Clash of Cultures in Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel

Abstract

Africa's most renowned dramatist, Wole Soyinka, was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1986. Nobel Prize in Writing winner Wole Soyinka marked the beginning of Nigerian literature. One of Nigeria's greatest writers, Soyinka, has been dubbed the "Bringer of Light to African Literatures." Since 1986, Nigerian students have enthusiastically taken to studying Nigerian literature, and institutions around the country have established departments of Nigerian literature. Various authors from various fields have had their work published. With their accomplishments and finalist status in national and international literary competitions, several of these writers have contributed significantly to the richness and diversity of Nigerian writing. The Lion and the Jewel, a drama by Wole Soyinka, is set in Ilunjunle, a Yoruba hamlet in West Africa. Published by Oxford University Press, this book was released in 1963. This paper is a small way to show how his play The Lion and the Jewel is full of cultural conflict, ribald comedy, and love. The old culture, which is represented by the people of Ilunjunle, is shown by Baroka, Sidi, and the rest, and the new culture, which is shown by Lakunle, who is educated and a schoolteacher by profession and is influenced by western ways.