Wole Soyinka
between different generations and between men and women. What gives
a trenchant, and often uproarious edge to the dramatization of these mo-
tifs of age and gender inThe Lion and the Jewelis the way Soyinka has
conjoined them, inverted the usual pattern of their treatment in con-
ventional romantic comedy, and extended their imaginative resonance
by making the conflict of generations one between “grandfathers” and
“granddaughters” not, as is usual, between “fathers” and “sons.”
These important revisions and extensions of conventional motifs of
romantic comedy are made even more enthralling by the way Soyinka
particularizes the triangular play between Baroka, Sidi and Lakunle. In
general, the power and interest of dramatic action come primarily from
the force of the personalities of characters and the simultaneous balance
and tension between protagonists and antagonists. Though Baroka’s vi-
tality, cunning, and wit dominate the play and assure his eventual triumph
over Sidi and Lakunle, Soyinka has taken care to invest great dramatic
interest in the other two characters as well. Moreover, the play of conflict
and opposition is constantly shifting and moves from Lakunle and Sidi to
Lakunle and Baroka and finally to Baroka and Sidi. It is also noteworthy
that each of these characters, acting either as protagonist or antagonist in
the shifting centers of conflict in the play, is able to deploy considerable
improvisations of rhetoric that advance his or her personal interests and
desires. Additionally, it is these rhetorical improvisations that give the
language of the play its very rich, suggestive texture.
The lighthearted, convivial treatment of the battle of the sexes in
this play should not blunt our perception of the seriousness of purpose
and the layers of meaning that Soyinka manages to infuse into the dra-
matic action. Each major point in the unraveling of this battle in the
plot is used to deepen Soyinka’s exploration of the play’s themes of gen-
erational conflicts, progress versus reaction, and cant versus sparkling
vitality. Sidi’s visit to Baroka’s bedroom to taunt him about his presumed
impotence provides both the advantage Baroka needs to consummate
his sexual conquest and the occasion for the two characters, across bar-
riers of gender and age, to discover shared values and spiritual kinship.
This is indeed why Sidi is able to accept the seduction that makes her
the latest addition to Baroka’s harem. Similarly, Sadiku’s ritual dance
of victory over Baroka’s “impotence” – which she envisions as a cele-
bration of the symbolic victory of womankind over the male gender –
provides the occasion for an encounter with Lakunle, who then reveals
the absurdities of his schemes of bringing “progress” and modernity to
the village. In this manner deeper layers of meaning and wider frames of