Wole Soyinka Summary

Biography EssayUntil he became, in October 1986, the first black African writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, Wole Soyinka was probably best known within his own country, Nigeria, as a... Read more

Until he became, in October 1986, the first black African writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, Wole Soyinka was probably best known within his own country, Nigeria, as a political acti... Read more

Critical Essay by Alan Brien Mr. Soyinka is a fluent, funny and angry West African, but he has not yet begun to understand how to work out a verse or to organise a play…. Mr. Soyinka'... Read more

Critical Essay by Margaret Laurence Wole Soyinka's writing often seems like a juggling act. He can keep any number of plates—and valuable plates, at that—spinning in the air all ... Read more

In the following review, Okome identifies From Zia with Love as one of Soyinka's “power plays,” praising the work and commenting that Soyinka has “produced a living text, b... Read more

In the following essay, Gates explores Soyinka's unique and influential position in African literature, culture, and politics, arguing that Soyinka “bears a relation to the poetics of Af... Read more

In the following review, O'Brien examines how Soyinka balances comedy and tragedy in The Beatification of Area Boy. At sunrise, Judge, a disbarred and derelict lawyer, wakes as usual on the ... Read more

In the following review, Mutua argues that The Open Sore of a Continent: A Personal Narrative of the Nigerian Crisis is a powerful nonfiction account of political repression in contemporary Nigeria an... Read more

In the following review, Berger asserts that, despite some stylistic flaws, The Open Sore of a Continent: A Personal Narrative of the Nigerian Crisis is both an “useful and moving” work.... Read more

In the following interview, Soyinka discusses multiculturalism, his literary and political interests, and the future of Nigeria. [Ojewuyi and Garrett]: The opening lines of the title song on the al... Read more

In the following review, White discusses the recurring political motifs in Soyinka's essays and dramas, citing The Open Sore of a Continent: A Personal Narrative of the Nigerian Crisis and Kong... Read more

In the following review, Nazareth contends that Soyinka presents a chilling portrayal of contemporary Nigerian politics in The Open Sore of a Continent: A Personal Narrative of the Nigerian Crisis. ... Read more

In the following review, Vaughan argues that The Open Sore of a Continent: A Personal Narrative of the Nigerian Crisis is both a courageous critique of the Nigerian government as well as a celebration... Read more

In the following review, Howe examines the parallels between The Burden of Memory, the Muse of Forgiveness and Antjie Krog's Country of My Skull. South Africa and Nigeria are, actually or po... Read more

In the following review, Thorpe offers a positive assessment of Art, Dialogue, and Outrage: Essays on Literature and Culture, calling the work “a rare, vigorous, and cogent writer's apol... Read more

In the following essay, Nouryeh explores how The Bacchae of Euripides: A Communion Rite, Soyinka's adaptation of the play by Euripides, significantly alters the role that gender politics played... Read more

In the following essay, Adu-Gyamfi evaluates Soyinka's use of African oral traditions in Ogun Abibiman, noting that the collection's vocabulary “reflects a highly conscious sense ... Read more

In the following review, Dasenbrock explores the parallels between Aké: The Years of Childhood—the memoir of Soyinka's youth—and Ìsarà: A Voyage around Essay&... Read more

In the following essay, Roy and Kirpal discuss how the male characters in The Interpreters and Season of Anomy function as traditional African male archetypes. Although several articles have been w... Read more

The poet uses irony to depict the absurdity of racism and create comical effects in the poem. In the beginning of the poem, the speaker starts his "self-confession" when he reveals his skin color to... Read more