SOURCE: "J. P. Clark's Song of a Goat: An Example of Nigerian Bourgeois Drama," in World Literature Written in English, Vol. 28, No. 1, Spring, 1988, pp. 35-40.

In the following essay, Nwabueze argues that classifying Song of a Goat as a "Greek tragedy" is erroneous, countering that it exemplifies a modern "bourgeois" drama.

John Pepper Clark is undoubtedly one of the most talented African writers. His plays, poetry, and critical essays have received serious critical acclaim from many quarters. But unfortunately, his Song of a Goat has not been placed in its generic family in dramatic criticism. Dramatic critics are accustomed to classifying plays by generic labels, especially tragedy, comedy and, perhaps, melodrama. This mode of classification creates a generic lacuna in dramatic criticism. Perhaps it was mis situation that prompted Northrop Frye to propose five archetypal modes: myth, romance, tragedy, comedy, and satire. One might complain that Frye leaves...