 154 4.3 A sample essay comparing
3.21 ‘The Woman Speaks to the Man two poems 1 176
who Has Employed her Son’ 4.4 A sample essay comparing
by Lorna Goodison 156 two poems 2 178
3.22 ‘Le Loupgarou’ by Derek Walcott 158 4.5 Introducing quotations and
3.23 ‘A Lesson for this Sunday’ by Derek revision tips 180
Walcott 160
3.24 ‘Epitaph’ by Dennis Scott 162 Prescribed texts 182
3.25 Meanings below the surface 164

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3.26 Thematic similarities among Glossary 184
your CSEC poems 166
3.27 Two poems about Death – for Index 186
comparison 168
Unit 3 Practice exam questions 170 Acknowledgements 188
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iv
Introduction

This Study Guide has been developed exclusively As you work through the different sections, you will
with the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC®) to acquire the skills you need in order to appreciate
be used as an additional resource by candidates, literature and write fluently about literary texts.
both in and out of school, following the Caribbean
At the beginning of each section, the Learning
Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC®) programme.
outcomes are clearly stated. You may find it
It has been prepared by a team with expertise in helpful, as you come to the end of each section,
the CSEC® syllabus, teaching and examination. to go back and ensure that you have covered and
The contents are designed to support learning by fully understood the material from that section.
providing tools to help you achieve your best in CSEC The margins and main text also contain engaging
English B, and the features included make it easier and useful Activities to help you engage with the
for you to master the key concepts and requirements different concepts and encourage you to form your

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of the syllabus. Do remember to refer to your own opinions on the texts you have chosen to read.
syllabus for full guidance on the course requirements You will also find some very useful Did you know?
and examination format. panels and Exam tips that have been provided for
you in collaboration with CSEC examiners.
Inside this Study Guide is an interactive CD,
which includes electronic activities to assist you in Key terms are in bold throughout the text. These are
developing good examination techniques: defined in the glossary at the end of the book.
• On Your Marks activities provide sample All the texts used for analysis or as examples of
examination-style short-answer and essay-type specific points are drawn from the list prescribed for
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questions, with example candidate answers the two syllabuses covering the entire period from
and feedback from an examiner to show where 2012 to 2017.
answers could be improved. These activities will
Please note that one of the poetry questions and one
build your understanding, skill level and confidence
of the short story questions on Paper 2 will invite you
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in answering examination questions.
to write about two texts of your choice. Be careful
This unique combination of focused syllabus content to choose only texts that are on the syllabus you
and interactive examination practice will provide you are studying. To guide you, we have listed the texts
with invaluable support to help you reach your full for each syllabus at the back of this Study Guide on
potential in CSEC® English B. pages 182–3.
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1 Drama
1.1 Where did drama
come from?
LEARNING OUTCOMES What is drama?
Is drama only the plays that we study in school and see performed
In this section you will:
in the theatre? Or is it something broader than that? Think about it:
• consider what drama is and sometimes there can be drama going on at the street corner or in
where you can experience it your neighbour’s house. When you ‘borrow’ your big sister’s things
• think about the origins without asking, you can be sure it will result in quite a bit of drama
and nature of formal and when she finds out! Yes, informal drama is all around us, isn’t it? In
this study guide, though, we look at drama in the more formal sense

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informal drama
– plays that are written for performance on stage.
• look at the relevance of
drama as a community
The birth of drama
experience and a rite of
passage. Have you ever thought when, how and why human beings first began
performing to an audience? Consider the following suggestions:

ers arriving Scenario 2. There has


io 1. Im ag in e a group of hunt been no rain, and it’s
Scen ar
home, proudly ca
T
rr ying the animal
he y want to te ll
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th
they have
e women and
time for planting, so the
shaman to discuss the
chief calls on the tribe’s
problem. That night, as
man ag ed to ki ll. tacked, the moon rises, the wh
re n ho w br av ely they stalked and at ole tribe gathers and the
child what do shaman leads them in a
fi er ce ly th e be as t fought back. So re-enactment of their
how sit around planting and reaping act
out! And as they
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? T he y ac t it ivities. The drums beat
they do eat, they faster and faster to sim
ll of the roasted m ulate the longed-for rai
the fire, bellies fu pl oi ts, reliving pounding down on the n
h an d bo as t ab out their ex dr y ground, and men an
d
laug ise each women dance joyfully,
rill as they dramat miming the work they
the fear and the th a ha s been born. be doing to harvest the wi ll
en t of th e hu nt – and dram bumper crop they hope
mom to be blessed with if the
gods will only send rain.
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ACTIVITY

1 Imagine you are putting on a play at school.


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• Make a list of all the people you will have to thank at the end of the performance: the playwright,
the lighting crew ... Complete this list.
• What will you need for the production? Think about costumes, props, scenery. Will you need
dressmakers? Painters? Carpenters?
• Who will you inform about the play, and how?
• Will you need a treasurer, tickets and programmes?
Create lists of all the things you will need to organise a performance.

Drama as a community experience


What do you expect from a play? The examples provided here
suggest that we can expect community participation, action, sound,
spectacle, suspense, and an emotion-filled storyline that reflects life
as it is or life as we would like it to be.

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Drama as a rite of passage
DID YOU KNOW?
We all pass through major transitions in our lives. Birth, puberty,
The Mundan (the first haircut)
marriage, parenthood and death are some traditional examples, but
ceremony in the Hindu religion
you could add others: a child’s first day at school, graduation from
is typically performed during the
college, moving from school to the work environment. Societies often
first three years of a child’s life.
have ceremonies to mark these events. Those rituals and ceremonies
This takes place because hair
are what we mean by rites of passage.
from birth is associated with a
past life, so the shaving signifies
a new beginning. It is also said
to stimulate growth.

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In some religions the shaving of the head marks a rite of passage
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We can think of a play as a rite of passage for the characters on
stage – and sometimes for the audience, too. Just like the dance of
the shaman, it depicts what life was like before and after a life-
changing experience. Before the rains, the tribe was sad and hungry,
but after the rains came and the crops sprang up, they were joyful ACTIVITY
and thankful for their full bellies. In Old Story Time, Mama’s rite of
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passage – her life-changing experience – is the learning process that 2 Think about the rituals
shows her how wrong-headed her racial prejudice was; she realises performed in your
that her belief that ‘anything black nah good’ was illogical and community: when a baby
destructive. Similarly, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the journey is born, when a couple get
married, when someone joins
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into the magical forest allows the Athenians to undergo a change of


heart that leads them from near-tragedy to a happy, blessed life of a church, when someone
love. Sidi choosing a husband in The Lion and the Jewel is, for her, graduates from college or
and for the audience, a rite of passage; it reflects the choice that when someone dies.
African nations make between embracing foreign culture or holding • Which of these rituals have
on to indigenous traditions and values. you experienced?
In contrast to these three plays, Julius Caesar ends not on a happy • Did the ceremony create a
note, but in regret because lives have been lost and little achieved. sense of performance?
Its tone is tragic rather than comic. Again, though, the cast and • Did the ceremony reflect
audience participate in a rite of passage – the coup that removes a the emotions of the
ruler who is perceived to be an oppressor. We observe the struggles participants?
of a society that rises up in revolt, and goes through the horrors of • Did the ceremony provide a
civil war, and we find ourselves pondering the gains and the losses of spectacle?
that life-changing social upheaval.

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1.2 How to study drama

The important thing to remember when you are studying drama is


LEARNING OUTCOMES
that a play is designed to be performed – not only to be read. Your
In this section you will: job, then, when you are reading the script (for that is what it is),
is to recognise that you have a twin role: you are the director and
• understand that studying also a member of the audience. You need to constantly use your
a play involves using your imagination so that you have a mental image of what is happening
imagination to visualise it in on the stage – and it is you who will decide how and where the
performance actors move, and how they speak. You will also discover that you
• discover that you are the respond emotionally to the action – just as you do when you are

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audience watching a movie. So put on your director’s cap, sit down in your
• imagine you are the play’s director’s chair and let’s roll!
director.
What are stage directions for?
To help you stage the play, the
playwright supplies stage directions.
These are usually printed in italics.
They indicate how the stage should
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characters should be dressed
(costumes). They describe the stage
furniture needed (props) and where
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the characters are to come on (enter)
and go off (exit/exeunt). Finally, they
indicate what kind of sound effects
the play needs, and what lighting
effects it requires – bright or dim, a
spotlight on one particular individual
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or group, and so on.


You will notice that in addition to
instructions at the beginning of
the play, there are stage directions
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Confusion ensues without proper direction


throughout the play. Their purpose is
to tell the actors when and how to move, and how to say their lines;
they also guide the stage crew, the lighting crew and the sound crew
to know when they must move the scenery or stage furniture, when
they must change the lighting effects on the stage, and when they
must create particular sound effects. It takes a whole team of people
ACTIVITY to produce a play – and the result is a community experience, not a
private one like reading a novel.
1 From a play you are studying,
find examples of stage Scenery
directions that guide:
Notice the scenery that is used in the play and any changes in the
• the director
setting. Are any contrasting experiences suggested? If so, how has
• the actors that been achieved? As an example, think about the differences
• the stage crew. between the yard where Mama lives and the smart home that Len
and Lois share in Old Story Time. The stately palace in Athens is very

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different to the moonlit forest where Oberon and Titania rule in
DID YOU KNOW?
A Midsummer Night’s Dream. What effect do those changes in scene
have on the audience? Did you know that scenery and
costumes can be realistic or
Costumes and props symbolic? Go online and find
images of A Midsummer Night’s
Both costumes and props have a great visual impact on the audience,
Dream in performance. Has the
so be aware of them at all times. Imagine that you are responsible
director aimed for realism or
for the props and costumes in a performance, and make a list of
symbolism?
what is needed for each scene. We’ll need swords and wine flagons,
senators’ robes and soldiers’ uniforms for Julius Caesar, for example.
In Old Story Time we shall need a bottle of oil of deliverance, some
ACTIVITY
red underwear, a bunch of flowers, and some odd clothing to
disguise Len in, along with a chair for him to lift to threaten Mama 2 Think of two contrasting
with. Then there will be an ass’s head for poor Bottom and all the scenes in a play you are
equipment for the ‘Pyramus and Phoebe’ play in A Midsummer studying. Sketch the stage

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Night’s Dream; and ill-fitting European clothes for Lakunle, and settings you imagine you will
animal skins and hunting equipment for Baroka’s tent in The Lion need to give to the cast and
and the Jewel. Think about how the props and the costumes crew for direction.
communicate a world of information and emotion to the audience.
3 Think of a production you
Action and dialogue have watched or participated
in. How did the costumes,
There’s also the action and the dialogue to consider. You know what scenery and props evoke the
action is from the action-filled movies that you possibly enjoy. Some
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scenes in a play will have a great deal of action and others will be
setting of the play, and how
was that altered between
less energetic. Notice when the dialogue is full of rapid interchanges scenes to create a certain
between characters, and when it slows down and the characters mood or sense of tension?
seem to be more reflective.
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4 Select one scene from the
play you are studying, and
ACTIVITY list or sketch the props and
costumes needed. What
5 From your selected play, identify two scenes in which the effect do you want these to
characters move about quite a bit on the stage, maybe even have on the audience?
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coming to blows, and identify two scenes in which they talk


quietly.
a Why do you think the playwright alternates between action
and reflective thought in this way?
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b Would it be better if every scene were ‘action-packed’?

Lighting and sound


Notice all the stage directions that indicate a change in the lighting
or the need for a particular sound effect. A novel will not give you
this direct experience that the theatre can provide. Costumes Props Action

Spectacle
Scenery Drama Grouping
Be aware, then, of how the playwright exploits the resources of the
stage – scenery, lighting and sound; costumes and props; action and
grouping of the characters. All these devices produce what is called
Dialogue Sound Lighting
the ‘spectacle’ that theatre brings us.

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1.3 Plot, characters,
conflict and themes

LEARNING OUTCOMES A unified whole


As you study a play you discover that every character, conflict,
In this section you will:
twist in the plot, every feature of the props and setting, all the
• see how the key elements in lighting, costumes and sound effects – every single aspect of the
a play work together play contributes to the overall impact. All the devices point us to the
• observe how characters are themes and message that add to the purpose and energy of the play.
contrasted and can be in It is your job to note the techniques that the playwright uses and
conflict with each other to appreciate how, together, they create for the audience the total
dramatic experience.

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• notice how the conflicts
point us to the themes of the
play Ma ing out the
Mappi h storyli
line
• become aware of how Every play has a storyline – this is the plot. Some plays have
tension and suspense are more than one plot, and each subplot is interwoven with the
created to sustain interest main plot, commenting on it in some way. You need to write a
• notice the use of dramatic summary of the storyline of each plot. Notice how the main plot
irony and the subplots are interconnected. You may find it helpful to
• understand that a play
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presents ideas or themes for
the audience to consider.
Characters
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There can be no story without characters. These characters will have
different personalities, conflicting opinions, opposing motives, values
and attitudes. Notice what each character does and says, and pay
attention to what other characters have to say about them. Bearing
all these points in mind, and as part of your revision, you should write
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a short character study of each of the characters in the play you are
studying.

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Contrasti
ing characters
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DID YOU KNOW? Because people are different, there may be characters in your
play that stand in contrast to each other: for example, a man of
Jewellers sometimes put a thin
action and a philosopher, a political opportunist and a saintly
layer of polished metal under
churchman, a poor, uneducated mother of many children and
a gemstone in order to give it
a well-educated professional woman. The playwright often
more brilliance. The metal is
deliberately sets characters in pairs like this to make a point. Be
called a foil.
aware of the contrasts between characters and the way they
A contrasting character shows respond to life’s challenges. If you have, say, a very virtuous
up the characteristics of the character, there may be a wicked character for contrast, making
protagonist: he is a foil for the the virtuous character seem even more virtuous. We say that one
protagonist. character is a foil to the other.

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Different language ffor d
Diff dif
iffferent ch
haracters
Often, to make the characters more realistic, and to make
the contrasts more striking, the playwright will use a type of
language appropriate to each character. Be aware of the shifts
in language and different types of imagery y that contrasting
c aracters use.
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Themes Ho do we sense confli


How flict?
?
The themes of a play are the main issues that are raised – usually the You come home from school
issues that cause the conflicts within and between the characters. and you sense that something
is wrong: Mum is annoyed
The themes of each play are different, but the quickest way to identify
and your sister is sulking. How
them is to focus on the conflicts. What causes friction between
do you know there is tension?
characters? The cause of the friction will be one of the themes.

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Sometimes you know there’s
a problem from the actual
Conflict words they are using, but
In a play (as in real life) you can expect to come across conflicts and sometimes you sense it in their
tensions. These conflicts are sometimes between two characters, body language, or in their tone
sometimes between a character and society, and sometimes within of voice. Your friend seems
the mind of the character. Read the text in the margin before doing particularly quiet and avoids
the activity below. company, so you sense that he
is struggling with something –
ACTIVITY
P some conflict in his own mind.
Expect the characters in a play
1 Map the conflicts in two plays you have studied, showing to be experiencing conflicts,
which characters are opposed to each other, and why. but remember that they may
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communicate that conflict to us
• Are the conflicts the same in the two plays?
by using a subtle tone of voice
• Are the themes the same? or by body language, as well
The points of conflict will tell you the issues or themes that the as by open quarrelling or even
play raises. fighting. As in real life, look in
a performance for signs in the
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performance style and language


used by the characters.
Irony
Often we plan for one thing or anticipate a particular outcome, and
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the opposite happens. That is irony. Sometimes we (the audience)


know something that a character on the stage is unaware of, so we KEY POINTS
are able to smile (or maybe wince) at his lack of knowledge: this is The issues that cause conflict
an example of irony. Irony is often used in drama; make a note of the among the characters will lead
main examples of dramatic irony in your play. you to the themes of the play.

Suspense
The playwright uses many devices to create tension in order to make ACTIVITY
the audience wonder how a situation will ever be resolved. This is
called building suspense, and is a technique employed to create a 2 Identify two points of conflict
sense of excitement and anticipation in the play. Observe and note in another play you have
how the playwright creates suspense by withholding information or studied. Say what themes
by allowing things to descend into chaos and only presenting us and and issues are raised through
the characters with a solution at the very last moment. these conflicts.

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1.4 Old Story Time – the
plot

Two plots are intertwined in Old Story Time, the main plot and the
LEARNING OUTCOMES
subplot.
In this section you will:
• trace the way plots are The main plot
interwoven in a play The main plot traces Len’s exposure of the crooked dealings of
• consider the importance of George McFarlane. Len and George McFarlane attended the same
flashback as a device school, but whereas Len comes from a poor, single-parent home,
• learn how to use diagrams George is one of the privileged, light-skinned students, from a ‘good’

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to structure your study and home. At school, George and his friends torment Len mercilessly
revision. because of his poverty, and because, prompted by Mama, he
presumes to write a love letter to a fair-skinned girl, Miss Margaret,
whom Mama would like Len to marry. George, who appears less able
than Len, quickly gets a good position at the bank because of his
colour.
ACTIVITY
Len goes off to university, returning with a doctorate in Economics.
1 Create a timeline to map the He soon discovers that George (now running a scam housing
story of the play as it unfolds
on the stage.
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scheme) has conned Mama out of her life savings. Len comes up with
a two-fold plan: to expose George’s crooked dealings and bring him
• Mark on your timeline to justice, and to help his mother see that her prejudice in favour of
the specific places where light-skinned people is misguided.
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flashbacks take us to an His research unearths evidence to incriminate George, but there
earlier time. are obstacles: George is in a position to blackmail Lois, Len’s wife,
• Suggest why this device because while they both worked at the bank he had discovered that
has been adopted at this she borrowed money from dormant accounts and sent it to support
particular moment. Len. In exchange for his silence, George had demanded sexual
favours from her. Len’s reputation would be damaged if society knew
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2 List the ways in which Mama


that it was stolen money that had seen him through university.
demonstrates her love for
Len. At what points do But Len, too, has cards up his sleeve. He has a dossier of evidence,
you disapprove of Mama’s and can show that George’s family members are also heavily involved
conduct? in the scam and stand to benefit. He can bring the matter to the
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attention of the Director of Public Prosecutions.


3 What aspects of Ma’s
conduct does Pa Ben Len is not finished, though. Through a series of flashbacks to his
disapprove of? Does this give schooldays, he shows Mama the cruelty of George and his friends,
us a clue regarding one of his and Miss Margaret’s scornful rejection. But he is also able to let
functions in the play? her know that Lois and her father stood by him, and that Lois took
great risks for him – borrowing the money as she did. Convinced
by the evidence, Mama angrily rejects George, and begs for Lois’s
forgiveness.

The subplot
The subplot traces Mama’s attempts to set obeah to work against
Lois. Mama, a poor Jamaican huckster, has worked hard to educate
her only child, Len. Her dream is for him to be a doctor and to

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marry a light-skinned girl – Miss Margaret – and she beats Len for
DID YOU KNOW?
consorting with black girls like Pearl, insisting that ‘anything black
nuh good’. To Mama’s disgust, Len chooses to marry Lois, a black Trevor Rhone was born in
woman. Mama feels sure that Lois used obeah to win Len, and is Jamaica in 1940, and died there
persistently spiteful to her. in 2009. He was educated at
the Beckford and Smith High
Miss Aggy has trustingly put all her money into George’s housing
School (now St Jago High) and
scheme, and, when she learns that George has financial problems,
later at Rose Bruford College in
she actually asks Len to bail him out – not knowing the hostility Len
Kent, UK. He is considered by
has for George. Len refuses to help, and gets so angry at Mama’s
many to be Jamaica’s greatest
obtuseness that he threatens her physically. Sure now that Lois has
playwright. He founded
messed up Len’s mind, Miss Aggy decides to visit the obeah woman
‘Theatre 77’, which performed
and deal with Lois.
at Kingston’s Barn theatre, and
Her action makes possible the funniest scene in the play, where contributed to the rise of drama
Len, in an effort to protect Lois from the obeah, goes to Mother in Jamaica. His plays include

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Rachael for advice, and returns home to carry out her instructions Smile Orange, School’s Out,
for keeping harm away from his wife. The scene with Len sprinkling Two Can Play, and Old Story
oil of deliverance around and putting underwear on his head lifts Time.
the mood momentarily, before we plunge down again into the
distressing details of George’s shameful treatment of his schoolmate.

ACTIVITY

4 List the props you would need for the scene where Len comes
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back from seeing Mother Rachael.
EXAM TIP

Consider the following: You may find it helpful


to
create visual diagrams
• Do you think this scene is funny? How is that comic effect of
plays and novels that
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achieved? you
are studying – especia
• Why do you think Rhone chose to use comedy in this scene? lly
for revision purposes. Fo
• How does the comic tone affect the message? r
example you could mak
ea
timeline of both the mai
n
plot and the subplot, an
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The two plots come together at the end of the play. When Mama d
show where they interse
learns of George’s treatment of Len during their schooldays, she ct
and then come together
finally understands that she has been fooled by him, and has
at the end of the play.
completely misjudged Lois. Suspense now mounts because the Or
obeah, wrongly set in motion, will come back to bring harm to
you can create diagram
s
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Mama herself. Leaving George to wonder how he will face the showing the relationsh
ips
Director of Public Prosecutions, Len, Lois and Pa Ben form a circle among characters. Som
e
around Mama, forgiving her in love and praying for her deliverance. plays and novels can be
As Mama’s frenzy gives way to calm, we suspect that all will be well. reduced to spider charts.
Be creative and see what
ACTIVITY
you can come up with!

5 Consider what you know of obeah. Do you believe in it?


6 What is your opinion of people who practise obeah?
7 Do you know of anyone who has directly experienced the
effects of obeah?
8 What significance does obeah have in your community?

9
1.5 Understanding the play

LEARNING OUTCOMES Comparing the beginning and the end


One way to discover the themes and message of a play is to compare
In this section you will:
the beginning and the end.
• learn how to detect the
The early scenes establish the crucial fact of Miss Aggy’s racial
themes of a play
prejudice and her ambitions for Len to marry fair-skinned Miss
• consider the use of a narrator Margaret. Pa Ben also reveals Len’s secret relationship with Lois, a
in a play. dark-skinned girl. Mama suspects obeah when Len fails to write to
her, but when she learns of Len’s marriage to Lois, she becomes

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convinced that obeah is at work and that Lois is the culprit.
The end of the play reveals that fair-skinned George, whom Mama
idolised, is a barefaced crook: he cruelly humiliated Len, blackmailed
Lois and forced her into sexual relations with him, and lost all
Mama’s savings in his housing scam. Lois, on the other hand, is
ACTIVITY shown to be loyal, caring, strong and forgiving.
An important theme in the play is prejudice based on skin colour,
1 To what extent do you and one key message is that personal integrity, not skin colour, is
consider Mama’s behaviour
and attitudes representative
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the measure of a person. The circle formed at the end of the play
(in contrast to the hostilities and conflicts that we saw earlier)
of the themes in the play? provides a visual statement to the effect that family togetherness,
Provide examples of these. love and forgiveness are to be treasured (particularly in an oppressed
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community), since these strong ties can withstand any opposition.

Conflict
Another way to arrive at the main themes and overall message is
to identify the major points of conflict. Len and Mama are at odds
A

because of Len’s choice of girlfriend. Lois and Mama are at odds


because Lois is black. Pa Ben and Mama disagree strongly over
Mama’s rejection of Lois due to her skin colour. George and Len are
pitted against each other because George has systematically fooled
S

and exploited Mama, and Len wants to expose him and let Mama see
what a crook he is. All of these conflicts are related to Mama’s blind
prejudice – her thinking that ‘anything black nuh good’. As soon
as Mama’s eyes are opened to the true situation, her prejudice falls
away, and harmony with Lois, Len and Pa Ben is made possible.

ACTIVITY

2 At what point in the play do we observe a change in Mama’s


approach?
3 Explain what brought about that change.
4 How is this change evident in her actions, movements and
words?

10
Conflict also is present between George and Lois. George robs Mama
of her money, but he robs Lois by using her body. We can see in
George’s dealings with Mama and Lois a metaphor for the ‘rape’
of Caribbean people that occurred during colonial times. When Len
is able to expose George’s wrong-doings, the conflict is resolved,
with George being brought to justice. Len’s frank exposé of George’s
disdain for Mama and Lois, and the freedom he brings them by
showing them the truth, is a metaphor for the consciousness-raising
that frees colonised people from the ‘mental slavery’ that can keep
them bound.

ACTIVITY

5 Make a spider diagram illustrating the various conflicts evident


in Old Story Time.

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6 Attempt to write down the sequence of events in the play in
chronological order. Make a diagram showing the timeline as ACTIVITY
it occurs in the play, along with the flashbacks.
8 Find examples of Pa Ben
7 What is achieved by the way Pa Ben disrupts this timeline with
disagreeing:
flashbacks?
a with Mama
b with Len.
The message is clear: the coloniser cunningly worked on the minds of
P
colonised people, trying to make them despise themselves; freedom
from this brainwashing is the true ‘oil of deliverance’.
What is significant about Pa
Ben’s point of view being
heard at those moments?
The narrator
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A very important dramatic device to consider in this play is the use of
Pa Ben as narrator. DID YOU KNOW?

Through his dialogue Pa Ben supplies the storyline, dipping back into We usually think of narration
the past by the use of flashbacks whenever he chooses to give his as a device of the novelist, but
audience a little more information. some playwrights choose to use
A

a narrator to lead the audience


His withholding and timely delivery of information make for through the events of the play.
suspense. For instance, it is quite late in the play that we learn of the This is often done by means
Cassava Nova episode and of George’s earlier sexual advances on Lois of soliloquy through which a
and his blackmailing of her. character openly speaks to the
S

The flashback technique creates suspense, leaving us wondering how audience. This technique helps
everything will turn out. Since the flashbacks give us information that the audience better understand
we lacked earlier, our experience is similar to Mama’s: our eyes are the motivation of the character
opened as new facts come to light. and to empathise with them.

By having Pa Ben – one of the villagers, and a friend of Mama – tell


the story, Rhone suggests that healing will come to people like
Mama once she has a new perspective of herself and her society – a ACTIVITY
perspective quite different from the one that the coloniser gave her. 9 Identify places in the play
Just as West Indian history as told by the coloniser has had to be re- where suspense is created.
written from a Caribbean-centred point of view, so too Len’s personal What information had been
story has to be retold. And who better to assist with the retelling withheld that made the
than wise, gracious Pa Ben? suspense possible?

11
1.6 Dramatic devices 1

LEARNING OUTCOMES Contrasting characters


An important dramatic device is the use of contrast. Why does Rhone
In this section you will:
introduce Pearl into the play, for instance? Pearl, Len’s childhood
• discover how contrasts girlfriend, is old before her time, dragged down with one pregnancy
among characters suggest after another. Uneducated and impoverished, she dies young, leaving
the issues and themes of the her children orphans. Her sad yet familiar life story stands in sharp
play contrast to that of Lois – the educated black woman who manages
• think about the way objects to escape the trap of poverty.

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or concepts can acquire
symbolic force in a play. Using contast to explore themes
George and Len
Both were educated at the same school, but whereas George uses his
education and social standing to exploit the community, Len uses his
learning to expose the oppressor and to lift up the oppressed.
Lois and Margaret

EXAM TIP
P
One represents Len’s choice and the other Mama’s choice. They make
a contrasting pair: Margaret, with all the social privilege she has
because of her complexion and connections, lacks integrity, and is
Be prepared for exam concerned only with going up the social ladder and keeping people
questions that ask you
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like Len down; whereas Lois loyally stands by Len, and struggles
to compare and contra selflessly to look after her siblings and to help Len succeed.
st
two characters, showin
g Pa Ben and Miss Aggy
how their behaviour an
d Pa Ben’s attitude frequently stands in contrast to that of Miss Aggy.
attitudes are related to
the play’s themes. He disapproves of the frequent beatings Mama deals out to Len, her
A

talk of obeah and her adulation of white folk. He knows of Len’s love
for Lois, but never lets on to Mama. Whereas Mama insists that Lois
is working obeah on Len, Pa Ben understands that evil is something
that originates inside us, and he tells Len, ‘You is the one who need
protection, from yourself’. His level-headed, big-hearted approach to
S

people and life contrasts with the somewhat mean, suspicious and
superstitious style of Miss Aggy.
ACTIVITY
Miss Aggy and Lois
1 What opinion does each the There is a sharp contrast between these women of two different
following appear to have of generations. While Miss Aggy’s generation was inclined to look up
obeah? with respect to the fair-skinned members of society, Lois’s generation
• Mama has learnt that a strong sense of community is what is needed, so
• Len that the rape and robbery, the exploitation and mental slavery that
characterised colonialism, can be exposed and stopped.
• Pa Ben
• Trevor Rhone. Obeah as a symbol
Caribbean people respond in different ways when the subject
of obeah is mentioned. Even in this play, different opinions are
expressed on this subject.

12
For some people, obeah is mere superstition, for others it is
dangerous and evil, and for others it is a very real way of connecting
with unseen spiritual powers around us to protect us from evil or to
bring punishment where it is deserved.

ACTIVITY

2 Ask yourself these questions:


• Does Rhone seem to suggest that Mama is doing right to
use obeah against Lois?
• What objections does Pa Ben raise when Len asks him to
recommend someone who can counteract the power that
Mama has let loose?
• Does resorting to obeah solve problems or create problems
in the play?

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• Does obeah help in bringing about punishment for George,
a spirit of forgiveness in Lois, humility in Mama, and
harmony in the family?
• How are the problems of the family ultimately resolved?
Your answers to these questions will guide you to see how
obeah is dealt with in the play.
P
You may find it helpful to think of obeah as a symbol – especially
since there is so much talk in the play of deliverance from evil, and
because the play ends with prayers for such deliverance. What is the
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evil that has caused all the friction in the family? Is it obeah? Is it Lois
who has brought ‘evil’ into the family life of Mama and Len? Or is
George the culprit? And where did Mama get the belief that ‘anything
black nuh good’? Pa Ben points out the irony in Mama’s philosophy
when he says to her, ‘The boy daddy was a black man. Is obeah you
did obeah him?’ and later, ‘What’s so wrong if the boy just want to
EXAM TIP
A

marry somebody who look like him own mother, eh?’ Is it perhaps the
coloniser who has put a spell on her, as it were, a spell from which she To help with your revisi
needs to be delivered? Maybe Len is right: some ‘oil of deliverance’ is on,
create a diagram with
needed – but not the kind supplied by Mother Rachael. two
timelines. One should
S

show the chief events in


ACTIVITY the main plot, and the
3 Consider the following: other the main events
in the subplot. Show th
• What are the views of Mama and Pa Ben with regard to the e
relationship between Len and Lois?
points at which the two
lines intersect.
• Compare the reaction of Mama and then of Pa Ben towards
George. Then create a second
• What impact has Mama’s prejudice had on Len throughout diagram, this time a
his life? spider diagram showin
g
• In the light of your responses, say whether Mama or Pa Ben the relationships (both
is more enlightened. positive and hostile)
• Bob Marley sings, ‘Emancipate yourself from mental slavery.’ among the characters.
What would that mean in Mama’s case?

13
1.7 Dramatic devices 2

LEARNING OUTCOMES Irony


There are many examples of irony in this play such as:
In this section you will:
• Mama trusts George McFarlane implicitly, yet he is exploiting her to
• consider the use of irony
the hilt.
• learn about effectiveness
• Mama rejects Lois, yet Lois has consistently shown love for Len.
of costumes and scenery in
communicating the message • Mama wants Margaret for Len, yet Margaret was involved in
humiliating him.
• understand the power of

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spectacle and action to • Mama asks Len to help solve George’s financial problems, yet
delight and impress George has treated Len shamefully.
• discover the importance of • Mama believes that without the charity of George’s father-in-law,
props in revealing character Len would have been nowhere, but it is not Reverend Greaves, but
and suggesting themes. Lois’s father, who helped Len.
• Mama apologises to George that Len refuses to help him, when
George should be apologising to both of them.
DID YOU KNOW? • Mama is disappointed that Len is trained in economics and not
In the early days of drama
P medicine, yet it is his training in that field that eventually allows
him to expose George’s activities, and to bring ‘healing’ to his own
in Europe, Morality plays
family.
were popular, and characters
were personifications of As you can see from this list, it is Mama’s actions and beliefs that
M
virtues and vices: Pride, Lust, make most of the irony possible.
Humility, Patience, etc. The
More light-hearted irony surrounds the obeah scenes. It is sweetly
vices would try to tempt the
ironic when Len, on the telephone to Mother Rachael, explains that,
main protagonist, Everyman,
no, he is not the politician who came to visit her. It is ironic that after
to do wrong, while the virtues
Len has made such a fool of himself with the disguise, the underwear
would try to inspire him to
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on his head and his antics with the oil of deliverance, we learn that
good behaviour. The tradition
Mother Rachael was a fraud anyway!
of giving characters a name
that indicates their personality
has endured. For instance, ACTIVITY
S

Henry Fielding depicts a good 1 a What do you think is the significance of Pearl’s name?
man called Allworthy and a
schoolteacher called Thwackum, b Is there any irony in her having that name?
and Charles Dickens named his 2 In what ways can Pearl be contrasted with Lois? In what
schoolteacher M’Choakumchild, ways can she be contrasted with Miss Margaret? Are these
and the sweet, loving heiress, contrasts significant?
Esther Summerson.
3 Novelists and playwrights often use names for their characters
that tell you something about the character. Can you think of
KEY POINTS another play or novel where this device has been used?

Props do more than create a


realistic effect; they are very Costumes and scenery
much a part of the action and
character revelation. The chief effect of costumes in this play is to create a visual contrast.
The worn, shabby clothing of Mama, Pearl and Pa Ben contrasts

14
sharply with the smart, expensive clothing worn by McFarlane and Lois
DID YOU KNOW?
in the bank, and by Lois and Len now that they have both ‘made it’ in
society. Similarly, the simple, rustic furniture of Mama’s home in the Every year, in rural Indian
same yard as Pa Ben quickly becomes the furniture of Len’s city home communities in Trinidad and
when the cast follow the stage directions and ‘Change the house Guyana, children re-enact
round’. The technique is interesting because the illusion of reality is episodes from the Ramayana.
broken completely: we see the stage being reset, and even listen to The performance is a delightful
the chanting as the actors describe what is taking place. But although spectacle, with splendid
Rhone is inviting us to watch the strings on the puppets, as it were, costumes. The event is known
the events in Pa Ben’s story still strike us as being very real indeed. as Ram Leela.

Spectacle and action


When we read a novel we have to imagine the things that are
described, but in a play they are put on stage before our eyes.

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This is what we call the spectacle. The entire play, of course, offers
spectacle, but some scenes stand out for the energy of the action
and the delight to be found in what we see. When Len returns from
Mother Rachael, we are greatly amused by the spectacle of him in DID YOU KNOW?
his ridiculous clothing, his antics with the candlesticks, the bush
and the flowers, and the final touch of those red underwear on his In Jamaica, pantomime is still
head. His dancing and dodging around Lois bring the comedy to the very much alive. Costume
uproarious level of slapstick. and posturing are very
important, along with audience
P
The flashbacks, too, are opportunities for spectacle – the miming of
the rich kids going to school in style, the Easter play with Len playing
involvement. Elaborate
costumes, music and dancing
the donkey, and so on. Then there is the scene in which George makes make pantomime a crowd-
advances on Lois in the bank, and the beautiful tableau at the end of drawing spectacle.
the play when Mama is being prayed for by Pa Ben, Len and Lois.
M
ACTIVITY

4 Have you experienced a performance or event when you


thought that the action of the performance created a
A

spectacle? Think about events like Nativity plays, Mashramani,


Crop-over, Carnival, and so on.
How was the spectacle achieved, and what was the purpose
of the performance? Were music, dance and mime part of the
S

performance?

Props
When Mama tears up the wedding photo, removing the picture
of Lois, we see an aspect of her character and an example of her ACTIVITY
prejudice. When Len gives her the new dress, she eagerly holds it 5 Make a list of the items of
against herself, but then tosses it aside on learning that it was Lois stage furniture that Rhone
who selected it. In the scene where Len sprinkles the oil of deliverance puts in the stage directions
around his home, both his costume and the props he uses – the for his play. Note down the
flowers, candles, bottles and underwear – help to produce a comical, different uses to which he
almost farcical effect. And when the estate agent politely turns the puts each item. Do you find
plans the right way up for George’s benefit, we know that he simply he has been economical?
has no knowledge of his business at all!

15
1.8 Dramatic devices 3

LEARNING OUTCOMES Sound and lighting


Spectacle and action are inseparable from sound and lighting. In the
In this section you will:
‘Cassava Nova’ flashback, the audience hears a terrified shriek and then
• consider examples of the use a spotlight picks out Len, staggering through the auditorium – his pants
of sound and lighting effects down and a bag over his head. The use of lighting and sound here are
• see how characters are most effective in suggesting Len’s terror, his isolation and his shame.
given the type of language In stage terms we say that Rhone has broken down the ‘fourth wall’
appropriate to their social in having one of the actors in the auditorium instead of on the stage.

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status By removing the imaginary barrier that usually separates audience
• discover that the dramatist and actors, Rhone makes the audience see Len as one of themselves,
raises issues, but sometimes rather than as someone apart from them. His humiliation and suffering
leaves the audience to resolve become the humiliation and suffering of the entire community.
them.
ACTIVITY

1 Do you think Old Story Time is a good title for the play?
DID YOU KNOW?
Actors refer to the front of
P • What does it tell the audience?
• What did it suggest to you?
the stage as the ‘fourth wall’
• How was that then confirmed to you once you had seen a
because they usually act as if
performance or read the play?
there is a wall there – ignoring
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the audience.
In some plays, though, the Sound and lighting is used cleverly in the final tableau, too. The stage
characters speak directly to the directions indicate that, as her frenzy subsides, Mama sings ‘in the
audience (as Pa Ben does), and gentlest voice’, and the loving group is ‘bathed with a warm rich light’.
sometimes characters from the Notice, too, that Rhone uses the lights to indicate that the action is
A

play actually perform their role shifting from the present to a flashback. The strategy of having the
in the auditorium (for example characters ‘freeze’ achieves the same effect.
Len).
This technique of breaking Language
S

down the fourth wall draws the Rhone gives his characters a style of English that reflects their social
audience in to the performance, status and educational background. Miss Aggie, Pa Ben and Pearl
so they feel that what is speak a vibrant Jamaican Creole, while George, Len and Lois speak
happening on the stage is part Caribbean Standard English. The contrast between the two social
of their world. levels is shown in their language as it is in their costumes.

Examples of Caribbean Standard English


Len: ‘I appreciate your position. If you don’t get refinanced, chances
ACTIVITY are the bank will put this place up for auction and where would that
2 Think of places in Old Story leave you?’
Time where either sound or George: ‘Place is completely changed. Packed now with a bunch
lighting is used effectively. o’riff-raff, scholarship-winners. Sacred walls, man, desecrated. I was
What impact do they have there on Sports Day. My boy won the hundreds.’
on us?
Len: ‘Chip off the old block, eh?’

16
Examples of Jamaican Creole
DID YOU KNOW?
Pa Ben: ‘Buy penny oil, hapenny salt, an’ quattie bread for me. See
In colonial times, Jamaican
the money here.’
money was based on English
Miss Aggie: ‘It hurts mi soul case to tell lie, but what else me can do? pounds and pence. A quattie
Me nuh want them to spread it around the district say him dash me was the popular name for a
’way. Me just have to keep up the pretence.’ small silver coin worth just a
quarter of a sixpenny piece – so
approximately a penny and a
ACTIVITY halfpenny.

3 People in the Caribbean tend to use different levels of The hapenny that Pa Ben will
language for different situations: linguists call it ‘operating on spend on the salt is a half-
a language continuum’. penny. So with the penny for
the oil, the halfpenny for the
When do you use more formal English, and when do you use salt and the quattie (penny and

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your broadest Creole? a half) for the bread, Pa Ben
plans to spend three pence –
Find more examples in the play of different levels of language
not very much money at all!
being used, and suggest whether the language level is
appropriate for the character and the situation.

Drama as debate
P
In the play, a playwright can present diverging opinions on the theme
he or she is exploring. The conflicts among the characters are usually
dramatisations of the incompatibility between their different attitudes
and values. These, of course, will provoke discussion.
M
After seeing a performance of Old Story Time, the audience will
certainly have a few things to discuss.

ACTIVITY
A

4 Give your opinion on each of these conversation • Do you think there are people like George
points, and see if you can add to the list. and Len in Caribbean society today?
• Do you know of people who thought or still • Len lifts a chair to strike his mother. What
think like Mama? do you think this behaviour says about him?
S

• Is there evidence of self-hatred in Mama’s • Can Lois be excused for stealing money? Is
dialogue and actions? Rhone condoning her behaviour?
• What mindset does Pa Ben have and how • What is achieved by having Pa Ben speak
does this differ from Mama’s? directly to the audience in the auditorium?
• Do you think Mama is a good mother? • At what point do we observe a change in
• What is the purpose of having Pearl in the Mama’s approach, and what do you think
play? triggered that change?
• Is Rhone fair to present all his fair-skinned • What is achieved by having the cast become
characters as villains? Is he saying, ‘anything an audience on stage?
white nah good’? • Len’s courage and his determined efforts to
• Is it reasonable to compare the effects of bring the truth to light make possible the
colonisation to a kind of obeah, influencing happy ending. What is the message here?
the minds of colonised people?

17
1.9 A Midsummer Night’s
Dream – introduction

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s well-known


LEARNING OUTCOMES
comedies. It was written some time between 1594 and 1596. Like
In this section you will: all of Shakespeare’s comedies, its central theme is love and love’s
complications.
• be introduced to
Shakespeare’s work
• think about the similarities
The shape of comedy
between comedy and tragedy
and tragedy
• examine the plots in the play. You may think of comedy and tragedy

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as being total opposites, but in fact they
are surprisingly similar in structure. Both
present a society in which something has
gone wrong. Both trace the downward
spiral of events that occurs because of this
DID YOU KNOW? initial flaw. Tragedy threatens because of
William Shakespeare (1564– the foolishness or wickedness that sets the
1616) is almost certainly downward spiral in motion. The big difference is that in comedy, the
the most famous of British light dawns soon enough for someone to put the brakes on and turn
playwrights, and although
P
things around so that disaster is averted; in tragedy, though, the light
he lived 400 years ago, his dawns too late for anything to be done, and the action descends into
plays still draw enthusiastic utter disaster, while those involved can only look on and wring their
audiences. His 37 plays include hands in despair.
M
tragedies, history plays,
comedies and tragicomedies, Intertwining plots
and romances. You will
probably also have come across Shakespeare intertwines no fewer than four plots in A Midsummer
some of the many sonnets (154 Night’s Dream:
of them!) for which he is also
A

• the courtship of Theseus and Hippolyta


famous.
• the courtship problems among the four Athenian lovers: Demetrius,
Lysander, Hermia and Helena
• the solving of a problem that has arisen between Oberon and
Titania – King and Queen of the Fairies
S

• the staging by some amateur actors of the play Pyramus and Thisbe
as entertainment for the wedding.
ACTIVITY

1 Think about the two settings: Athens and the • What differences do you detect between the
forest. Make a larger copy of the following table. kingdom of Theseus and Hippolyta and the
kingdom of Oberon and Titania?
Athens The forest
• Describe the devices the writer has employed
to shape your reaction to these scenes.
• Does the opposition of these settings suggest
waking and dreaming?
Add to your table a description of the scenes that
• What else does it suggest?
take place in Athens, and those that take place in
the forest then answer the following questions:

18
The frame plot Theseus and Hippolyta are fighters. Hippolyta was
ACTIVITY
Queen of the Amazons, and Theseus has taken her prisoner of war
and now plans to marry her. They are dignified and regal. Their plans 2 What does Shakespeare
for their marriage and the actual marriage celebration form the frame suggest by using the
around the other plots in this play. Theseus–Hippolyta romance
The main plot In this plot, two men and two women struggle to frame the main plot?
to find the right partner. The four Athenians are aristocratic, but 3 Compare the Hermia–
younger and less mature than Theseus and Hippolyta. Their talk is Lysander relationship with
of friendship and rivalry and fighting, and the plot is about finding the Helena–Demetrius
the right partner. We begin with both men in love with Hermia, relationship, and say, which
while poor Helena is left out in the cold. Then the boys both fall for of the two you consider
Helena, so that Hermia is left out. Eventually the four of them pair off more likely to stand the test
successfully. You will notice that while the two girls are consistently in of time.
love with the same boy, the two boys are somewhat more inclined to
transfer their affections.

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The fairy subplot Oberon, Titania and their train – including Puck KEY POINTS
– are fairies, not humans. Oberon is annoyed because Titania is more
interested in a little changeling boy she has adopted than she is in The central theme of A
her husband, so he plays a trick to show her how blind and silly she Midsummer Night’s Dream is
is being. He makes her fall in love with an ass – and when she comes love and love’s complications.
to herself, she sees that she was being foolish, so order and harmony In both comedy and tragedy,
are restored. But to play this trick, Oberon needs to borrow one disaster looms because of some
individual from the other subplot.
P human flaw(s). In comedy,
people see the light and come
to their senses in time to
ACTIVITY
change the course of events.
In tragedy, people see the light
M
4 Imagine you are the director. Can you think of ways to make
the fairies appear different from the mortals in the cast? Could too late to avert the disastrous
the choice of actors such as children create that effect? How consequences.
might they move around?
5 What kind of music, lighting, scenery and props might also
add to the impression of fairyland?
A

The comic subplot This plot


involving the ‘mechanicals’
S

unfolds in the forest. Quince and


his men rehearse the play they
intend to stage for the upcoming
wedding. Poor Bottom is magically
spirited away from the rehearsal
by Puck, and is transformed into
the ass that Titania falls in love
with. Happily he is restored to his
normal self, and his experience
lingers only as a wonderful dream
might. On the big day, the play
goes off well, and the couples are
splendidly entertained before they
go off to bed. Titania and Bottom in the woods

19
1.10 The main plot

LEARNING OUTCOMES The stages in a play


In any play we can expect to find these stages:
In this section you will:
• The exposition occurs in the opening scenes,
• learn the names of the letting the audience see the disorder and Expo
Ex p siiti
tion
ion
n
different phases in the confusion caused because of a human flaw in
development of a play one or more of the characters. Deve
De vellopm
lopm
p en
ent
nt
• consider the relevance of • The development traces how this disorder and
setting. confusion get worse until it reaches a head. Crris
C isiss
isis

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• The crisis will result from some human flaw or Clim
Cl imax
imax x
blind spot.
• The climax occurs when matters have reached Reso
Re sollu
luti
luti
tio
on
on
KEY POINTS their most problematic stage.
• The resolution will come about in comedy when the flaw is
The main stages in a play are as corrected, or, in tragedy, when the flaw leads to disaster.
follows: In this play we begin with a hostile, quarrelsome, threatening
Exposition – Development – atmosphere, with six unmarried individuals and talk of the need for
submission and obedience. The play ends with harmony and three
Crisis – Climax – Resolution
P
married couples. So it appears that the flaw relates to man/woman
See if you can trace these relationships. Resolution of the conflict occurs when each finds a
stages in our discussion of the marriage partner and agrees on who will be the dominant partner –
play. in effect, who will ‘wear the pants’ in that relationship.
M
Exposition
In Act 1 Scene 1 we see many things that are wrong in Athens society
and that these issues are threatening the happiness of all:
• Duke Theseus is impatient to marry Hippolyta.
A

• Demetrius used to love Helena, but is now infatuated with Hermia,


Helena’s friend.
• Hermia does not want Demetrius because she loves Lysander, who
loves her in return.
• Hermia’s father, Egeus, insists that Hermia must marry Demetrius,
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not Lysander.
• Egeus threatens Hermia with death if she remains stubborn.
• Egeus brings the matter before Duke Theseus, who decides that
Hermia must obey her father, or else become a nun.
• Hermia may not marry the man she loves, but faces punishment if
she refuses to marry Demetrius.
• Poor Helena remains in love with Demetrius, but her love is not
returned.
ACTIVITY
The situation at the start of the play looks bad enough, but things are
1 This play is all about going to get worse.
individuals learning to ‘see’
clearly. Development
See how many references you As a result of the above, the following events unfold:
can find in the play to eyes • Hermia and Lysander decide to elope.
and seeing. • Helena tells Demetrius about the elopement, and they both set off
after the other pair.

20
• In the forest where they hide, fairies are at work. Puck has
Plot development in the play:
instructions from Oberon, the King of the Fairies, to drop a magic
potion into Demetrius’s eyes so that he will fall in love with Helena Helena Hermia
again. Trouble arises when Puck puts the drops in Lysander’s eyes
instead, making Lysander fall in love with Helena and reject Hermia.
• Back in Athens, both the men who were in love with Hermia are
now in love with Helena. Demetrius Lysander
• While this is tragic for Hermia, Helena is also miserable because she
= Both men love Hermia
believes the men are just pretending and cruelly teasing her.

Crisis After Puck’s mischief:


Before long, this is the situation: Helena Hermia
• Helena and Hermia, who were once bosom friends, are now set up
to become enemies.
• Hermia is dismayed that her dear Lysander is saying hateful things

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to her. Demetrius Lysander
• Helena is dismayed that all three of the others seem to be making a
cruel joke at her expense. = Both men love Helena

Climax At the end of the play:


Tension rises and the outcome manifests itself in two challenging
Helena Hermia
events:
• The two women progress to scratching and slapping each other
while trading insults.
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• Lysander and Demetrius, rivals for Helena, draw swords to fight it Demetrius Lysander
out.
= The couples are paired
Resolution correctly
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After leading the two on a wild goose chase for a while, Puck finally
gets his instructions right. He causes the men to fall asleep, drops the Outcome: Order is finally
magic potion into Demetrius’s eyes, and gives Lysander the antidote
achieved when each of the
to the magic drops that had made him forsake his Hermia. Both men
wake up in love with the right woman. Demetrius loves Helena and is female character’s love is
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loved in return; Lysander loves Hermia and is loved in return. reciprocated.


Now that the men are able to see properly, a happy ending is
possible. The older Athenians find the young people in the forest,
and settle for three weddings instead of just one.
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We are invited to the palace, where music and dancing suggest the
harmony that now prevails as: ACTIVITY
• Theseus marries Hippolyta 2 Think of how the play reflects
• Lysander marries Hermia a rite of passage.
• Demetrius marries Helena
The lovers move from Athens
• the happy couples go off to bed and fairies shower blessings
into the forest, go through
throughout the palace.
a learning process and then
return to Athens. How have
Settings they been changed by that
The four plots move between two different locations – Theseus’s time in the forest?
palace in Athens and a forest beyond the city where Oberon and
3 Does the power of the forest
Titania reign. Events in the palace occur mainly in the daytime and
suggest anything about the
focus on the actions and conflicts of mortals, while events in the
importance of dreams?
forest occur mainly during the hours of darkness, and here, while
mortals sleep and dream, the fairies go about their business.

21
1.11 The fairy subplot

Disorder in human society has now been dealt with, but there is
LEARNING OUTCOMES
disorder in the fairy kingdom too. Titania, the Queen of the Fairies,
In this section you will: refuses to hand over to Oberon, her husband, a little changeling boy
she has adopted and with whom she is quite infatuated. The disorder
• learn how the main plot and is evident in that instead of enjoying her husband’s love, she prefers
subplot are interconnected to focus her affection on the little boy. The confusion in the fairy
• consider how the actions of world has repercussions, we are told, in the world of humans.
characters in the subplot are
Oberon’s way of dealing with his wayward wife is to use the magic
used to reflect the conflicts
eye potion brought by Puck. He puts them in Titania’s eyes as she

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experienced in the main plot.
sleeps, and then arranges that when she wakes she will fall in love
with Bottom, whose head has been transformed, by Puck, into the
head of an ass. Titania does indeed fall in love with the monstrous
fellow, and when Oberon applies the antidote, she is shocked to see
the kind of person she had become infatuated with. She is relieved
ACTIVITY
when he is sent back to his colleagues – with his own head in place!
1 Find examples in the play Through the little drama that Oberon staged for her, she is cured.
that illustrate the impact the By the end of the play, she willingly hands over the little boy and is
fairies have on the world of
the humans.
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sweetly submissive once again to Oberon. Together they move to
bring blessing and joy to the three married couples. Tragedy in the
fairy world, too, has been averted, and a happy conclusion reached.
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Parallels between the two plots
The important object that the two plots have in common is the magic
eye potion. It signifies being cured of a blind spot and being made
to see clearly what is true. Demetrius has discovered that he was in
love with Helena all along, and that his infatuation with Hermia was
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just that: infatuation. Titania sees that as Queen of the Fairies, she
must have a partner who is her equal, and that is Oberon, King of the
DID YOU KNOW?
Fairies. The little changeling boy is not her social equal – and nor is
The word gauche means Bottom. Poor Bottom – even without his ass’s head he is quite clumsy
‘awkward’ and is also the and gauche in the presence of royalty!
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French word for ‘left’. In the


past, if you happened to be ACTIVITY
right-handed, the actions of the
left-handed may have appeared 2 Both Titania and Hermia are in trouble because they are not
awkward, or gauche. submissive. Hippolyta is Queen of the Amazons – a tribe of
strong, warlike women.
The Romans also felt that there
was something sinister about a • What do you think the play suggests about women being
left-handed man, as he might submissive to men?
shake your hand with his right • What is your own opinion on the subject?
hand (indicating that he is not
holding a weapon), only to pull
out a dagger with his left hand. Puck’s role
In fact, the Latin word for ‘left’
The agent who gets the job done is Puck and it is his actions that
is sinister.
bring together all four of the plots. He provides the magic potion for

22
Demetrius and Titania, he transforms Bottom, and at the end of the
ACTIVITY
play, he sweeps the evil out of Theseus’s palace. Love, in other words,
seems to be something magical that is orchestrated for us by the fairies. 3 Find examples of Puck’s
cynicism and look for other
ACTIVITY aspects of his character.
Are you surprised that he
5 At what points does the play veer close to tragedy? How is the
could choreograph the
tragic outcome avoided on each occasion?
lovers’ unions and yet be so
6 Create a diagram of the four plotlines, showing how the four sceptical about love?
are intertwined. For example, Bottom becomes part of the
4 Why do you think
Oberon–Titania plot, and Puck becomes part of the plot with
Shakespeare has portrayed
the four Athenians.
him like this?
7 What does your diagram tell you about the role of Puck and
the role of Bottom in the play?

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The potion as symbol
In the play, Puck brings the juice for the magic
potion from a flower that he and Oberon know of.
The eyedrops are literally instilled into the eyes of
Demetrius, Lysander (by mistake) and Titania. But is
there a symbolic meaning for the magic drops? Isn’t
it the case that, properly applied, the drops help
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someone who was blind and foolish to ‘see’ clearly,
and to change? Titania sees what a fool she was to
fall in love with Bottom – and, by extension, to be
infatuated with a little changeling. Helena has been
M
consistently true and faithful to Demetrius, so he too
has been blind not to see how lucky he is to have her.
The potion, then, is perhaps a symbol of seeing truly,
of self-knowledge, perception and insight.
Oberon and Titania, King and Queen of the Fairies
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Egeus
Egeus could do with some of those magic eye-drops to see more
clearly, don’t you think? What kind of father is he to wish his
daughter dead? When the older generation meet up with the loving
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couples – still dazed from their experiences – the Duke wisely decides
to take matters no further. It seems that he too can see more clearly
now and he refuses to let Egeus insist on punishing Hermia.
What can we conclude from that? Could we say that sometimes EXAM TIP
people are magically changed, but sometimes they remain mean-
spirited and nasty, and society just has to deal with them as best it To help with revision,
can? Shakespeare was wise enough to know that some individuals create two diagrams: on
refuse to see their faults and change their ways. e
to show the inter weavin
g
of the four plot-lines,
ACTIVITY and the other to show th
e
conflicts between pairs
8 Find evidence from Helena’s speech and behaviour that she is of
characters.
a worthy wife for Demetrius. Say whether you think Demetrius
deserves her.

23
1.12 The comic subplot

We have seen how the plot involving Oberon and Titania develops
LEARNING OUTCOMES
another angle on the same theme as the plot involving the Athenian
In this section you will: lovers. In both plots:
• observe the importance of • the conflict is caused by someone’s foolish blindness
the subplot involving the • the blindness is cured by Puck’s trickery and magic.
mechanicals, and how it
As the Athenians reflect on the events of the night – the fighting and
relates to the rest of the play
sadness, the quarrelling and unkind words – it all seems like a bad
• understand the different dream. What is true is the wonderful love they have found.

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types of comedy
• observe how Shakespeare
The comic role of the subplot
made sure that each type of
person in his audience would We now need to look at the plot involving Quince and his band of
find something delightful in amateur actors – the ‘mechanicals’, as the play calls them. What are
the play the functions of this plot?
• discover how Shakespeare • One of the first functions is that of supplying poor Bottom as the
sometimes used his plays to ass in Oberon’s little comedy. Puck draws Bottom away from the
discuss the role of drama in
society.
P other actors while they are rehearsing and transforms his head into
an ass’s head, causing his friends to run away in fear. Bottom puts
on a brave face, and shortly afterwards has the experience of his
life: he finds himself being courted by Titania, Queen of the Fairies.
M
• Scenes featuring the mechanicals also provide immense scope for
comedy, since Bottom and his friends are uneducated, and make
many silly comments as they discuss their play. Bottom’s clumsy
behaviour and speech when he is in the presence of royalty is also
amusing, as are Titania’s protestations that she finds Bottom so
desirable and his voice so musical. The hilarious contrast between the
A

mechanicals and the courtly and aristocratic characters suggests that


people should keep to their place in society and not aspire to rise
above their ‘station’.
• The mechanicals are amusing personalities. For example Bottom is
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so eager to act that he wants to play all the parts, and does some
comic overacting to show how competent he is. Flute is unwilling to
play the lady because he has a beard coming, and Snug, the joiner,
is so simpleminded that the only part he can play is the lion – who
only has to roar. Quince tries to be patient, but is quite challenged
by these uneducated but enthusiastic men. Their language, too, is
entertaining, with their persistent misuse of difficult words.
• The actual staging of the play Pyramus and Thisbe provokes laughter
from both the Athenians and the larger audience. Although it is
officially a tragedy, the mechanicals manage to draw laughter by
their mishandling of the lines, mispronunciation of words, ridiculous
costumes and efforts to reassure the audience that no harm has
been done. Bottom rising from the dead to explain that he has not
really committed suicide is one such example.

24
• Linking the performance by the mechanicals of Pyramus and Thisbe
ACTIVITY
to the main plot provides the entertainment for the nuptials at the
end. It also creates an appropriate mood for the finale. 1 Find examples of Puck’s
• In fact, the performance is a kind of in-joke, where the actors cynical comments about love.
are satirising the various kinds of bad acting and directing that
Does his cynicism affect
they saw from rival acting companies. Nevertheless, the actors’
the way we respond to the
questions about realistic portrayals of actions on stage raise serious
atmosphere of romance in
issues about stage conventions.
the play?

ACTIVITY

2 Think about all the ways in • the situation of Bottom being • the bizarre Prologue as
which the subplot involving courted by Titania delivered by Quince
the mechanicals is comic. • the spectacle of a man with an • the clumsiness of the acting
Comment on the ass’s head • unrealistic costumes and

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following, for example: • the reaction of the mechanicals props (Wall and Moonlight,
and Bottom’s attempt at being for instance)
• Bottom’s boastful yet
brave • attempts to assure the
engaging personality
• Bottom’s social blunder Athenian audience that no
• the various personalities of
• Bottom’s slip-ups in language real harm has been done
these uneducated men
• the discussion of problems of • the reaction of the Athenian
• problems caused by Flute
staging the play audience.
acting as a woman
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The relevance of the play, Pyramus and Thisbe
The play chosen by Quince and company is Pyramus and
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Thisbe. It is a story of two lovers whose parents forbid their
union. They speak to each other through a hole in the wall,
but in desperation agree to meet secretly at Ninus’s tomb.
Thisbe arrives first, but is frightened away by a lion. She is
unhurt, but drops her mantle, and the lion soils it with its
bloody mouth. Pyramus arrives, sees Thisbe’s bloodstained
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mantle and assumes the worst. He draws his sword and kills
himself. When Thisbe returns and sees his body, she takes his
dagger and commits suicide herself.
Why would Shakespeare choose this particular play for
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Bottom and company to perform? You will notice that the


play’s plot mirrors the situation in which Lysander and Hermia The mechanicals performing Pyramus and Thisbe
found themselves when Egeus forbade their marriage. Unlike
Pyramus and Thisbe, though, Lysander and Hermia have managed
to avoid tragedy.

ACTIVITY

3 List the problems the mechanicals feel they need to overcome DID YOU KNOW?
in order to please the audience as they present their play.
The story of Pyramus and
4 When and why do you find yourself laughing at the Thisbe is taken from Ovid’s
mechanicals? Metamorphoses. It is the
5 Are any of the problems they deal with the kinds of problem same story that Shakespeare
that you might encounter if you were to stage A Midsummer reworked for his Romeo and
Night’s Dream in your school? Juliet.

25
1.13 Conflict and themes

LEARNING OUTCOMES Conflict


Conflict exists between:
In this section you will:
• Hermia and her father, over her choice of husband
• observe how conflict is
• the eloping lovers and Theseus/Egeus, because the lovers are
crucial in drama
flouting their elders’ authority
• consider how to discover the
• the two women (Helena and Hermia) who had formerly been close
themes and message of a
friends
play by tracing the points of
• the two young men (Lysander and Demetrius) who erroneously

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conflict
think they are rivals
• understand that a play can
• Hermia and Demetrius, because she thinks he has harmed Lysander
have several interconnected
and does not appreciate his advances
themes
• Helena and both men, because she thinks they are having a joke at
• recognise that contrast is an her expense
effective dramatic device.
• Titania and Oberon, because Titania refuses to hand over the
changeling boy.
P
All these conflicts are resolved by the end of the play, and a common
thread is that of ‘seeing truly’. As soon as the magic eye potion is
applied to Demetrius and Titania, a chain reaction is set in motion,
and all the other conflicts are sorted out. Check for yourself and see if
this statement is true.
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Themes and message
The points of conflict will lead us to the themes of the play. Let’s see
where an examination of these will take us:
A

• The conflict between Hermia and Egeus raises the question of what
a father’s love should be like, and whether he should choose his
daughter’s partner for her.
ACTIVITY
• The conflict between Titania and Oberon raises the issue of wifely
1 Do you think Hippolyta will submission to her husband. The play seems to suggest that it is
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find it easy to submit to good that Titania submits eventually, but modern readers might
Theseus? Do you think she not approve of Oberon’s domineering style. How easy do you think
should submit? it will be for Hippolyta to submit even to Theseus?
2 List the props that the • Titania is yoked to someone from a lower social class and the
mechanicals will need in effect is ridiculous. The play makes us laugh at the idea of a queen
order to stage Pyramus and marrying so common a man as Bottom. Social class is another
Thisbe. theme being discussed here.
• When the Athenian lovers resolve their conflicts and pair off into
3 List the problems they loving couples ready for marriage, they have moved from disorder
encounter regarding the to order. Do you think Shakespeare was advocating marriage in this
staging of this play. outcome?
4 What serious points are they • There is some minor conflict among the mechanicals over the
discovering about the nature staging of Pyramus and Thisbe. They discuss the suitability of the
of drama and its function in play and the effect it may have on the audience. Their debate raises
society? another theme that is close to Shakespeare’s heart: the function of
drama in society.

26
To sum up, then, the themes of the play revolve around these ideas:
DID YOU KNOW?
Shakespeare believed that a
Themes of the play play holds a mirror up to society
G love in its different expressions so that society can see itself
and correct its defects. He felt
G wifely submission in marital relationships that a play could show people
G social class ideals to which they could
aspire, lifting them – through
G the value of drama in society
the experience of sitting in the
G the value of marriage in promoting social order theatre – from their mundane
world to a magical world of
possibility.
Contrasts that reveal the play’s message

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We have seen the contrasting settings and the contrasts between
aristocrats and artisans – their language, their manners, their
learning. Meaning is often produced by the contrasts built into a ACTIVITY
work. There are several oppositions in this play: forest/city, night/
day, dream/reality, sight/blindness, love/hate, harmony/conflict, fairy/ 5 Take any of the play’s themes
human, aristocrat/artisan. that are listed here and note
what the play says on that
Think about these pairs and suggest the significance of each one in subject.
the play.
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Lighting
Lighting effects were limited in Shakespeare’s time, but of course they
are available for productions nowadays. To help his audience imagine
M
whether the place is light or dark, Shakespeare had the characters
mention the time of day. When Puck says, ‘The King doth keep his
revels here tonight’, we know that it is still day; when Oberon greets
Titania with the words, ‘Ill met by moonlight’, we know that the
moon is shining. Glance through the script and you will find repeated
A

references to things we associate with the night – the owl, the moon,
sleep, darkness, stars, ghosts – and also references to things we
associate with day – the cock crowing, the song of the lark, waking
up, the sun rising in the East and shining gold on the sea. Constantly
the language of the play connects us with the time of day.
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ACTIVITY

6 Consider Bottom’s speech


upon waking from his
dream. Do you find him
foolish? Or do you empathise
with him for having dreams
of advancement?
Hermia dreaming about being with Lysander

27
1.14 Dramatic devices

LEARNING OUTCOMES Costumes and scenery


The three different groups of characters allow for costumes that
In this section you will:
provide a delightful spectacle. The Athenians will possibly be dressed
• observe how costumes and in dignified robes, the artisans in humble workclothes and the fairies
scenery contribute to the in whatever flimsy garments the director chooses. A clear distinction
overall impact of the play can be made between aristocrats and artisans, while the supernatural
• think about the importance presence in the play can also be emphasised by means of the costumes.
of music and other sound And of course we must not forget the ass’s head that Bottom wears:
that surely is the most memorable spectacle in the entire play!

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effects in creating mood
• note that physical action The scenery could create a contrast between the palace in Athens and
can be crucial in a dramatic the forest where the fairies live. These two locations also represent
performance day and night, waking and dreaming – so a great deal of scope is
• understand the purpose of available for stage setting. Athens could perhaps be dignified, with
irony in drama. grand and even oppressive architecture; the forest could be dimly lit
to suggest mystery. For the final scene, the palace can be made less
oppressive – perhaps by the addition of gorgeous drapes for the walls
and beautiful clothing for the couples, to contrast with the starkness
ACTIVITY
P
of the opening scene.
1 Consider the costumes for
this play. ACTIVITY
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• Make some sketches of
2 Think of a play you are studying.
what you think each group
of characters would wear. • How would you re-create the scenery, for example of a
grand interior and a scene of nature?
• Make a note of the colours
and textures of the fabrics • What would you do to indicate the time of day?
you would use and how • How might you create an atmosphere of magic and mystery?
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they would differ for each


group.
For Pyramus and Thisbe, costumes will have to be designed to make
one man represent a wall, another to represent moonlight, and
another to represent a lion. Additional scenery will include a structure
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DID YOU KNOW? to represent Ninus’s tomb.


Modern directors often use
unconventional settings – like Sound
putting the lovers, Romeo and
Sound effects were certainly available to Shakespeare’s theatre
Juliet, between rival gangs
company and they would have been used effectively in this play.
of motorcyclists in urban
Sounds can be jarring or harmonious, urging us to fight or soothing
America. If you were to stage A
us to sleep. Notice how the sounds we hear reinforce the play’s
Midsummer Night’s Dream for a
message, and its movement from discord to harmony. There are
Caribbean audience, how might
several songs in the play: songs sung by the fairies, Bottom’s song
you represent the Athenian
and Puck’s song. In places the stage directions indicate dancing and
palace and the forest? The
music. As day approaches, Puck comments, ‘I do hear the morning
palace might be the Principal’s
lark’. The arrival of Theseus and company in the forest is marked
office and the forest might be
by the sound of hunting horns and the spoken words, ‘Go bid the
the beach, for example.
huntsmen wake them with their horns.’ Their noisy activity jars

28
after the quietness left by the fairies. The play by the mechanicals is
DID YOU KNOW?
announced by a ‘flourish of trumpets’, and the bergomask leads into
the music, singing and dancing that close the play. A bergomask is a rustic dance
that farmers or fishermen might
perform. The word comes
ACTIVITY from the place called Bergamo
3 How does music evoke the feeling of fantasy surrounding the in Italy, whose inhabitants,
fairies? If there was no music, how could the same feeling be apparently, were rather clumsy
conveyed? dancers!

Action
The novelist has to help his or her reader imagine the action that is ACTIVITY
going on, but the dramatist can put the action on stage. Actually

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seeing things happen draws the audience into the different moods 4 Identify the scenes in
of the play: the fear and suspense, the excitement, the humour, and this play that allow for
so on. Drama is all about action, and Shakespeare gives us plenty of spectacular action on the
action in this play. stage.
For example, consider
Irony physical action involving:
There is dramatic irony in the play, for example in the fact that • Hermia and Helena
whereas initially both men loved Hermia, leaving Helena out in • Hermia and Lysander
P
the cold, later on both of them love Helena, leaving Hermia out in • Helena and Demetrius
the cold. Because we know there has been a mistake that will be
• Demetrius and Lysander
corrected in due course, we are amused at the irony of Helena trying
to fight off the two lovers, whereas previously she had mourned the • Puck
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fact that she was unloved. • Titania and Bottom
Another example of dramatic irony is found in the interpretation Puck • the performance of
puts on Lysander’s sleeping at a distance from Hermia. She, like a Pyramus and Thisbe
well brought-up young lady, is not going to let Lysander sleep near • the bergomask.
to her until they are married. However, Puck assumes that because of
Add to this list, indicating the
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the distance they are not on friendly terms, and that this must be the
mood that each action might
young man who needs the magic potion applied to his eyes – and of
evoke in the audience.
course the effect is that Lysander now stops loving his Hermia and
falls for Helena! 5 a Identify scenes that are:
• stately in pace
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An example of situational irony occurs when Titania falls in love with


Bottom. His voice grates on our ears, yet she hears it as the song of • moderately paced
a nightingale; his face is covered with stiff hair, but she speaks of his • bustling and energetic.
‘amiable cheeks’ and his ‘sleek smooth head’; and all her attempts
at courtly behaviour are countered by his talk of needing to scratch b Identify scenes that have:
or having a craving for ass’s food. Her blindness to his ignorance of • many characters
courtly manners is ironic, as are his attempts to behave like a courtier. • few characters or only
Puck’s tone is ironic, too. Although he is busily engaged in bringing one.
about a romantic conclusion to all the problems, he is quite c Suggest what is achieved
dismissive of the fuss we humans make about falling in love. ‘Jack by this change of pace.
shall have Jill,’ he sings, ‘Naught shall go ill, The man shall have his
mare again, and all shall be well.’ His mare indeed! And in another d What happens to the
place he mutters, ‘Lord, what fools these mortals be!’ Puck’s tone length of speeches when
anchors the play, toning down the romance so that it does not the action is slow and
become too sentimental. when it is rapid?

29
1.15 The language

By examining the different speech styles of the following groups, you


LEARNING OUTCOMES
can see how careful Shakespeare is in his use of language:
In this section you will: • the Athenians
• observe that varieties of • the artisans
language indicate differences • the fairies.
in social status
• see how mistakes in The Athenians
language can produce a
These aristocrats use a lofty, elegant style, with classical allusions,

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comic effect
balanced structures and a stately pace made possible by the blank
• discover that language might
verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter lines). Even during their
be used to affect the mood
confusing experiences in the forest, the young lovers never lose the
of the audience.
dignified style of their conversation – which of course indicates their
social superiority and nobility. Listen to Theseus ordering his servant
to organise some entertainment for the wedding:
DID YOU KNOW?
Go Philostrate,
Did you know that the phrase
faux pas (pronounced foh-PA) is
P Stir up the Athenian youth to merriments;
Awake the pert and nimble spirit of mirth;
French for a ‘wrong step’? The Turn melancholy forth to funerals –
equivalent idiom in English is to The pale companion is not for our pomp.
put your foot in your mouth –
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Act 1 Scene 1 lines 11–15
which is what poor old Bottom
does at every turn! Often, too, their conversation makes reference to the more hostile side
of human life – war, hunting, legal issues, punishment and death.

The artisans
A

ACTIVITY
In contrast, our working-class men, the mechanicals, speak not in
1 Translate some of the blank verse but in prose. They are uneducated, and that fact shows
interchanges among the in their simple vocabulary, their frequent (and hilarious) misuse
mechanicals into your own of big words and mispronunciation of others. Bottom shows off
S

home language. Did you his knowledge of actors’ jargon. Each speech is short, and the
come across any wrongly interchange much more rapid than the stately pace of the Athenian
used words? nobles. Here is an example:

Quince: ...In the meantime, I will draw a bill of properties such


as our play wants. I pray you, fail me not.
Bottom: We will meet, and there we may rehearse most
obscenely and courageously. Take pains, be perfect.
Adieu!
Quince: At the Duke’s oak we meet.
Bottom: Enough; hold or cut bow strings.
Act 1 Scene 2 lines 94–99

The inelegance of the artisans’ speech is shown at its most comical


in the interchange between Titania and Bottom, where she speaks
grandly, as a queen should, and he makes one faux pas after another!

30
Language in Pyramus and Thisbe
DID YOU KNOW?
Their play, Pyramus and Thisbe, offers a style that is self-consciously
The literary device of shifting
theatrical in parts, yet comically inappropriate in others. Flute begins
from the sublime (‘a tomb must
Thisbe’s lament grandly:
cover thy sweet eyes’) to the
Asleep, my love? ridiculous (‘thy cherry nose’) is
What, dead, my dove? known as bathos. It usually
O Pyramus, arise! produces a comic effect.
Speak, speak! Quite dumb?
Dead, dead? A tomb
Must cover thy sweet eyes.
Act 5 Scene 1 lines 304–309

So far so good, but when Thisbe goes on to talk of Pyramus’s cherry


nose and cowslip cheeks and eyes as green as leeks, the solemnity is

LE
shattered.

The fairies
The forest is a world of moonlight and the supernatural. Much of the
fairies’ talk is of flowers, tiny animals and insects, and the sweeter
things of nature. Listen to Titania:

I’ll give thee fairies to attend on thee,


P
And they shall fetch thee jewels from the deep,
And sing while thou on pressed flowers dost sleep;
...
Be kind and courteous to this gentleman.
Hop in his walks and gambol in his eyes;
M
Feed him with apricocks and dewberries,
With purple grapes, green figs, and mulberries.
The honey-bags steal from the humble-bees,
And for night-tapers crop their waxen thighs,
And light them at the fiery glow-worm’s eyes
A

To have my love to bed and to arise;


And pluck the wings from painted butterflies
To fan the moonbeams from his sleeping eyes. ACTIVITY
Act 3 Scene 1 lines 127–129, 138–147 2 What Caribbean traditions
involve a broom to sweep
S

But the supernatural is not exclusively about good magic, so Puck (in
out evil? Do you know of any
contrast to Titania) also talks about the dangerous, evil aspects of the
other beliefs of this sort?
world, such as the roaring seas, the lion and wolf, graves opening
to let out spirits. His speeches remind us that we are surrounded by
both evil and good. Beauty and harmony are possible, but only if
order is vigilantly maintained – which explains why Puck wields his DID YOU KNOW?
broom to sweep out all the evil from the palace.
A word that is misused
with comic effect is called a
Verbal humour malapropism. That term came
Bottom tries so hard to use big words, but frequently he misuses to us from a character called
them – with comic effect. Mrs Malaprop in Sheridan’s play
The Rivals. Those of you who
He promises to aggravate his voice, when he means to ‘moderate’ or study French may recognise the
‘mitigate’ his voice, and vows that they will rehearse obscenely and phrase mal à propos, meaning
courageously – probably intending to say ‘in a seemly way’ (or maybe ‘inappropriate in this context’.
‘scene by scene’) and ‘correctly’.

31
1.16 The significance
of the title

In Shakespeare’s time, the summer solstice – the longest day in the


LEARNING OUTCOMES
year – was marked by festivities, and people believed that fairies were
In this section you will: around, working magic. The title invites us to enter a dreamlike,
magical world, set in the light-hearted spirit of summertime.
• think about the significance
of the title of the play This title also draws our attention to Shakespeare’s main themes
in the play. First, the setting is midsummer, denoting the season of
• learn about the importance
abundance and the approaching harvest. The young Athenians are in
of dreams in our lives
the summertime of their lives, and marriage will bring them into the
• consider the parallel fruitfulness of happy relationships and children.

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between having a dream and
watching a play The action occurs predominantly at night – the time for sleeping and
dreaming. As Demetrius and Titania sleep and dream, their foolish
• discover the role of drama
infatuations disappear (helped along by Puck’s magic potion applied
in society (as a kind
to their eyes), and as they wake, all their wrong thinking seems like a
of community dream-
dream to be forgotten.
experience).
Even though our dreams are not ‘true’, they often throw light on our
waking life, and they leave an emotional effect.
ACTIVITY
P
1 Which of the characters sleep
and dream in the play?
M
2 What does Hermia dream
about?
3 What might she learn from
her nightmare?
A

4 What does Bottom dream?


5 What effect do you think
that amazing dream might
have on him?
S

KEY POINTS ‘Churl upon thy eyes I throw


All the power this charm doth owe.’
Shakespeare is telling us Act 2 Scene 2 lines 84–85
that drama is a dream-
world choreographed by The play as a dream experience
the playwright, just as the The characters in the play have been dreaming, but so too has
experiences of the Athenian the audience. Consider how when we go to watch a play we are
lovers are choreographed by transported out of the real world and into a fantasy world, just
Oberon, and just as the love as when we fall asleep and dream. Shakespeare believed he was
story of Theseus and Hippolyta creating a dreamworld that would inspire the audience to return
was choreographed by the King to their everyday lives with new ideals and renewed optimism to
and Queen of the Fairies. improve their society.

32
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the cast is taken into the forest of
ACTIVITY
dreams, and there each of them gains insight into the nature of love,
so that when they return to the ‘real’ world, they will live happier 6 • Do you believe that dreams
lives. Similarly, we in the audience have a ‘dream’ as we sit in the have significance?
theatre, and we, too, go back to our ‘real’ world with a new vision
• What are your dreams
of what life could be like if we could get rid of our blind spots. The
for your future? Is A
bergomask of clumsy shepherd dances is certainly not as elegant and
Midsummer Night’s Dream
graceful as the dream-dance of the fairies, but we have to admit that
a dream in that sense?
it is better to be dancing than to be talking of killing, as we were at
Does it present us with an
the beginning of the play.
ideal world?

Reactions to dreams
Theseus and Hippolyta, waiting for the evening’s entertainment,
discuss the ‘dream’ experience of the lovers that has so magically

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resolved all their enmity. Theseus is inclined to dismiss the realm of
the imagination, and clings to rationality: ‘I never may believe/These
antique fables nor these fairy toys.’ Only lovers, poets and madmen
see things that are not real! But Hippolyta thinks differently:

But all the story of the night told over,


And all their minds transfigured so together,
More witnesseth than fancy’s images,
And grows to something of great constancy;
P
But howsoever, strange and admirable.

Act 5 Scene 1 lines 23–27 KEY POINTS


Her point is that even though they are not ‘real’, the dreams have had Although drama offers us a
M
an effect. And the same can be said for drama: the world it presents world that is not ‘real’, it can
is not ‘real’, but it can affect us powerfully. This is Shakespeare’s still have a powerful effect on
defence of his craft: the realm of the imagination, of dreams, of us and can lead us to insights
poetry and drama has its place in our lives, and while its magic about the ‘real’ world.
perhaps cannot be explained, it has power to teach and to delight.
A

ACTIVITY

7 Consider the following outcomes from the play.


• Demetrius, that ‘spotted and inconstant man’, put Helena
S

through misery. Does he deserve forgiveness? Does he


deserve Helena?
• Egeus was actually willing to have his daughter put to death
for disobeying him. Has he repented? Has he even been told
off for his behaviour?
• Hippolyta was captured in war by Theseus, and now he
is marrying her. Does that look like a marriage made in
heaven? Isn’t Theseus being just as bossy as Egeus?
• Is Shakespeare saying, through Titania, Hermia and
Hippolyta, that a woman should submit, first to her father
and then to her husband? Is that still a commonly held belief
in your community? If so, by whom? What is your opinion?

33
1.17 The Lion and the Jewel
– the background

Wole Soyinka (Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka) was born in Ibadan,


LEARNING OUTCOMES
western Nigeria, in 1934. He studied at the Government College in
In this section you will: Ibadan, and then at the University of Leeds in England, where he
gained his doctorate. He lectured at universities in Ibadan, Ife and
• become aware of the Lagos, and was visiting professor at Cambridge, Sheffield and Yale.
mingling of European and He is considered Africa’s most renowned playwright. His work (which
African dramatic conventions includes some 20 plays and poetry and prose writings) won him the
in Soyinka’s play Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986.
• identify the specifically

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African features
Soyinka as a post-colonial playwright
• recognise that important
information is given to the Soyinka, a Yoruba, has consistently celebrated his African roots,
audience through mime and and his plays are greatly influenced by Yoruba pageantry. While
flashbacks. his education and training were in an idiom developed in Europe,
Soyinka reshaped drama, infusing it with something essentially
Nigerian. Traditionally in Nigeria, any special event, like a birth, a
marriage, or the arrival of a visitor, is filled with singing and dancing
to the accompaniment of drumming. Pantomime-like re-enactments
P
of amusing or important events are common, and spontaneity is key.
These are some of the elements that Soyinka incorporates into his
drama.
M
Combining African and European conventions
In The Lion and the Jewel, the conventional scripted stage play is
interrupted at different points by seemingly spontaneous mimed
re-enactments of past events. One such flashback occurs as the
villagers engage in an impromptu mime (Yoruba-style) of a visit paid
A

to the village by a European photographer. Mummers re-enact the


arrival of the surveyor, too, and his departure when Baroka has paid
a sizeable bribe. Later, misled by Sadiku, Baroka’s chief wife, they
also act out the Bale’s alleged impotence, to the great delight of
onlookers.
S

ACTIVITY

1 a Compare the play’s satirical pantomimed re-enactments


with traditional Caribbean calypso and its critique of the
follies and wrongdoings of those who are prominent in
society.
b Do you see similarities between the pantomime in
Soyinka’s play and the playful dance-mimes at kweh-kweh
celebrations.

Wole Soyinka

34
The play’s themes and message, too, are strikingly African. Sidi, the
DID YOU KNOW?
village belle, is being wooed on the one hand by the schoolmaster,
whose clumsy attempts at following European styles make him The actors in a pantomime
appear quite ridiculous, and on the other by the elderly Bale of the or masquerade are called
village, Baroka, who clings tenaciously to Yoruba traditions, resisting mummers. Soyinka makes good
every attempt to erode his African culture and his personal power. use of this traditional Yoruba
Neither the pretentious schoolteacher nor the crookish, self-indulgent form of entertainment to
old Bale (the chief of the village) deserves the lovely Sidi, one might provide the flashbacks in
argue, and Sidi herself is in fact rather empty-headed and susceptible this play.
to flattery and materialism. Clearly the play represents the cultural
choices facing the people of Africa. But the choice is not so simple:
there is much to criticise in both the modern European ways and the ACTIVITY
old traditional culture, and people sometimes make foolish choices
2 Sidi refuses to marry unless
for foolish reasons, just like Sidi.
Lakunle pays the bride-price.
What does this tell us about

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African and European dramatic forms
her character?
As you study The Lion and the Jewel, you will be aware of the
mingling of European and African dramatic forms. A staged
play, complete with scenery,
costumes, lighting, and so forth,
is a characteristically European
convention, but the impromptu
mime, the energetic drumming,
dancing and singing are distinctly
African. The characters and their
P
conflicts represent a crucial conflict
of post-colonial Africa – that is,
M
how much to adopt Western
culture, and how much to hold on
to traditional ways.
The language and imagery of
the play, too, reflect this cultural
conflict: the schoolmaster’s
A

‘pulpit-style’, with its grandiose


expressions and biblical quotations,
is markedly European in flavour,
while the pithy proverbs, the praise-
S

names, references to Sango and


Ogun, and the songs, are African. Caribbean calypso
Lakunle sounds like a European-
style romantic lover with his nonsense talk about the waters of his
soul washing Sidi’s feet, while Sidi responds curtly with the proverb:
‘If the snail finds splinters in his shell, he changes house’. ACTIVITY
Be aware, then, as you study the play, of the interplay between 3 Sango (Shango) and Ogun
European influence and Yoruba tradition – in the action, the are African deities. Do some
themes and the language and imagery. And notice how all of these background research on
elements work in harmony to present to the audience the choices them.
that Africa faces.

35
1.18 The plot

LEARNING OUTCOMES Plot and structure


Morning
In this section you will:
The village beauty, Sidi, is being courted by the schoolteacher,
• examine the structure of
Lakunle, but she rejects his advances because he is such a ridiculous
the play and the use of
figure, with his dowdy European clothes and manners. Worse still, he
flashbacks
objects to paying the traditional bride-price, but for Sidi, any woman
• trace the main plot who marries without the bride-price is implicitly admitting that she is
• notice the main themes and not a virgin.

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conflicts.
Village girls bring news that a photographer who had earlier taken
pictures of Sidi has returned. By all reports, his photographs of Sidi
are stunning. Filled with excitement, the villagers begin to re-enact
the whole event: his arrival, the breakdown of his car, his spying on
Sidi bathing in the river, his falling into the water while he tries to get
close-ups. Lakunle is the one selected to play the foreigner.
At the point in the flashback where the hapless photographer has
been apprehended by villagers and taken off to the ruler to be
P
punished, Baroka, the current Bale, appears. Embarrassed, Lakunle
tries to slink away, but Baroka insists that they play out the scene. The
photographer is invited to a feast (where he gets miserably drunk and
vomits profusely) and is given permission to take his pictures.
M
As the mime ends, Lakunle takes to his heels, pursued by the women.
Baroka discloses that it is five months since he took a wife. Evidently
he has his eye on Sidi.

ACTIVITY
A

1 Suggest why Soyinka divides his play into three sections:


morning, noon, and night
2 a Map the plot-line of the play, showing where flashbacks
DID YOU KNOW?
S

occur.
Mime and pantomime were b Suggest what Soyinka achieves by presenting certain
popular forms of drama back information through flashbacks rather than as part of the
in the day of the Roman main action.
empire and for the Greeks.
There is evidence that they
have long existed as popular Noon
entertainment in Asia and
Africa too. Taking scenes Sadiku, the Bale’s senior wife, acts as a go-between to win Sidi to
from everyday life, they used be the Bale’s next wife. The terms are excellent, but Sidi is now so
exaggerated gestures and facial aware of her beauty that she feels she can aim higher than either
expressions to satirise the schoolteacher or the elderly ruler, so she declines. Lakunle warns
the ridiculous. her of the Bale’s wily nature, giving the example of his bribing the
surveyor from the Public Works.

36
Again the action slides into a flashback. This time the players re-enact
the coming of the white surveyor with his foreman and workmen.
Advised of the plan, Baroka hurries to the scene, bringing gifts to bribe
the surveyor to redirect the railway line. If modernisation were to come
to Ilujinle, Baroka’s self-indulgent lifestyle would come to an end.
The scene switches to Baroka’s bedroom. Sadiku brings word of Sidi’s
refusal. Baroka confides in Sadiku that sadly he has now become
impotent. We will later discover that this is not true, but cunningly he
tells his ‘secret’ to the one person he knows will broadcast it widely!

Night
We return to the village centre where Sadiku is celebrating Bale’s
impotence in particular and the triumph of women over men in
general. When Sidi arrives and is told what is going on, she comes

LE
up with a mischievous plan: she will apologise to Baroka for refusing
him, and ask for a month to consider his offer. She hopes to get
delight from his sexual frustration. She goes to Baroka’s quarters
and enters his bedroom unbidden while he is engaged in a wrestling
match. ACTIVITY

The wily old ruler plays cat and mouse with her for a while. He 3 Find out the difference
cleverly plays to her female vanity by revealing his plan to put her between a dowry and a
image on a postage stamp so that all the world can admire her. bride-price. Which cultures
P
Before long she is captivated by his manly demeanour and physical
prowess. As she rests her head on his shoulder, a group of mummers
in the world require
one of them? Are pre-
pass by, the females pursuing a masked male. nuptial agreements in
Western culture a similar
The scene shifts back to where Sadiku and Lakunle await Sidi’s return,
arrangement?
M
and the same mummers now give a brief performance satirising
Baroka’s impotence. Sadiku crows with delight.

ACTIVITY

4 Find examples of irony in the play after Sidi returns to collect


A

her things before returning to Baroka’s quarters.


5 In your examples, is irony produced by appearances being
deceptive?
S

Just then, Sidi rushes in, seemingly in great distress. Lakunle assumes
that Baroka has raped her. In true romantic style, he offers to marry
her anyway (but not to pay the bride-price). Ironically, though, Sidi’s
ACTIVITY
distress is not on account of the sexual encounter she has had with
Baroka, but rather due to the fact that he tricked her so royally. She 6 Comment on the significance
packs her clothes (Lakunle all the time thinking that she is getting of Lakunle joining in the
ready to marry him) and then reveals that she is going to marry singing and dancing as Sidi
Baroka. She kneels for Sadiku’s blessing, the mummers switch to a goes to join Baroka.
festive celebration and even Lakunle joins in the singing and dancing.

37
1.19 African cultural traditions

LEARNING OUTCOMES Pantomime or street theatre


In this play, Soyinka mingles Yoruba folk traditions and street theatre
In this section you will:
with European theatre techniques. This is particularly noticeable in
• observe the use of the three pantomime (miming) episodes – one in each act of the play:
pantomime, song, drumming
• the Dance of the Lost Traveller (the play that re-enacts the arrival in
and dance in the play
Ilujinle of the European photographer)
• think about the effectiveness
• the play that re-enacts the bribing by Baroka of the surveyor
of these devices as used by
working with the railroad

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the writer
• the play that satirises Baroka’s sexual impotence.
• notice that the use of both
African and European All three episodes reveal how cunning Baroka is in his dealings. He
dramatic conventions is in allows the photographer to take his pictures, but humiliates him
keeping with the theme of first by making him sick with the local alcoholic drink. In this episode
the play. Baroka’s masculine supremacy is established in the traditional way of
demonstrating which of the two men can best hold his liquor.
In the second pantomime, Baroka, very comfortable indeed with
DID YOU KNOW?
P
traditional ways, gets the better of the surveyor – and of modernism
in general, so that once again his supremacy is established. This
In Jamaica pantomime is time it is his wealth and his cunning that give him the victory over
an annual performance. Do the European. After bribing the surveyor to change the plans for the
you have pantomime in your
M
railway, Baroka is free to go on enjoying the sumptuous, sensuous
country? lifestyle that tradition grants him.
Although the third pantomime appears at first to mock Baroka
rather than celebrate his ascendancy, it is based on false information,
so when the truth of the Bale’s sexual prowess and his winning ways
with women are revealed, Baroka once again can be seen as the
A

Lion, the panther of the trees. His subterfuge momentarily allowed


him to be ‘the joy of ballad-mongers, the aged butt of youth’s
ribaldry’, but his manliness shines even more gloriously against this
dull background. The lie can be considered a foil for the truth (see
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page 6).
The three pantomimes add humorous action and spectacle to the
play. Imagine the ‘wheels’ of the photographer’s car shuddering to a
stop, or the photographer falling into the river while peeping at Sidi
bathing, or his discomfort after drinking the local brew.
With the surveyor flashback, ask yourself how the actor will follow
this direction as the size of the bribe is increased:

This time ‘truth’ dawns on him at last, he has made a mistake...


What an unfortunate error, discovered just in time!

One imagines that a fair bit of clowning will take place at that
moment.

38
And with the third pantomime, the audience is already aware that
the mummers have been misinformed, so their performance is
amusing in its irony. Their acting out the impotence of the Bale and
his embarrassment and shame provides scope for ribald comedy.

ACTIVITY

1 a Comment on the impact that the magazine and its


photographs have on Sidi.
b Do you see any significance in the fact that the
photographer is European?

Song, drumming and dance

LE
Another African cultural tradition appears in the abundance of
singing, dancing and drumming in the play. Drummers accompany
the girls who bring the news of the photographer’s return, and their
drumming, along with the chanting of the others, leads us into the
Dance of the Lost Traveller. A wide range of drumming pace and
rhythm proves an important element of the action: it gives us the
sound effects of the car’s engine, accompanies the lively dancing,
builds excitement and suspense, suggests the slow, dignified
P
movement of trees or the rapid scampering of a monkey, and so on.
Read the stage directions carefully to see how important a role the
drums play.
Singing, too, is a strong African cultural tradition that is incorporated
M
into the play:
• Sidi and her friends chant and sing as they tease Lakunle into acting
the photographer.
• The workmen who come with the surveyor sing a work song,
A

accompanied by metal percussion.


• Sadiku sings in celebration of women’s victory over men.
• The singers and musicians who had been miming Baroka’s
humiliating impotence change their tune as the play comes to its
end, playing joyful wedding songs as they escort Sidi to Baroka’s
S

palace.
The play is filled with energetic drumming, dance and song, not merely
as sound effects, but as the very cultural expression of the people.

ACTIVITY

2 List the places in the play where drumming is used for:


a emotional effect
b sound effect
c any other effect.

39
1.20 Contrasting characters as
a dramatic device

LEARNING OUTCOMES Contrasting cultures through characters


One of the most important contrasts set up in this play is between
In this section you will:
traditional Nigerian culture and imported Western culture. Lakunle
• note how the writer uses and Baroka are the two suitors in competition for Sidi’s hand in
African and European marriage and they embody this cultural contrast. Even their physical
dramatic conventions in the appearance – Lakunle skinny and unimposing, Baroka built like a
play champion wrestler – hints broadly at which of the two is preferred.
• discover that the play’s
Lakunle

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themes and message are
communicated through Lakunle is a somewhat ridiculous figure. He is eager to bring Western
contrasts in the characters. ways to the village, but appears foolish in his attempts:
• carrying water is women’s work, yet he insists on doing it
• kissing Western-style is unhealthy in Sidi’s opinion, yet he smothers
her with kisses
• the vision of foxtrotting Nigerian women in high-heeled shoes and
bright red lipstick eating off ‘breakable’ plates is not only utterly
P irrelevant to life in the forest, but is possibly not a particularly
inspiring advertisement for European ways either.
Lakunle has clearly been influenced by European romantic literature,
M
and consequently his language can appear inappropriate in the
context of an African village as he tells Sidi: ‘My love will open your
mind like the chaste leaf in the morning, when the sun first touches
it’; and in another statement: ‘My heart bursts into flowers with my
love.’ This is all well and good, but Sidi responds in an earthy fashion
that evokes laughter at the teacher’s expense: ‘Now there you go
A

again. One little thing and you must chirrup like a cockatoo.’
Do you think Lakunle’s love is sincere? Certainly everything about him
is anachronistic and out of place in Sidi’s world, and anachronism
is at the heart of comedy. He considers the customs of the village
S

backward and demeaning to women, but to Sidi, his refusal to pay


the bride-price is an insult. Even his learning provokes mockery: he
comes with a list of derogatory adjectives to describe how barbaric
EXAM TIP and outdated the custom of bride-price is, and when Sidi teases him
about running out of words, he admits that he only has the Shorter
Remember to have
Companion Dictionary!
your examples and
quotes ready to support
your interpretations ACTIVITY
on characters and the 1 What do you think about the concept of bride-price? Are you
conflicting aspects of aware of this happening at any time in your community?
their personalities.
2 What do you think might be the advantages and
disadvantages of this arrangement?

40
Lakunle outlines for her the changes he would like to bring to the
village: they sound foolish. In every way Lakunle is made the laughing
stock: he is mimicked by Baroka, forced to act the role of the
photographer, mocked by Sadiku, spurned by Sidi. He is presented as
deserving of the ridicule because his behaviour has been superficial
and insincere. His refusal to pay the bride-price, like his reluctance
to tip the mummers, is evidence of his stinginess rather than his
convictions. And since he joins in the dancing and girl-chasing with
great gusto, we can see that his lovesick posturing and assumed
Western ways are just a mask that easily slips.

ACTIVITY

3 Can you find any examples to show that Lakunle displays


ridiculous behaviour:

LE
a in his manner of speaking
b in his style of dress
c in his actions
d in the way others react to him.

Baroka
P
Despite all his negative traits, Baroka has one virtue that Lakunle
lacks: he does not pretend to be something he is not. He enjoys
being pampered by his wives and opposes modernisation because it
threatens his luxurious, self-indulgent lifestyle.
M
Consider his very first appearance: Lakunle, who is acting as the
photographer, is brought to him for punishment and Baroka is
presented as having real machismo, in contrast to Lakunle’s weak,
Lakunle and Baroka
uninspiring personality. Look for the pointers to these contrasts in
the text. For example their first meeting sees Baroka totally in charge,
calling back Lakunle (who has tried to sneak off) to rebuke him for his
A

greeting, ‘Guru morin’. From this we detect the traditionalist gaining


the upper hand over the boy/man who has voted for modernisation.
His next appearance is in his bed, receiving the attentions of the
Favourite. His cunning nature is presented here alongside his
S

sensuality, since he cleverly pretends to Sadiku that he has become


impotent. He then makes a brief appearance in the pantomime with
the surveyor – refer to this episode in the text to see how his wily
EXAM TIP
nature is evident.
Finally, we see him interacting with Sidi, who has entered his As described in this
bedroom, believing that Sadiku’s report of Baroka’s impotence was section, there are key
true. This scene is one of the most important for revealing Baroka’s episodes that you may
character, since it is here that he uses his understanding of women, want to focus on, but
his physical prowess and his masculine charm to win over the girl it is also a good idea to
who came with the intention of mocking him. As you read this scene, look elsewhere in the tex
notice how cleverly Baroka changes the tone of the encounter so that t
for further examples to
Sidi is bold one minute, apprehensive the next, later on mocking, but support your view.
also immensely impressed. Through this scene Sidi displays that she
can also be clever and cunning, but she is no match for the man she
now confronts.

41
1.21 Conflict and themes

LEARNING OUTCOMES Conflict among the characters


Lakunle
In this section you will:
Lakunle is in conflict with Sidi, with Baroka and even within himself.
• examine conflicts in the play
• discover the key themes Outwardly he seems to embrace Western culture, quoting its poets
and the Bible, asserting that everything Western is superior. Yet when
• understand that the play
his romantic charms are put to the test and he finds himself saying
mirrors the choices faced by
that he will marry Sidi even though Baroka has already enjoyed her,
formerly colonised African
he appears to get cold feet. His joyful abandon when he joins in the

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nations.
dancing, to celebrate Sidi’s leaving to be with Baroka, suggests that
he is very happy to slip back into his authentic African self.

DID YOU KNOW? His views also conflict with those of Sidi. She objects to his saying
that women are weak, and she tells him that his Western habit of
Conflict is not always expressed kissing is unhealthy and his romantic posturing quite silly.
in physical fighting. Some
conflicts produce strained And Lakunle is in conflict with Baroka because they are rivals for Sidi’s
relationships without any love. To the self-assured Baroka, Lakunle is just a little boy. When
physical action, and some
P
Baroka humiliates ‘the photographer’ in the pantomime, we have to
remember that it is Lakunle who is playing the role of the European,
conflicts take place inside an
individual’s mind. You may find so it is Lakunle who is beaten in the typically macho test of drinking
that tension is a useful synonym alcohol. This proves to us that this immature mimic-man is no match
M
for the word conflict. for the mighty Lion.

ACTIVITY

1 a List situations from your own home and school experiences


that can bring tension or conflict between individuals.
A

b Now arrange the situations in order, moving from those


that just make the individuals uncomfortable in each other’s
company to those that could potentially spark off a physical
fight. For example consider how you would feel towards a
fellow student who had accused you (wrongfully) of stealing
S

ACTIVITY something, compared with how you would react if someone


was harming a member of your family.
2 Find evidence that Sidi views c With this range of reactions, going from slight tension to
her sexuality as a weapon, potentially violent conflict, attempt a similar ordering of the
men as the opponents and conflicts in the plays you are studying.
her virginity as a treasure to
be sold only to the highest
bidder. Sidi
a Do you see this as Sidi is not only in conflict with Lakunle, but also with herself. At
a weakness in Sidi’s times she can come across as quite feminist, asserting the strength
character? of women and refusing to be instructed by Lakunle or to be added
b Does she display other to the Bale’s harem. Yet in the end she reverts to the traditional role
weaknesses? of women in her society and will now be the Favourite, privileged,
presumably, to pull out Baroka’s underarm hair!

42
Baroka
Baroka is in conflict only with the modernisation process. See how EXAM TIP
he gains the upper hand with the photographer and with the
surveyor. And see how he quickly proves his manhood when Sadiku To help with revisi
on,
is misguidedly celebrating the victory of women over men. Baroka, create two diagra
ms: one
remember, is a wrestler and he is well equipped to take on all showing the inte
rweaving
challengers. of the plot-line an
d
the flashbacks, an
Sadiku d
the other showing
the
Conflict exists between the women and the men. Sadiku is required conflicts between
pairs of
to be submissive and attentive to Baroka, but her real feelings about characters.
him are revealed when she does her dance celebrating his impotence.
Her joy in the thought that women are able to drain men of all
their energy and leave them as dry sticks is evidence enough of her

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resentment at the way women are treated in marriage. She eagerly
conspires with Sidi to humiliate the Bale.
ACTIVITY
Modernism and traditionalism
3 What theme is implied in
We see discord, too, between the modernising influence of the Lakunle’s mimicking of
European presence and the pull of traditional ways. Such examples Western ways?
are the photographer who puts Sidi’s image in a glossy magazine,
giving her aspirations to go places in life, and the surveyor who 4 What theme is implied in
Sadiku’s celebration of
P
is preparing the land for the building of a railroad that will bring
progress and change to Ilujinle. In contrast, Baroka’s bedroom, Baroka’s alleged impotence?
decorated with animal skins and hunting equipment, epitomises the 5 Describe the themes that are
self-indulgence and luxury that rulers traditionally enjoyed – so it is suggested by the presence
small wonder that he does not welcome change into his idyllic world.
M
of the photographer and the
surveyor.
Themes
By looking for the conflicts of individual characters we are led to
the main theme of the play, which is the tension set up in the play
A

between Western ways and Nigerian traditions. These two ways of KEY POINTS
life are personified (and parodied) in Baroka and Lakunle. The two
men both have their sights set on the village jewel, Sidi, who must The rivalry between Lakunle
choose between them. Their rivalry provides the tension. Lakunle and Baroka to win the jewel,
hopes to win favour with his appearance of intellect, his literary Sidi, represents the tension set
S

quotations and borrowed European manners, while Baroka is up in the play between Western
confident that his social standing, his physical fitness, his wealth and ways and Nigerian traditions.
sexual prowess will win the ‘jewel’.

ACTIVITY

6 Imagine you are Sidi.


a List the pros and cons of marriage to Lakunle.
b List the pros and cons of marriage to Baroka.

43
1.22 Themes and irony

LEARNING OUTCOMES Sidi’s choice


The choice Sidi has to make between Lakunle and Baroka could
In this section you will:
also suggest to us the choice that Nigeria itself has to make. In
• observe that irony is a useful the character of Lakunle, Soyinka ridicules the way some of his
way of making the audience countrymen mindlessly mimic European ways. But traditionalism,
think about the play’s themes in the character of Baroka, is mocked too. The image of him lying
• think about the implications in bed, having his underarm hairs plucked out by one of his several
of Sidi’s choice and decide wives, in a room decorated with his hunting trophies (which Sidi
hints could have been purchased at the local market) is also ridiculous

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whether or not she has
chosen well. in its own way. And while Soyinka allows Baroka (traditionalism) to
win the jewel, Sidi, the jewel herself seems not exactly delighted with
the arrangement. The audience may also have misgivings about the
bribery, self-indulgence, sexism and manipulation they have observed
in Baroka.

ACTIVITY

1 Think about the fact that


both Lakunle and Baroka
P
are caricatures rather than
realistic creations. They are
amusing exaggerations
M
of the type of individuals
they represent, and the
exaggeration itself makes
them comical.
2 Identify the characteristics of
A

each man that are comically


exaggerated rather than
realistically represented.
S

So it is possible that neither of the two options is quite what Sidi


wants, nor what Nigeria wants for the future.
Ironically, Sidi herself does not seem to have the wisdom, education
or integrity she needs in order to make a good decision about her
future. When she sees her image in the photographs, she tells herself
she could aim higher than either Lakunle or Baroka – but what do
you think of her values?
In the end, traditional customs win over European culture, sexism
wins over feminism, the women are put firmly in their (subservient)
place, and machismo wins the day. But at least the audience is left

44
with something to think about, and when we have finished laughing,
ACTIVITY
we ask ourselves some serious questions: Does retaining one’s
cultural heritage necessarily mean rejecting progress? Is it possible 3 What do we learn of Sidi’s
to take the best from the coloniser’s culture and technology without character from her response
losing one’s identity in the process? to the photographs and from
Soyinka has made us laugh and now he invites us to think! her interaction first with
Lakunle and then Baroka?

Irony 4 What do you think of her


values as she chooses a
There are many examples of irony in this play. Some of the richest future for herself?
examples of dramatic irony surround Sidi’s mischievous visit to
Baroka. She boldly goes to his bedroom, confident that he is
impotent and that she now has the upper hand, only to discover that
she has been deceived. Where she thought she would humiliate him,
she discovers that he can easily outwit her. She was so sure that an

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older man like Baroka could never satisfy her, yet she discovers that
he is still ‘the panther of the trees’. Sidi had thought that she was the
clever one, yet when Baroka begins to use his eloquence to charm
and confuse her, she is reduced to bewildered silence.
As soon as the audience learns that the story of Baroka’s impotence
was pure fiction, Sadiku’s abandoned dance celebrating the victory of ACTIVITY
women over men is gloriously ironic in retrospect; the more gleeful
5 What is the significance of
she is as she contemplates the humiliation of Baroka, the more the
irony of the situation builds up.
P the wrestling match?
• Suggest what the presence
Dramatic irony can also be detected in Lakunle’s offer to marry of a wrestling opponent
Sidi. In his mind his offer is full of Western-style romance, and she tells us about Baroka.
should be grateful to him because she is now a ‘fallen woman’. In
M
• Suggest a connection
fact, she does not consider herself ‘fallen’ at all, but is thrilled at the
between the wrestling
prospect of marrying the man who so powerfully took her virginity,
match and the battle that
and would not look twice now at a ‘book-nourished shrimp’ like
Sidi and Baroka engage in.
Lakunle. Even Lakunle himself is suddenly filled with doubt about his
European style: ‘Oh heavens, strike me dead!’ he declares. ‘Earth,
A

open up and swallow Lakunle. For he no longer has the wish to live.’
Faced with the reality of the situation, Lakunle is not so sure that the
spiritual, platonic love his European poets have taught him is what he
wants after all. We remember how he fantasised about the ‘luscious
bosoms’ that pillowed Baroka’s head at night, and we have to doubt
S

that Lakunle was made for a life of self-discipline.

ACTIVITY

6 a Find examples of irony in relation to Lakunle.


b Find examples of irony in relation to Sadiku.

7 What is ironic about Sidi’s decision to marry Baroka when


earlier she has shown herself to be such a feminist?
8 Is Soyinka being serious when he marries off Baroka and Sidi
at the end of the play, or is he teasing the audience with an
ending that is full of irony?
9 What other examples of irony can you find in the play?

45
1.23 Comedy and the minor
characters

LEARNING OUTCOMES Other types of comedy


Much of the comedy in this play results from the ironies noted in the
In this section you will:
previous section – but there are other types of comedy too.
• note that there are many
One way to approach your study of the comic elements in the play
different types of comedy
would be to work with a list like this:
• understand that different
types of comedy may appear
in the same play G comedy of language – puns, malapropisms,

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• discover that not all comedy parody of a particular accent or style of speech,
involves laughter irony
• see that even minor G comedy of situation – dramatic irony
characters contribute to G comedy of character – comic personality traits,
character revelation and to
the play’s message.
blunders made because of lack of knowledge or
self-knowledge, caricature
G comedy of spectacle – funny costumes, make-up
P G happy or comic atmosphere produced by sounds
G comic action – farce, slapstick
G happy outcome – a positive ending to the play.
M
ACTIVITY

1 Find examples in the play of each type of comedy listed here.


A

As you can see from this list, the comic element ranges from
intellectual wordplay on the one hand, to physical slapstick and farce
on the other.
Much laughter is evoked by Lakunle’s seeming unawareness of how
S

little he actually understands of European ways, despite the way


he presents himself as some kind of expert. He can say grandly, ‘I
wouldn’t demean myself to bandy words with a woman of the bush,’
and we are impressed, yet moments later he reveals that he himself
is a bushman, when he comes out with nonsense like this about his
vision for a modern future: ‘The ruler shall ride cars, not horses, or a
bicycle at the very least.’
His comic seriousness delights us when he poses as the faithful lover,
remaining true to his love even though she is a ‘fallen’ woman, but
then adds that at least now she must admit that he has no need to
pay the bride-price. A shift, as in this example, from the grand to the
commonplace, or from the sublime to the ridiculous, is known as
bathos, and is a fine source of humour.

46
Slapstick comedy occurs in the Song of the Lost Traveller. We laugh
DID YOU KNOW?
at the girls playing the wheels of the car as it shudders to a stop, and
at the antics of the ‘photographer’ as he surreptitiously pinches their A sexual innuendo is a
bottoms. Comic action occurs with the photographer falling into comment that indirectly
the river as he tries to peep at Sidi bathing, and then again at Sidi’s suggests something sexual,
running across the stage in a state of undress. The mummers acting although by its content the
out Baroka’s alleged impotence would offer scope for farce and speaker could easily insist
slapstick comedy, too. that his comment was quite
innocent.
Humorous sexual innuendoes also abound. For instance, Sadiku
boasts of exhausting her lovers when she comments: ‘Okiki came Remember the calypso, ‘You
with his rusted key. Like a snake he came at me, like a rag he went get on top – that’s the way
back...’ it must be’? After the singer
has repeated this line many
times, making us think that he
Minor characters
is referring to the sexual act,

LE
Sadiku and the wrestler both deserve mention. Sadiku, the senior he lets us know that in fact it
wife, is meek and submissive when she is in Baroka’s company, was a couple trying to close an
but her gleeful dancing and singing when she rejoices over his overfull suitcase! That’s sexual
humiliating impotence shows us her real attitude towards him. But innuendo.
even Sadiku’s two-faced behaviour is to Baroka’s advantage, for he
knows full well the kind of person she is and deliberately lets her
broadcast his ‘secret’ to the entire village, since that is what suits his
purpose.
P
It is the wrestler who brings word to Baroka that the surveying team
is advancing on the village, and his horror at seeing them at work
lets us know that any change in the way things are would be a sad
thing for both him and his master. Later, in Baroka’s bedroom, the
M
wrestling contest in which Baroka emerges the winner serves to
increase our sense of Baroka’s strength and masculinity. So when he
reminds Sadiku of his various exploits, such as hunting, climbing high
trees, log-tossing and so on, we know these are not empty boasts.
A

The title
Why does Soyinka call this play The Lion and the Jewel? Could it
be that Baroka, like the lion, is king of the forest? And isn’t Sidi the
jewel, the most attractive and desirable girl in the village? But could
there also be some irony in the title? The lion appears on the royal
S

insignia of the United Kingdom, so could it be that Britain is another


lion who is after the jewel, in this case Africa (as we see in the
photographer and the surveyor)? Then again, what would a lion do
with a jewel? Could a lion appreciate the wonder of a jewel, do you
think?

ACTIVITY

2 Consider another play that you have studied and look for irony
or hidden meaning in the title.

47
1.24 Costumes, setting and
props

LEARNING OUTCOMES Costumes


The costumes that Soyinka calls for in his stage directions help to
In this section you will:
present visually the conflict of the play between the traditional and
• see how costumes, setting the modern, Western style. Lakunle wears Western clothes, but they
and props convey the themes are old, ill-fitting and mismatched. He wears a threadbare, crumpled
and message of a play English suit that is a couple of sizes too small, and he sports a tie
• observe how costumes, with a tiny knot, a black shiny waistcoat, bell-bottomed trousers
scenery and props can tell us and white tennis shoes. His
appearance strikes us as being

LE
a great deal about characters
as anachronistic and ridiculous
• note that costumes, scenery
as his lovesick posturing, his
and props can create mood
lofty, borrowed phrases, and his
and can also prompt an
attitude of righteous indignation
intellectual response from the
towards customs that everyone
audience.
else finds quite normal. In short,
his costume satirises the kind of
African who unthinkingly follows
P
European fashions without really
understanding them.
Sidi dresses in the simple
broadcloth of village girls,
M
wrapped around and tied above
her breasts. The style affords
humour when Lakunle waves his
hands at her breasts and says,
‘A grown-up girl must cover up
her...shoulders?’ He pretends
A

to have become so prudish that


he cannot even bring himself
to say the word, breasts. In
the closing scene of the play,
S

Sidi is ‘radiant, jewelled, lightly


clothed, and wears light leather-
thong sandals’. Even the cloth in
which she carries her belongings
is ‘richly embroidered’. Her
costume here anticipates the
splendour of marriage to Baroka,
but it also suggests that she is
now a jewel being shown off to
perfection, whereas with Lakunle
she would not have been so
fulfilled.

48
ACTIVITY ACTIVITY

1 Think about the power of an image. 2 What does the play say
• How much are you and your friends affected by the images about feminism, sexism
you see on television or in magazines? and the role of women in
traditional Nigerian society?
• What effect does the image of herself in the European
magazine have on Sidi and her friends?
• What is the temptation held out to Sidi by the image
created by the European with the camera and the glossy
magazine?
• What significance do you find in this focus on images?

LE
Baroka wears his grand Nigerian robe – his agbada – for public
appearances, but is ‘naked except for baggy trousers’ in his bed. His
nakedness, along with the rich rugs, weapons and animal skins on
the walls, suggests his sensuality, his physical strength, his power and
freedom, and perhaps the animal in him.
ACTIVITY
The two Europeans are both dressed in clothes that are ridiculously
unsuitable for the tropics. The surveyor’s clothing is a parody of the 3 Questions to debate at the
coloniser’s dress: khaki helmet, spats, etc. In both cases, the props end of play:
P
they bring are also out of place in that rural environment: the car
and camera, the helmet and flask of whisky for the photographer,
• Is the play’s message that
Nigeria should put aside
and the camp stool, table, umbrella, soda siphon, whisky bottle and the ‘borrowed’ European
geometric sandwiches for the surveyor. The contrast set up between culture acquired under
the costumes and props of the Europeans and those of the Africans colonialism and return to
M
suggests strongly that the European is like a fish out of water in this traditional ways? Or do the
village. But even the European, comical as he appears, is less comical imperfections in Baroka
than Lakunle, the African mimic who is trying to be a European. warn us against coming to
that conclusion?
Setting • Consider Baroka’s motive
A

for rejecting modern


The setting is described as a clearing in the forest, with a village trends. Is there a way for
school and a girl carrying a pail of water on her head, which is also Africa to embrace the best
very African, and the setting is at odds with the European presence. of modernisation without
The two Europeans (and Lakunle too) seem out of place with their getting into the mindless
S

hot clothes and foreign accoutrements. imitation that Lakunle


The rich setting of Baroka’s bedroom contrasts sharply with the demonstrates?
poverty of the little school where Lakunle teaches. Everything in • Sadiku and Sidi both show
Baroka’s room – the wrestler keeping him in shape, the Favourite signs of having feminist
pampering his body, the animal skins showing off his hunting views. Do you think sexism
expertise – boasts of his status and manliness, honour and comfort. wins at the end of the
All these things demonstrate traditional African customs, and play?
contrast with the modernity introduced by the Europeans in the play.

49
1.25 Julius Caesar –
introduction

LEARNING OUTCOMES Julius Caesar – the play


Shakespeare wrote some 37 plays, which fall into four groups:
In this section you will:
• discover the political trag
tr ged
edie
iess
ie come
comedi
die
di es
es hist
hi stor
ory
ory pl
p ay
ays trag
tr gic
icom
omed
omedie
ed
die
ies
es
concerns of Shakespeare’s
time
Some of the plays are based on events in Roman history, and are
• observe how Shakespeare called the Roman plays. Julius Caesar is classified as a tragedy and it is
uses history to speak about also in the group of Roman plays.

LE
matters of concern in his
own time Shakespeare believed that history had an important didactic
function – that is, we can learn lessons from the past. However,
• consider the discussion on
unlike historians, Shakespeare had no hesitation in altering the
effective leadership that is
historical facts if by doing so he could offer a more powerful moral
presented in the play
lesson in his play.
• think about the conflict
between private morality and After Shakespeare had written a number of plays based on British
public effectiveness. history, he turned to Roman history for inspiration. His concerns
remained the same though, and those concerns become his themes.
P
Themes
M
This play Shakespeare lived in the time of Queen
dramatises and Elizabeth I, who, like Calphurnia, had no
warns against the child. With no clear successor to the throne,
horrors of civil the danger of civil war in England upon the
unrest. death of Elizabeth was very real.
A

The play examines In Julius Caesar, Shakespeare looks at


the requirements different leaders – Caesar, Mark Antony,
for effective Brutus, Cassius and Octavius – and explores
DID YOU KNOW? leadership. their strengths and weaknesses. You will
find yourself thinking about whether or not
S

Around 1530, a very influential a leader has to be ruthless, and whether


book entitled The Prince was or not successful leadership and virtue of
published. It was written character are possible in one individual.
by an Italian called Niccolo
Machiavelli. This book The play examines In an age when public speech-making
described, in seemingly cynical the power of and the art of oratory was at its height,
style, the way a ruler needed oratory. Shakespeare highlighted the power of
to act to retain their position language to manipulate people, particularly
of power. Machiavelli felt that the uneducated masses. Observe the crowd
morality played no part in the in Julius Caesar, and you will see how easily
success of a ruler: the important people are swayed by rhetoric. Such power
thing was to hold on to power in the hands of the wrong person could be
at any cost. very dangerous.

50
The play debates A hot topic of conversation in Shakespeare’s DID YOU KNOW?
the issue of time was this: in what circumstances, if Regicide is the act of killing the
regicide. any, is regicide legitimate? The king, many king.
believed, is God’s anointed and only God
Himself has the right to remove that king,
even if he is a wicked or incompetent ruler.
A bad king, some argued, was punishment
for the nation’s sins, and the period of

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suffering had to be borne meekly as a kind
of penance.

The play considers Some of Shakespeare’s contemporaries DID YOU KNOW?


the question of argued that man has been given free will, In Shakespeare’s time, the
man’s free will. and that our destiny is in our own hands. word politician always had a
Listen to Cassius putting that latter position derogatory meaning. To be
clearly: a politician meant to be a
ruthless, corrupt schemer.
P
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves that we are underlings.
Act 1 Scene 2 lines 140–141
M
Our fate is not preordained, not written in
the stars, he asserts.
Mostly, though, when a character in
Shakespeare takes the line that Brutus does,
he comes to a sticky end, and Shakespeare
A

was more inclined, it seems, to adopt a


fatalistic approach to life.

The play asks if The notion that we are not in charge of


we are ultimately our destiny, but subject to a greater Power,
S

subject to the is suggested in the play by the pervasive


Divine Will. presence of dreams, omens and even
visions. We may rashly take matters into our
own hands, as Cassius urged, but we may
discover that we are not in control of our
destiny after all.
ACTIVITY
The pervasive The play shows the crowd – average
references to individuals in society – to be very fickle and 1 Make a list of all the themes
the supernatural likely to be led by emotion, not reason. detailed here. As you study
suggest that we are the play compile a selection
not in control of of quotes that support these
our own destiny. themes.

51
1.26 The plot and main
character

LEARNING OUTCOMES The plot


The plot of Julius Caesar traces the conspiracy, led by Brutus and
In this section you will:
Cassius, that leads to the assassination of Julius Caesar, and the
• meet the main characters in aftermath of that assassination: the civil war that breaks out,
the play the suicides of Cassius, Brutus and Portia, and the defeat of the
• trace the plot conspirators by the armies of the Triumvirate, Octavius, Mark Antony
and Lepidus.
• consider what is achieved in
the opening scenes.
The importance of the opening scenes

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Shakespeare was very good at using the first couple of scenes of
his plays to introduce the main characters and to give the audience
ACTIVITY an idea of the key issues that the play would deal with. Look at the
tribunes Flavius and Marullus interacting with the tradesmen of
1 Julius Caesar was written
Rome. It is clear that they are in disagreement with the celebrations
some 450 years ago. How
taking place to honour Caesar’s return – so already we know that
would you adapt it to
Caesar has put some people against him. Mention is made of how
bring it up to date for a
the crowd was only recently praising the same Pompey whom
contemporary Caribbean
audience?
P
Caesar has conquered – so we are prepared as early as this for the
fickleness of the crowd and the way people can easily be swayed
from one opinion to another. Flavius, with his imagery of plucking
feathers from Caesar’s wing, makes it clear that he believes Caesar is
M
too ambitious. In a very short space of time, major ideas have been
introduced.

Developing the action


In the following scene, Brutus and Cassius talk secretly, snatching
A

moments for their conversation as Caesar is being publicly applauded


at the games. The mood of fearful yet angry conspiracy is now
established, and the danger of such conversations is made evident.
Notice how the shouts of the crowd break into the whispered
S

conversation, adding to the sense of secrecy and danger. That sense


of danger is intensified when Caesar and his train return and it
becomes clear that something has made the great man angry.
As our sense of Caesar’s power increases, the tension and suspense
EXAM TIP begin to build as Brutus and Cassius draw Casca aside, and we
quickly discern that he, too, is displeased with Caesar’s authoritarian
To help with revision style. Casca is able to inform us that already Marullus and Flavius
,
create a diagram have been ‘put to silence’ for removing the scarves from the statues,
showing the plot-line so we know that Caesar’s vengeance comes swiftly and he is not a
and
indicating the poin ruler to be played with.
ts at
which the supernatur
al In just a few moments the audience has been drawn into the
is evident. conspiratorial whispers, the fearful glance over the shoulder and
the awareness of the great danger of crossing such a powerful,
autocratic ruler.

52
Meet the main character – Julius Caesar ACTIVITY
Then Caesar arrives on his way to the games. He wants his wife
2 As you read the early scenes
Calphurnia to be touched by the athletic Mark Antony so that
of the play, notice how
she will conceive. Calphurnia is barren, and Caesar, we learn later,
Shakespeare succeeds in
suffers from epilepsy – the falling sickness. Symbolically, Shakespeare
creating an atmosphere of
suggests here that Caesar’s rule is not altogether wholesome. A
fear and mistrust, of spying
soothsayer from the crowd calls out in warning to Caesar, ‘Beware
and intimidation. List the
the ides of March’ (that is, 15 March), but Caesar waves the fellow
ways in which Shakespeare
away; later on we will see that Caesar is quite affected by omens and
does this.
prophecies, although here he pretends not to be.
Caesar seems not to be very respectful
of his wife in public, and later we will
see her begging him not to go to the
Capitol on the ides of March because

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she has had an ominous dream.
He dismisses her as being a foolish
woman. Caesar is quite autocratic
and given to fits of temper. As the
procession returns from the games,
onlookers observe the ‘angry spot’
on Caesar’s brow, and the way his
followers look as if they have been
P
scolded. Later, at the Capitol, we will
witness Caesar firmly refusing to give
any mercy to senators he has sent
for punishment, ignoring the pleas
of even his most faithful men. This
M
arrogance is one of his character traits
that his enemies hate.
Casca tells how Mark Antony offered
Caesar the crown three times at the
games, and three times Caesar publicly
A

refused it, to the delight of the crowd.


However, it seemed that Caesar was
reluctant to push the crown away,
and it is this ambitious nature that
the senators deplore. Romans were
S

proud of their system of government Beware the ides of March!


and the equality of the senators; for
Caesar to rise above the others was
quite unacceptable and men were prepared to die rather than bow DID YOU KNOW?
to his dictatorship. On the other hand, if Mark Antony is telling the Shakespeare often uses imagery
truth, Caesar had the people at heart when he willed much of his of sickness to suggest to the
property to them on his death. To complete the character sketch of audience that all is not well
Caesar we need to listen to Cassius telling Brutus how he had to save with a person or a society. Here,
Caesar’s life on one occasion, and how Caesar once behaved like a Caesar’s ‘falling sickness’, or
girl when he had a fever. Cassius is not impressed with this ‘Colossus’ epilepsy, suggests to us that
who stands astride the world. Indeed Caesar is a complex character: a something unhealthy has taken
mix of bravery and cowardice, autocratic tendencies and love for the over his personality. Similarly,
people, confidence and fearfulness, trust and suspicion. Calphurnia’s barrenness is
symbolic.

53
1.27 The principal characters

LEARNING OUTCOMES Brutus


Brutus is one of Shakespeare’s most loved and admired characters.
In this section you will:
His only fault, if indeed he has one, is that he is overly proud of how
• meet Brutus and Cassius, the honourably he acts in every situation. He can only join the conspiracy
leaders of the conspiracy, when he sees that to do so is in the interest of Rome. He refuses to
both of whom will commit have Mark Antony assassinated too – even though everyone is aware
suicide in the civil war of the threat the protégé of Caesar may pose. His thinking is that
• encounter Mark Antony, the Caesar must be sacrificed to the gods – not butchered. Like many
virtuous individuals, Brutus assumes that others are as honourable as

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man favoured by Caesar
he is, so he invites Mark Antony to join them and agrees to Antony
• examine Lepidus and
speaking at Caesar’s funeral, despite urgent warnings from Cassius.
Octavius, who, together with
The consequences are disastrous. Even in war, Brutus refuses to let his
Mark Antony, will form the
moral standards slip, with the result that a rift over allegedly unethical
Triumvirate following the civil
methods of raising money to finance the operation threatens his
war.
relationship with Cassius. Brutus’s respect and love for people is seen
in how he interacts with his wife Portia, his servant Lucius, and his
soldiers. Brutus is a fine human being, but his righteousness is an
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obstacle in the real world.

ACTIVITY
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1 Find all the examples you can of Brutus’s integrity.
2 Find the occasions on which his virtuous action leads to
disaster.

Cassius
A

ACTIVITY
Cassius is the one who gives us a behind-the-scenes view of Caesar,
3 Some critics have found and it is Cassius who brings the conspirators together to assassinate
Brutus to be a power for Caesar. Cassius is incensed that Caesar has risen so high, and feels
evil – not the righteous, he in no way deserves the honours heaped on him. He easily wins
S

honourable main described over half a dozen senators, but Brutus is not so easily moved. It
here. takes flattery and reasoning – and even a little subterfuge. Cassius
Find evidence to support writes letters purporting to be from other people, urging Brutus to
the portrayal of Brutus as a act against Caesar, and has them thrown into Brutus’s home. The
power for evil. contrast between Cassius and Brutus is intriguing. Brutus prides
himself on acting honourably at all times, and in the interest of
Rome. Cassius, on the other hand, is driven more by personal
grievance. Repeatedly Cassius and Brutus will disagree over action
that has to be taken, and repeatedly the honourable course insisted
on by Brutus will bring disaster. After the assassination, on the
battlefield, a major conflict flares up between them, Brutus again
standing for honour, and Cassius insisting that he is more experienced
in battle than Brutus. The two both die, but not before they seal their
eternal friendship. Neither man, ironically, is fully fit to lead, though
each has sterling qualities.

54
Mark Antony
In many ways, Mark Antony is a contrast to Brutus.
He is cunning and can mask his true intentions.
He was beloved by Caesar, but sees that he must
pretend to side with the conspirators. As soon as he
gets his opportunity, though, he rouses the crowd
to turn against Caesar’s assassins. He proves to be
a magnificent orator, and one who understands
crowd psychology perfectly. When the Triumvirate
(Octavius, Mark Antony and Lepidus) sit to work out
their strategy for dealing with the rebel senators,
Mark Antony can be just as ruthless as Octavius. He
is scornful of Lepidus, calling him an ass fit only to
bear loads and follow orders. Octavius, in contrast,
seems wiser and more respectful, and moderate when

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he replies that Lepidus is ‘a tried and valiant soldier’.
Mark Antony disagrees again on the battlefield, with
Octavius overriding the suggestion that Mark Antony
made concerning strategy; it is clear that the young
Octavius is determined not to tolerate any rivalry. Brutus and Cassius arguing

ACTIVITY
P
4 Look carefully at the way Mark Antony is introduced to us.
• What is his relationship with Caesar?
• Is it symbolically significant that Caesar believes Mark Antony’s touch could cure the barrenness that
M
is plaguing Calphurnia?
• Why does he offer the crown three times to Caesar?
• Does this introduction to Mark Antony prepare us for the way he behaves later at Caesar’s funeral,
and in his relationship with Octavius in the civil war that follows?
• Does Mark Antony actually bring a healing touch to the affairs of state?
A

• Which of his qualities would make him a good leader?

Lepidus
S

Lepidus is clearly the weak member of the Triumvirate, and both


Octavius and Mark Antony merely tolerate him, although Octavius
shows him more respect than Mark Antony does. Octavius and Mark
Antony know that Lepidus is not their equal, and that the power
struggle is between the two of them.
EXAM TIP

Octavius Use a quotation if it is


relevant, but keep your
Octavius is the successor to Caesar, so it is good to compare their
characters. Certainly the young man is ruthless and a fine tactician, a quotes short – even fou
r
brave soldier and a confident leader. He instinctively takes the lead, or five words will suffi
ce
asserting his superiority over Mark Antony on the battlefield. He is if this reflects your poin
t.
difficult to read – and perhaps Shakespeare deliberately leaves us
guessing whether he would make a good leader or would follow in
the steps of his predecessor even more ruthlessly.

55
1.28 Contrasting pairs of
characters

LEARNING OUTCOMES The women – Portia and Calphurnia


The two women in the play serve chiefly to throw light on the
In this section you will:
personalities of Brutus and Caesar, and to intensify the build-up of
• see that contrast is an suspense. A comparison of how Portia and Calphurnia (sometimes
important tool of the spelled Calpurnia) are treated by their respective husbands is revealing.
dramatist Calphurnia seems cowed, afraid of Caesar’s angry moods. She is
• examine the significance of barren, and suffers the humiliation of having that made a public
the contrast between Portia matter when Caesar asks Mark Antony, as he runs in the games, to
be sure to touch her to cure the barrenness. On the day that Caesar is

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and Calphurnia
to go to the Capitol (to be crowned, it is rumoured), she begs Caesar
• think about the difference
on her knees not to attend. She relates to him what she has heard of
between the state of
the strange omens people have witnessed, and of the beast with no
society before and after the
heart that was found by one of the augurers. She has had a dream
assassination of Caesar.
of Caesar’s statue and of Romans bathing their hands in the blood
spouting from it. Caesar is inclined to concede to her request, when
Decius enters and his mind changes again. He hints that the crowd
will get the impression that Caesar is afraid – and of course, Caesar
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does not want this. He leaves, telling Calphurnia that her fears seem
quite foolish now. He will never see her again.
Brutus’s attitude to Portia is very
different from Caesar’s attitude to
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Calphurnia. Portia is full of self-respect,
proud of her ancestry, and Brutus
respects her profoundly. When she
asks what is on his mind that he is so
restless at nights, he realises that he
is disrespectful to her if he does not
A

treat her as an equal and share his


concerns with her – so he promises to
do so. Portia’s love for Brutus is evident
when she urges their servant to run to
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the Senate house, quite forgetting to


give the boy any message to carry! Her
anxiety takes away the calm composure
that is usual for her. Refusing to burden
Brutus, she sends the message that
she is merry, but hopes to hear some
word from him. When Brutus is on the
battlefield we learn that Portia, in brave
Roman style, has committed suicide,
fearful that the delay in Brutus’s return
means that the battle is lost.

56
ACTIVITY DID YOU KNOW?

1 a Examine the following contrasts set up in the play: In Roman times, on their return
home the conquering army
• Calphurnia and Portia and how they are treated by their
would march through the
respective husbands
city, with all their captives in
• Brutus and Cassius, both in their motives for killing the procession. Romans felt
Caesar and in their conduct on the field of battle that this was so degrading
• Mark Antony and Brutus. that to avoid the humiliation,
b List some adjectives that depict their characters and look at they preferred to take their
contrasts in their personalities. own lives – dying with the
dignity befitting their status
as free citizens of the republic.
Legend has it that Portia died
The use of contrast swallowing hot coals – and in

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Ancient Rome her action would
Just as Shakespeare deliberately sets up a contrast between
have been considered most
Calphurnia and Portia and the way their respective husbands treat
honourable.
them, so too he sets up contrasts between Brutus and Cassius,
between Mark Antony and Brutus, between Mark Antony and
Octavius, and between Octavius and Caesar. All the time these
contrasts cause the audience to think about the different strengths
and weaknesses in a man that would qualify or disqualify him for
leadership.
P
Comparing the beginning and the end
As with any play or novel, we will learn something if we compare
M
the situation at the beginning with the situation at the end. We
begin this play with discontent and resentment among the senators ACTIVITY
because Caesar seems to be overly ambitious, power-hungry and
2 Examine the state of
dictatorial in his style of leadership. Caesar himself is full of bravado,
affairs under Caesar at the
with a magnificent reputation, but cracks have appeared in the image
beginning of the play, and
– his superstition, his susceptibility to flattery, his disregard for the
the state of affairs at the end
A

senators and his wife, the barrenness of his marriage and his own
under the Triumvirate.
‘falling sickness’.
• Did the conspirators
At the end of the play the Triumvirate takes the reins, but much has have good reasons to
been lost. Fine men like Cassius, Brutus and Titinius have lost their assassinate Caesar? List the
S

lives along with Caesar – and so has Portia. The people of Rome are losses in this civil strife.
divided. The Triumvirate that is taking over power is already showing
• Is the situation better now
signs of disunity. It is by no means clear that Octavius will prove less
that Caesar is no longer
dictatorial than Caesar was, and he does not have the fine record of
around?
achievement and experience behind him either. It is doubtful whether
much has been gained by such great sacrifices. • What conclusion can you
draw from your answers to
So what do we learn? Clearly one concern is how costly civil strife can these questions?
be and how little it achieves.

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1.29 Contrasting speeches

LEARNING OUTCOMES Contrasting speeches: Brutus and Mark Antony


Compare the speeches that Brutus and Mark Antony make to the
In this section you will:
crowd after the assassination. Brutus reminds the people of his
• examine the contrasting love for Caesar, but declares that he loved Rome even more than
features in the speeches he loved Caesar. He explains that it was necessary for Caesar to
made by Brutus and Mark be killed if they were to remain free men, since Caesar had grown
Antony so ambitious. His speech is short and to the point; it is as if he
• consider the nature and feels that when he gives a rational explanation, the crowd will
understand.

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function of the crowd in the
play The crowd seem satisfied with his explanation, yet when Brutus
• understand that a leader leaves and Mark Antony makes his speech, he is able to sway them
must be able to ‘connect’ in the opposite direction, and they now call Brutus a traitor and are
with the people and that ready to burn down his house.
may entail playing on
What is Mark Antony’s method? Where Brutus appealed to their
their emotions rather than
reason and their dignity as free Romans, Mark Antony appeals to
appealing to reason.
their emotions, their imagination and even to their selfishness.
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Where Brutus relies on their minds, Mark Antony shows them the
body and the wounds and the torn mantle, urging them to imagine
the scene of the assassination. He reminds them of Caesar’s
achievements in battle and the way he made Rome rich. He lets
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the crowd see his tears as he weeps (or pretends to weep), and so
moves them to mourn too. He keeps repeating that Brutus is ‘an
honourable man’ until the words start to sound sarcastic. He brings
out Caesar’s will which, he claims, bequeaths all his property to the
men of Rome, so arousing their anger that such a benefactor has
been killed. Mark Antony has a fine sense of the dramatic – asking
A

the crowd’s permission to come down among them, having them


encircle the body of Caesar, and showing them first the torn mantle
ACTIVITY and then the mangled corpse:
1 Both Brutus and Mark
Kind souls, what weep you when you but behold
S

Antony claim to have loved


Our Caesar’s vesture wounded? Look you here,
Caesar: one assassinates
Here is himself, marred as you see with traitors.
him and the other fights to
defeat the assassins. Act 3 Scene 2 lines 195–197

a What causes Brutus to act Mark Antony is a consummate actor, knowing just when to
as he does, despite his turn aside to hide his tears, and his timing is perfect. After his
love for Caesar? magnificent speech, he is clever enough to say, ever so humbly:
b Do you find that Mark I am no orator, as Brutus is;
Antony’s love for Caesar But (as you know me all) a plain blunt man
is entirely free of self- That love my friend...
interest?
Act 3 Scene 2 lines 21–29

58
The great irony here is that while Mark Antony claims the finest
orator in the play is Brutus, with his sense of fair play and integrity EXAM TIP
Brutus allowed Mark Antony to deliver the funeral oration. This act
of generosity is one of his biggest tactical mistakes and Mark Antony Making lists is a good
knows how to take advantage of it, stirring the crowd to riot in way of revising. For
protest against what the conspirators have done. example make a list for
each of:
ACTIVITY • the features of Mark
Antony’s speech and
2 List the scenes involving the crowd in this play. What mood(s)
the features of Brutus’s
prevail(s) in each of the scenes?
speech, so that you can
3 What evidence can you find to show that the crowd is fickle easily recall those points
and easily swayed? • the scenes where the
4 a What evidence can you find in the play that a crowd of crowd appears and the

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people tends to be led by emotion rather than by reason? emotions they evoke
b Do you feel that this is true of crowds in general?
• the tactical mistakes
Brutus makes and why
he makes them
• the actions and dialogue
The crowd that demonstrate that
Shakespeare makes good use of the crowd to suggest the fickleness Cassius is a good
of society’s response to leaders. The rough demeanour of the strategist
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tradesmen at the beginning contrasts with the dignified bearing of • the places where the
the senators, reminding us of Shakespeare’s belief that each class of supernatural intervenes
people should know their place in society and remain there – not in the play, and their
seeking to rise above their station. The same crowd is so easily led by significance.
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emotions rather than by reason that Brutus’s reasoned discourse fails
to move them much, whereas Mark Antony’s emotional appeal sets Your lists will help you
them to burning houses and recall these points in the
lynching innocent folk like the exam.
poet Cinna. The disorder of the
crowd – the noise and shouting
A

and burning – both visually


and aurally, communicates
to us the chaos that
breaks out if the divine
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order of things is
upturned. Finally,
the chaos of the
crowd’s reaction to
Antony’s speech
prepares us for the
total social disorder
suggested by
civil war.

Mark Anthony giving his speech to the crowd

59
1.30 The supernatural, irony
and suspense

LEARNING OUTCOMES The presence of the supernatural


An important device that Shakespeare uses is to present the power
In this section you will:
of the supernatural. Calphurnia, Caesar’s wife, has a dream that very
• recognise examples of the accurately foretells what will happen to Caesar, and a soothsayer in
supernatural in the play and the crowd warns Caesar to ‘Beware the ides of March’. An incredibly
discover their significance fierce storm rages as the conspirators secretly meet, fire drops from
• identify examples of irony in the sky, and a diviner, examining the entrails of an animal, discovers
the play that the creature had no heart.

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• consider the way suspense is
The importance of omens and visions
created in the play.
Cinna dreams that he feasts with Caesar (after Caesar has died).
Such omens suggest disorder in the heavens, responding to the
disorder in the realm of men. Before the battle at Philippi, royal
ACTIVITY eagles perch on the standards, seeming to bless the cause of
Brutus and Cassius, but before they engage in fighting, the eagles
1 a List all the supernatural disappear to be replaced by ravens, crows and kites – scavengers
occurances in Julius Caesar. ready to feast on the dead bodies. On the battlefield Brutus actually
Look for examples of:
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gains the upper hand, but he is haunted by visions of dead Caesar,
• dreams and his disturbed psychological state contributes to his defeat. By
• omens showing the audience that there is a very real spiritual dimension to
life, Shakespeare gives force to the notion that although men may
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• sightings of ghosts
try to carve out their own destiny (and, for example, commit the
• prophecies. act of regicide), those spiritual forces will be set in motion to bring
b Do peope in your culture retribution and divine justice.
believe that supernatural
events like those in the Irony
A

play actually occur? Irony abounds in this play. Here are just a few examples, but you can
add to this list:
• Brutus, the most virtuous man in the play, is praised even by his
enemies – Mark Antony and Octavius – but is a failure as a leader.
S

EXAM TIP His nobility and virtue seem to be actual impediments to his success.
• As wise as he is, Brutus can be so blind as to give the platform to
Practise writing essay Mark Antony – unsuspecting of Antony’s designs.
s
in response to exam • Brutus wins a battle but Cassius loses, when Cassius had seemed so
questions, but: much better at military strategy.
• stick to the time limit • Although Brutus’s men have gained the advantage, Cassius
of approximately 35 misinterprets what he sees on the battlefield and commits suicide in
minutes per essay, an despair.
d
• although no length
is specified, aim for a Suspense
minimum of around Suspense is created at several points in the play. We do not know
450 words. how Flavius and Marullus will be dealt with for removing the scarves.
Like the onlookers, we do not know what has made Caesar so angry,
and we are surprised at how cowed his followers are.

60
We meet at dead of night with the conspirators, and hold our breath
ACTIVITY
when, once or twice, it seems that their secret has leaked out. We
suspect that Cassius is right and it is a big mistake to let Mark Antony 2 Find the two incidents that
have the stage, so we hold our breath again to hear what he will build suspense by seeming
say, and how the crowd will respond. As we watch the Triumvirate to show that the news of the
‘pricking out’ the names on their list, identifying individuals to be conspiracy has leaked out.
executed, and realise that they are willing to kill even close family
members, we are on the edge of our seats to see where all this will
lead. And on the battlefield, Shakespeare cleverly ensures that the
advantage swings from one side to the other, so we are in constant
suspense – and even as Brutus and Cassius are taking their own lives,
we hope against hope that someone will stop them.

Action and stillness

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A good deal of action occurs in the play, for example the actual killing DID YOU KNOW?
of Caesar, the mob attacking Cinna, and fighting on the battlefield.
But there are also some very still, quiet scenes, for example the We call it a soliloquy when an
soliloquy of Mark Antony when he is alone with Caesar’s body, and actor is alone on the stage,
Brutus, alone in his orchard, thinking about the plan to kill Caesar. talking to him or herself.
The audience learns of his
or her character and/or of a
development in the plot from
this technique.
P
M
A
S

‘Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood!’

ACTIVITY

3 Find the action-filled scenes in the play and then look for
the scenes in which movement is minimal. What effect is
produced by the contrast between noise and silence and
between activity and stillness?

61
1.31 Sound, language and
imagery

LEARNING OUTCOMES Use of sound effects


Shakespeare uses the sound and movement of the crowd to point
In this section you will:
to his theme. But this social chaos suggested by the crazed mob
• think about sound effects in is anticipated in the terrific storm that causes even the stoutest
the play hearts to tremble. The noisy raging of the heavens and the reports
• consider the near-absence of of strange portents all add to our sense that something is terribly
music amiss, and that nothing good will come of the assassination. In
a contrasting moment, there is a still instance as the conspirators
• examine the language and
hatch their plan, when the chiming of a clock breaks the silence:

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imagery in the play.
that sound effect fills the air with suspense. And on the battlefield
there is great scope for sound effects – the neighing horses, the
clashing of swords, the sounding of trumpets, the enraged shouting
of soldiers attacking and the groans of the wounded. As the noise
stops, Antony and Octavius break the new silence to pay their final
respects to ‘the noblest Roman of them all’ – Brutus. Notice how the
contrast between sound and silence can be dramatically effective and
build suspense. Music, which figured so prominently in A Midsummer
P
Night’s Dream – a comedy about love, is hardly heard in this play
where conflict, and not harmony, dominates. It sounds briefly in
Brutus’s tent before the battle, and even then the young musician
falls asleep as he plays.
M
Language and imagery
EXAM TIP
The noblemen in this play speak in very dignified blank verse, while
Learning quotations the plebeians – the common people – speak in prose. The contrast
for use in the exam is between them is made more obvious by the fact that the nobles
A

excellent, but keep them make use of powerful imagery, while the common people use
as short as possible. language more functionally and less poetically. Sometimes, too,
A carefully chosen the common people resort to puns for humour – such as when the
quotation of four or fi cobbler says ‘All that I live by is the awl’, and when he makes the
ve sexual joke about not meddling with women’s matters. The nobles
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words is more effective


convey their learning and their civility through language.
than a dozen lines that
do not focus on anythi Julius Caesar is full of memorable imagery. Brutus compares Caesar to
ng the egg of a snake – not dangerous now, but full of potential danger
specific.
for the future:

And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg


Which hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous,
And kill him in the shell.
Act 1 Scene 2 lines 32–37

Still trying to persuade himself that he is doing the right thing to join
in the conspiracy, Brutus uses this metaphor, making the action seem
almost like a religious ritual:

62
Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius.
...
Let’s carve him as a dish fit for the gods,
Not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds
Act 2 Scene 1 lines 166–174

Flavius argues that Caesar needs to have his wings clipped because he
is trying to fly too high:

These growing feathers plucked from Caesar’s wing


Will make him fly an ordinary pitch,
Who else would soar above the view of men
And keep us all in servile fearfulness.
Act 1 Scene 1 lines 73–76

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And Casca expresses his sense of Caesar’s ambitious nature this way:

Why man, he doth bestride the narrow world


Like a Colossus, and we petty men
Walk under his huge legs and peep about
To find ourselves dishonourable graves.
Act 1 Scene 2 lines 135–138
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The time is ripe, argues Cassius, to deal with Caesar. He compares the
timing of their action to the right timing of the tide when you are
launching a ship:

There is a tide in the affairs of men


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Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; omitted, all the
voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea we are now afloat;
And we must take the current when it serves,
A

Or lose our ventures. ACTIVITY


Act 4 Scene 3 lines 215–221
1 Find examples of the
You will find many more examples. Notice, though, how suited noblemen speaking in prose
each image is to the man who uses it – images of a Colossus, ships instead of blank verse.
S

catching the full tide, eagles and serpents. Each image gives a Suggest reasons for this
powerful visual impression of the idea the speaker is communicating. switch.

ACTIVITY

2 Points for discussion at the end of the play: • Does personal integrity conflict with the
practical requirements of leadership: a) in the
• Did the conspirators have sufficient reason
play? b) in life in general?
to assassinate Caesar?
• What purpose do the women serve in the
• Did the assassination actually cause more
play?
problems than it solved?
• Why does the supernatural feature so
• Was Cassius right or wrong to say that our
prominently?
destiny is in our own hands?
• What errors of judgement do Brutus and the
other conspirators make?

63
Unit 1 Practice exam questions

Unit 1: Structured questions

2012–2014
Old Story Time A Midsummer Night’s Dream
1 Consider the character and role of Pa Ben in 1 Issues of courtship and love are presented in
the play. the play. Consider this quotation.
a Identify and illustrate THREE of Pa Ben’s
We cannot fight for love, as men may do;
personal qualities.
We should be wooed and were not made to
b Giving your evidence, show how Mama’s woo.
character weaknesses are shown up when
Act 2 Scene 1

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she is compared with Pa Ben.
c Identify and illustrate THREE dramatic a Describe briefly the situation that prompts
functions served by Pa Ben in the play. this response from Helena and explain the
(25 marks in total) irony in her statement.
b Compare Helena’s relationship with
2 At the end of the play, Mama’s attitude to
Demetrius with another love relationship
Lois changes dramatically.
in the play.
a Explain why Mama rejects Lois, and show
c Discuss what Shakespeare says in this play
how she consistently shows her dislike for
her.
P about romantic love.
(25 marks in total)
b Describe Lois’s role in Len’s life before
they were married, explaining how this 2 Consider the encounter of Bottom and
information is communicated to Mama Titania.
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and to the audience. a Explain the events that led up to this
c Comment on the dramatic effectiveness of encounter.
the last few moments of the play. b Say what is humorous in this encounter,
(25 marks in total) regarding:
i the language
A

ii the situation
EXAM TIP
iii the spectacle.
Write an introductory paragraph (25 marks in total)
and a concluding paragraph for
S

3 Compare the reactions of Bottom and Titania


your essays – even if you can only
when each of them wakes up from their dream.
manage one sentence for each.
(25 marks in total)
Notice the mark scheme, and let that
guide you regarding how much time
you spend on each section.
Time yourself, and spend no more
than 35 minutes on each answer.

Further practice questions


and examples can be found
on the accompanying CD.

64
2015–2017
The Lion and the Jewel Julius Caesar
1 Consider the section of the play entitled 1 Consider the character of Brutus in Julius
‘Night’, beginning with Sadiku’s celebratory Caesar.
dance. a Compare the motives of Cassius and
a Explain why Sadiku is dancing, and of Brutus for participating in the
show what part she plays in Sidi’s visit to assassination of Caesar.
Baroka. b State evidence in the play which shows
b Comment on the significance of THREE that the following characters are far more

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things that Sidi and the audience can see astute than Brutus:
in Baroka’s bedroom. i Mark Antony
c Give THREE important examples of irony ii Cassius.
in the scene when Sidi returns to report to
c Suggest what effect Shakespeare achieves
Sadiku and Lakunle after this visit.
by having both Antony and Octavius
(25 marks in total) speak well of Brutus when they find his
2 Consider the beautiful Sidi in The Lion and the body on the battlefield.
Jewel.
P (25 marks in total)
a Discuss two techniques used by Soyinka to 2 Consider the dramatic function of Portia and
highlight Sidi’s beauty. Calphurnia in Julius Caesar.
b Describe Sidi’s response to the advances a Examine:
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of:
i Portia’s relationship with Brutus
i Baroka
ii Calphurnia’s relationship with Caesar.
ii Lakunle.
b Discuss the irony in Caesar not heeding
c Discuss what is ironic about Sidi’s eventual Calphurnia’s warning.
choice of husband.
A

c Suggest what is achieved dramatically by


(25 marks in total) the inclusion of the two women in this
play.
(25 marks in total)
EXAM TIP
S

Remember that any time you make


a point, you must give supporting
evidence to back it up.
Even though the question is in parts,
do not break up your answer; it
must be in essay form, with properly
developed paragraphs. Start the new
paragraph on a new line, but not on a
new page.
Further practice questions
and examples can be found
on the accompanying CD.

65
for CSEC ®

LE
A Caribbean Examinations Council® Study Guide
Developed exclusively with the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC®), this study guide will
provide candidates in and out of school with additional support to maximise their performance
in CSEC® English B.
Written by an experienced team comprising teachers and experts in the CSEC® English B
P
syllabus and examination, this study guide covers the elements of the syllabus that you must
know in an easy-to-use double-page format. Each topic begins with the key learning outcomes
from the syllabus and contains a range of features designed to enhance your study of the
subject, such as:
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Ǧ Examination tips with essential advice on succeeding in your assessments
Ǧ Did You Know? boxes to expand your knowledge and encourage further study
Ǧ The key terms you need to know supplemented by a comprehensive glossary
Ǧ Engaging activities to transfer theory into practice
A

Ǧ Examination-style practice questions to build confidence ahead of your examinations

This comprehensive self-study package includes a fully interactive CD, containing sample
examination answers with accompanying examiner feedback, to build your skills and
S

confidence as you prepare for the CSEC® English B examination.

The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC®) has worked exclusively with Nelson
Thornes to produce a series of Study Guides across a wide range of subjects at CCSLC®,
CSEC® and CAPE®. Developed by expert teachers and resource persons, these Study
Guides have been designed to help students reach their full potential as they study
their CXC® programme.

I S B N 978-1-4085-1656-0

9 781408 516560

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