[5] He says that in post-colonial Africa, much of the blame over the suffering incurred by native Africans was the result of the colonial powers. Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Function: _error_handler, File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/page/index.php The only way deemed best to avert this was to kill him What happens to this child? Things Fall Apart (African Trilogy, Book 1). The Ogun priest made attempts to hide the truth from Odewale whereas queen Ojuola had already gone into her bedroom and stabbed herself to death (because it's now clear to her that she had married her first son who killed king Adetusa, her husband). : The Gods Are Not to Blame Book Review Negus Dafidi Says. Odewale banishes Aderopo from the kingdom. His later dramas include The Gods Are Not to Blame (produced 1968; published 1971), a retelling of Sophocles' Oedipus Rexin imaginative verse; Kurunmi and the Prodigal (produced 1969; published as Kurunmi, 1971), written for the second Ife Festival of Arts; Ovonramwen Nogbaisi (produced 1971; published 1974), about the last ruler of the Benin empire; and Holding Talks (1979). It particularly highlights the emotional language used in the drama. [13], File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_modal.php Because of its subject matter, The Gods Are Not to Blame is the most accessible of his plays. Language. The play is very rich with oral traditions. Similar in nature to the Greek play, Oedipus Tyrannus his royal parents receive a prophecy from Baba Fakunle that Odewale would grow up to kill his parents. He attended St. Cyprian's School in Port Harcourt from 1945 to 1949, St Jude's School, Lagos, from 1951 to 1952 and the Methodist Boys High School in Lagos, before travelling to the United States in 1959 to study at Boston University, where he obtained a BA in fine arts. He began to run from one town to another until he finally landed at kutuje, a town that had recently lost their king; 'a king he himself murdered', king Adetusa. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness. ola Rotimi's book is very inspiring.i learnt that what we say,do,watch,portray and everything else around us determines our destiny.trully the gods are not to blame for whatever happens.I believe odewale's fate would have been averted if he had stayed with his real parents. King Adetusa: Former king of Kutuje. The fourth chapter will deal with the similarities and the contrasts in . When Odewale became an adult, an uncle of his told him of his cursed destiny in a proverbial manner. After a dispute, Baba Fakunle calls Odewale a "murderer," alluding to the assault that occurred on the yam patch in Ede, in which Odewale kills King Adetusa, unknowingly his father. Much of classical Greek drama derived from . [2] To this Rotimi argues that while some of the suffering may have been the result of attempted colonial conquests, the lingering animosity that is felt and dispersed among fellow Nigerians, by fellow Nigerians, cannot be blamed solely on an outside party. Rotimi, in response to the Nigerian Civil War, says that the root cause of the strife among Nigerians, of the bloodshed, was in their lingering mutual ethnic distrust which culminate in open hostility. "The Gods Are Not To Blame" is Ola Rotimi's retelling of Sophocles' "Oedipus The King" using a traditional African setting and characters. He makes use of wry humour to seek a level playing ground for resolution of the biases men and women nurse about one another and which affect mutual co-existence of the two. According to Barbara Goff and Michael Simpson, "the play as an allegory of colonization and, indeed decolonization"[6] The events concerning colonization in The Gods Are Not To Blame represent politics in African history. Odewale moved out of the town of kutuje, with his oldest child to lead the way. in his play 1he gods are not to blame.t Whereas the action of Soyinka's play is set in Greece, Rotimi has transplanted his play to Africa and has also changed the names of the characters. (1971) Ovonramven Nogbaisithe title character simply luxuriates in the grandeur of his office. She was given a prophecy, along with King Adetusa, that their child, Odewale, would one day grow up to usurp the thrown, killing his father and marry his mother. Odebunmi (2008) then says, language, therefore, expresses the patterns and structures of culture, and consequently influences human thinking, manners and judgement. Please Register here or Login here to contribute to this topic by commenting in the box below. The book is a great read, one that will have you envisioning every aspect of it, making it seem that you are actually watching a theatre performance. Recognizing the quirk ways to acquire this books Gods Are Not To Blame Novel is additionally useful. The Gods are Not to Blame Ola Rotimi Oxford University Press, 1985 - African drama (English) - 72 pages 5 Reviews Reviews aren't verified, but Google checks for and removes fake content when it's. WhatsApp The second and third chapters deal with the plays of each playwright: Oedipe by Andre Gide and The Gods Are Not to Blame by Ola Rotimi. There are . Please try again. that we shld not let our temper let us into other bad things that we are going to regret later in the future because it is going to affect us very badly like Odewale's temper lead him to his grave that should not happen to any reasonable humanbeign who have consience. : The Gods Are Not to Blame Book Review. The Gods are not to blame was first performed in Nigeria at the Ife Festival of the Arts in 1968, has since been staged with great success across Africa Europe and the USA. The leadership in the play forms a comparison to that of the King and many of the townspeople. Anyone seeking to familiarize themselves with african folklore or get a gist of the community setting must definately read this book. The manner in which he kills his father is revealed in a flashback when his childhood friend, Alaka, comes to Kutuje to ask him why he was not in the village of Ede as he said he would be when he departed at age thirteen. : To this Rotimi argues that while some of the suffering may have been the result of attempted colonial conquests, the lingering animosity that is felt and dispersed among fellow Nigerians, by fellow Nigerians, cannot be blamed solely on an outside party. He is summoned by Odewale to ask of a way to rid the suffering of his kingdom. The practices exhibited in Yoruban culture show the structure of both a social and economical factors. A blind soothsayer, Baba Fakunle, is brought in to share with Odewale the murderer of the old king. To this end, he publicly delivered his findings by stating that the reason for the plague is a man who killed their former king. Line: 107 Out of fear and respect, Aderopo having got answers from the shrine of Orunmila in Ile-Ife was reluctant to tell the king about the outcome of his findings in public. Femi Elufowoju Jr had his first theatre experience in 1975, at the age of 11, when he saw a revival of this very play, performed in a reconstructed Greek amphitheatre at a university campus in Ife; and brought it to the UK shores as a British leading theatre director under the company name Tiata Fahodzi. In 1965, he married Hazel Mae Guadreau, from Gloucester Massachusettes; Hazel also studied at Boston University, where she majored in opera, voice and music education. (1966) Our Husband Has Gone Mad Againdepicts the cocoa farmer and businessman Lejoka-Brown as a self-seeking, opportunistic leader who could make better contributions to his country outside of the political arena. An adaptation of the Greek classic Oedipus Rex, the story centres on Odewale, who is lured into a false sense of security, only to somehow get caught up in a somewhat consanguineous trail of events by the gods of the land.. Tororo, Tororo, Roro is a coincidental meeting of two fellows from Man Talk, Woman Talk, Tunji Oginni and Philomena James. Message: Undefined variable: user_membership, File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_modal.php In 1965, he married Hazel Mae Guadreau, from Gloucester Massachusettes; Hazel also studied at Boston University, where she majored in opera, voice and music education. Brian Tamaki has once again blamed a natural event on the wrath of God, this time telling his followers that Cyclone Gabrielle was brought to Aotearoa by porn, abortion and gay rights. Rotimi seals Odewale's fate by having an omen placed over his life at birth. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Rotimi spent the second half of his last creative decade reworking two of his plays Man Talk, Woman Talk and also Tororo, Tororo, Roro and the result, unpublished at the time of his death in 2002, have now been published under the title The Epilogue. The use of myths with dances in the play. (1968) The Gods Are Not To Blamean adaptation of the Greek classic Oedipus Rex; the main character gets trapped by pride, ignorance and the caprices of the divinities. Published Feb 4, 2018. [clarification needed] To prevent this from occurring, King Adetusa orders for Odewale to be killed. Alaka: Odewale's childhood friend. , Publisher Rotimi is sure to be remembered as a model in the literary genre whose views have shaped the conduct of the theatre and whose plays have demonstrated the power of drama to shape the thinking of the society and attempted to solve some of the problems encountered in everyday living. The Gods are not to blame was first performed in Nigeria at the Ife Festival of the Arts in 1968, has since been staged with great success across Africa Europe and the USA 88 pages, Kindle Edition Published November 26, 2017 Book details & editions About the author Ola Rotimi 21 books101 followers The old man happens to also be his father, though Odewale is not aware of this at the time. Near the play's end, Gbonka retells this event to Odewale, which leads to the discovery that Odewale was in fact the son of the former king, and the son of the current queen, and his birth mother, Ojuola. If there is any theme that stood out for me, it was the inevitability of reaping what you sow. This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers. This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers. What the author arrives at is not to prove which gender is superior but to show the complementary roles of men and women. : , File size Odewales character experiences different phases of confusion, almost painful in its helplessness, that the reader will become sympathetic to his plight, cursing fate for dealing him with such a heavy hand. "Proverbs deal with issues that border on the values, norms, institutions and artifacts of a society across the whole gamut of the people's experiences. I am a teacher and have my MFA in playwriting, so I feel strongly that plays are meant to be performed. Odewale was henceforth disturbed with his identity, and subsequently went in search of answers. 87 pages. 2ND CHIEF: It is old age. In the last part Odewale leaves. We additionally meet the expense of variant types and along with type of the books to browse. The story is the sad tale of a man named Odewale who has been destined from birth to kill his father and marry his mother. Odewale placed a curse on anyone who attempted to stop him, for they wandered as far as possible from the land of kutuje, thus fufilling the promise he made on whoever had killed king Adetusa, his father. In the Yoruban culture, like many others, have symbolic. Call up your raw anger, and in the blind-ness of it, strike me dead! Line: 478 When it is revealed by the Ogun Priest that Ojuola is, in fact, Odewale's mother, she goes to her bedroom and kills herself. Please try again. Rotimi, in response to the Nigerian Civil War, says that the root cause of the strife among Nigerians, of the bloodshed, was in their lingering mutual ethnic distrust which culminate in open hostility. The contents of the paragraphs are not complete and not legible, Two-Hour Literature & Fiction Short Reads, Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon. (1966) Our Husband Has Gone Mad Againdepicts the cocoa farmer and businessman Lejoka-Brown as a self-seeking, opportunistic leader who could make better contributions to his country outside of the political arena. Man Talk, Woman Talk is humorous, as quintessential comedies from the author can be. Odewale's horrible fate, whether it had been the Seer being silent, or even his parents not ordering his death. Scholar Odebunmi says, the concept of this is to understand referring to the actual context of a word said in a play (dialogue) has developed similarities with speech and how it works in culture. An adaptation of the Greek classic Oedipus Rex, set in an indeterminate period of a Yoruba kingdom, the story centers on Odewal. It will not become a unity of the habit for you to get unbelievable further at all. The names of the children are: Adewale, Adebisi, Oyeyemi and Adeyinka. was published in 1991. There is a great deal of wit in the work and the setting here is the university environment where the youthful contenders are idealistic. The Gods Are Not To Blame is a 1968 play and a 1971 novel by Ola Rotimi. Rotimi, a patriot who shunned the attraction of the West and Europe and returned home to contribute his own quota to nation building, was a rare breed. Want to Read. The Gods are not to blame was first performed in Nigeri .more Get A Copy Kindle Store $5.00 Amazon Stores This is a play of three acts and ten (10) scenes (act 1: 2 scenes, act 2: 4 scenes, act 3: 4 scenes). The priest of Ifa, Baba Fakunle (a blind soothsayer) cast his opele and said; This child would kill his father and marry his own mother. The blind-ness of it, strike me dead Negus Dafidi Says author be. Him of his office title character simply luxuriates in the Yoruban culture, like many,!, an uncle of his office to browse this entire Review has been hidden because of.! 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