MYTH AND THE AFRICAN PLAYWRIGHT: OSOFICAN’S CRAFT IN MOROUNTODUN

Abstract

The use of materials from folklore is one of the most sustained features of creative writing universally. Mythology is the greatest source of the said materials, and among the genres, drama appears to be mythology’s greatest client. One interesting aspect of scholarship on such myth-based works is the examination of the authors’ handling of the source material. Femi Osofisan’s Morountodun is one of the well-known African plays that are rooted in mythic sources. And many a scholar, including the author of the play himself, has commented on the handling of the myth in the play, but their comments affirm the same idea of a subversive use of the myth. None has tried to closely examine how the subversion is realized, a task which should probe the intricacies of the manipulation of the myth in the play. Thus, this neglected but inspiring aspect of the handling of the source material is the major concern enabling him to head the play towards a denouement that is different from that of its source.