Odewale begins to make accusations of a plot being made against him, spearheaded by Aderopo, to one of the village chiefs in response to Baba Fakunle's silence. As the queen of the kingdom of Kutuje, she finds herself serving as Odewale's conscience, calming him when he begins to act irrationally. Odewale married queen Ojuola who had four children for him. 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. Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2014. Please support Len Academy by becoming a sponsor, patron or by advert placement: Literature in English Scheme of Work, SS1, 1st Term, Literature in English Scheme of Work, SS1, 2nd Term, Literature in English Scheme of Work, SS1, 3rd Term, Please read on Essays: Learn how to write Essays here. Odewale is confronted by Gbonka, a messenger, who tells of the event that lead to King Adetusa's end. The Gods Are Not to Blame is influenced by Yoruba and Yoruban culture. "The Gods Are Not To Blame" is Ola Rotimi's retelling of Sophocles' "Oedipus The King" using a traditional African setting and characters. It was launched again in February 2004, Bisi Adigun and Jimmy Fay's Arambe Productions presenting what Roddy Doyle described as an exhilarating and exciting version of the play to the O'Reilly Theatre. The Gods Are Not To Blame is a 1968 play and a 1971 novel by Ola Rotimi. 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. The Gods are not to blame was first performed in Nigeri .more Get A Copy Kindle Store $5.00 Amazon Stores Call, Click here to read on Len Academy Smart School Software. At the end, the reader is left with a ringing conclusion one can never outrun fate. What is the theme of the gods are not to blame? [nb 1]. He insulted Odewale by calling him a thief but Odewale did nothing. king odewale who told will kil his father to marry his mother, in his attempt to run away from this to happen, ran to fulfil it. All the messages conveyed, although bring the play together and provide the audience with insightful readings, the play may also serve as a symbol as to how some of the African societies model the structure presented in the play. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions. Does this item contain inappropriate content? [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. Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group. Read more. : Simply suggest, the use of language is part of culture. We additionally meet the expense of variant types and along with type of the books to browse. Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2009. The village elders gather round to discuss the allegations that have been made against Odewale. If not for the educational benefit just read it for fun. One day, an old man accompanied by five bodyguards invaded his farmland and claimed the land to be his. The play was revived by Talawa Theatre Company in a well received production in 1989, sparking interest in the play's themes. It reminded Nigerians of one of its most . : The Gods Are Not to Blame Book Review. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. The Gods Are Not To Blame is a 1968 play and a 1971 novel by Ola Rotimi. [2] : 'The Gods Are Not To Blame' is a 1968 play and a 1971 novel by Ola Rotimi. Odewale's horrible fate, whether it had been the Seer being silent, or even his parents not ordering his death. After 11 peaceful years had passed in the reign of Odewale as king of kutuje, a mysterious sickness struck the land and plagued the people of kutuje; of which many died from. Diminutive in size but a giant in drama in Africa, he was one of the best things that could have happened to the literary community. , Word Wise Copyright document.write(new Date().getFullYear());, All rights reserved. the gods are not to blame - ola rotimi (full story, summary and analysis)the gods are not to blame - ola rotimi ( summary and analysis)the setting, backgroun. English. I liked it but was confused until I realized the pages were not in order. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club thats right for you for free. It particularly highlights the emotional language used in the drama. Why, I have not killed you yet; I have not even touched you and you call me - BABA FAKUNLE: Go on, touch me. . Interesting enough interpretation of Oedipus Rex but I think it is one of these plays that you have to see to get the full effect of. Ogundele had pity on the baby and adopted him. 2ND CHIEF: It is old age. Abstract. : The practices exhibited in Yoruban culture show the structure of both a social and economical factors. Meanwhile, Alaka told him that the people he thought were his parents were not his real parents. 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. Baba Fakunle: A blind, old man, Baba Fakunle serves as a soothsayer to those who seek him. Odewale begins to make accusations of a plot being made against him, spearheaded by Aderopo, to one of the village chiefs in response to Baba Fakunle's silence. Owing, in part, to political conditions in Nigeria, Rotimi spent much of the 1990s living in the Caribbean and the United States, where he taught at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. It's about having power over the land and Odewale no longer has the power because the old man took it from him, which is why he turns a hoe, which is a gardening tool, into a sword. this book is very interesting i will encourage every one to read it. I believe this scholar is claiming to the idea that proverbs deal with issues in the Yoruban culture. Odewale further said that he could no longer stay on his farmland because human blood had been shed on it. 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. The son was their first baby. Function: _error_handler, File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_harry_book.php The scene is a court though devoid of the usual technicalities of court rooms. The gods are not to blame: 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. Although his adding of an allegory of colonization and decolonization was a nice bonus, and I did love the ending scene and quote: "It is always best to keep your words soft and sweet, you might never know when you'd have to eat them". He has been called "a complete man of the theatre an actor, director, choreographer and designer who created performance spaces, influenced by traditional architectural forms.". These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. It is an adaptation of the Greek classic Oedipus Rex. Gbonka was present when King Adetusa was slain at the hands of Odewale. Had to take the staples out and put the pages in chronological order then start reading again. The Gods Are Not to blame is full of irony, despair, and disillusions. It began with the prologue: In the land of Kutuje, a son was born to King Adetusa and his wife, Queen Ojuola, for they were the king and queen of the land of kutuje. Later, Ojuola explains that Baba Fakunle made her kill her first born son, convinced that her first son had brought bad luck. The story centres on Odewale, a man born with a destiny he tries to run away from, but inadvertently fulfills them, anyway. He added that they saw a man in the bush of Ipetu with a baby wrapped in white cloth with his arms and feet tied with strings of cowries. His orders concerning this quest as quoted from the play (story) states thus: 'We have sent Aderopo to Ile-Ife, the land of Orunmila, to ask the all-seeing god why we are in pain.' 1220 KB. Write your thoughts. This man left his hometown and in the process stumbled upon the people of Kutuje at a time . 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). You have remained in right site to begin getting this info. Goff, Barbara & Simpson, Michael, Back to the Motherland: Crossroads In The Black Aegean (97). It is during the course of the play that Odewale reveals to Alaka why it was that he left the village of Ede, where Odewale said he would live after leaving Ishokun when he was thirteen. Rotimi seals Odewale's fate by having an omen placed over his life at birth. The play is very rich with oral traditions. [4] In his work, Rotimi took traditional Yoruban myths, songs, and other traditional African elements, and applied it to the Greek tragedy structure. There was a problem loading your book clubs. Two examples of the way proverbs do this can be cited from the Yoruba culture", Dictionary of Literary Biography Complete Online, "Preview: The Gods Are Not To Blame, Arcola Theatre, London", "Ola Rotimi: The Man, The Playwright, and the Producer on the Nigerian Theater Scene", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Gods_Are_Not_to_Blame&oldid=1101435945. 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. In the 'gods are not to blame', the king's messenger who disobeyed the gods of the land in what he taught was a compassionate act is _____. as mission from the gods to carry out on earth (The gods are not to Blame, 2). However, his intentions were to privately relate his findings to king Odewale; but unfortunately, Odewale's act of transparency, alongside his pride made him demand for a public answer to Aderopo's enquiry. The Gods Are Not To Blame made its dbut in Nigeria in 1968. Perhaps my imagination is not strong enough to see the dimensions, or perhaps too strong. Function: view, File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/index.php Later plays, such as If: A Tragedy of the Ruled (1983) and Hopes of the Living Dead (1988), premiered at the University of Port Harcourt and was a common play in OAU Drama Department. Line: 192 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. The use of myths with dances in the play. The son was their first baby. 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. Function: _error_handler, File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/page/index.php On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Before the arrival of Gbonka, Alaka told Odewale of his fathers death. In fufillment to their custom, the son was taken to the priest of Ifa to tell what the boys future would be. Rotimi often examined Nigeria's history and local traditions in his works. 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. The gratifying Who is to blame in the play? Contact Len Academy for a standard website at an affordable price. 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. His last production was a staging of Man Talk, Woman Talk at the French Institute in Lagos, Nigeria. Get help and learn more about the design. As the play comes to a close, King Odewale and the townspeople are still trying to figure out the curse on the village. Although he is a custodian of culture who inspires people, he does not actively participate in their struggles. Try again. "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. Man Talk, Woman Talk is humorous, as quintessential comedies from the author can be. The Gods Are Not To Blame is a 1968 play and a 1971 novel by Ola Rotimi. The leadership in the play forms a comparison to that of the King and many of the townspeople. (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. What really stricks me about this book now is the title Rotimi chose. 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. Odewale confesses that his life spiraled out of control when he killed a man. His last production was a staging of Man Talk, Woman Talk at the French Institute in Lagos, Nigeria. Rotimi was one of the clutch of prominent Nigerian playwrights who emerged in West Africa in the 1960s, the most notable being Soyinka. Rotimi's play does so not only by dramatizing this myth with certain ironic instance, but also by juxtaposing this myth with a Yoruba model of cultural transmission. 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. King Odewales progress towards a full knowledge of the murder and incest that must be expatiated before his kingdom can be restored to health is unfolded with a dramatic intensity heightened by the richness of the plays Nigerian setting. Language. In conclusion, Google used its doodle to honour the late writer on the 13th of April, 2022 to mark his birthday. 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. , Publisher Rotimi's main intervention is to dispense with the gradual revelation of the truth of Sophocles' original: here, the . Aderopo is also accused of spreading the rumor that Odewale was the one who murdered the old king, Adetusa. Please try again. (1985) Hopes of The Living DeadRotimi here depicts a different kind of leader: a selfless, result-oriented, committed leadership complemented by a followership that believes in the good of the generality of its members through the application of itself to the cause that is beneficial. Baba Fakunle tells him that the source of the kingdom's ails lay with him. Ola Rotimis works are also a social satire and this publication will spur renewed interest in his satires. November 26, 2017. As the play comes to a close, King Odewale and the townspeople are still trying to figure out the curse on the village. Odewale: The king of Kutuje, who had risen to power by unknowingly murdering the old king, King Adetusa, whom, also not to his knowledge, was his father. Designed by Instead of legal jargon, there is humour, arguments and counter arguments. The Gods Are Not to Blame (Three Crowns Books) Paperback - April 4, 1974 by O. Rotimi (Author) 5 ratings See all formats and editions Kindle $5.00 Read with Our Free App Paperback In this play the theme of Sopocles' Oedipus Rex is skillfully transplanted to African soil. Kindly share this article via the links below: LinkedIn An ending that really breaks one's heart. Aderopo gives good news to Odewale from Orunmila concerning the sickness going around the kingdom, but along with the good news comes the bad. 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