1.1 Introduction
Modern African Literature is believed by some critics to be a transition form spoken words to the written form of it, especially in relation to the expression of African beliefs and world view. Thus, except for the language issue which alienates Modern African Literature from its root, the experiences expressed therein remain essentially African. To ensure the maintenance of African identity However, deliberate efforts are made by writers to reach the grassroots by switching over to vernacular as a more towards revolutionizing the contemporary African Literature, while some only limit their zeal to a full exploration of African values.
Furthermore, no definition of written literature can be said to be complete without a prior reference to its origin in whatever setting, be it, African or European. The literature of a set of people does not emerge from a vacuum. It is the fundamentals of a set of people that make up their written literature, whether these fundamentals are written or unwritten. Therefore, it is erroneous to stress the written aspect of literature alone and ignore the oral aspect. Whatever becomes written has been in existence in the unwritten form. The general consensus is that, written literature borrows some features form unwritten literature in terms of content and even style.
It is this situation that is the deployment of oral forms in the writing of Modern African writers that have become of interest to this writer. hence, in this project, we intend to study the features of oral literature that may be present in Wole Soyinka’s “The Beatification of Area Boy”.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study is to x-ray the Orature in Modern African Literature using Soyinka's the Beatification of Area Boy as a case study. Many works have been done on Soyinka’s plays and the other genres of literature. More particularly, this Beatification of Area Boy but we are not aware of a particular one on Orature in Modern African Literature therefore, an in depth analysis of Modern African Literature which in fact forms the main principles of the entire play will be made so that readers can appreciate the beauty of the work and understand it better.
1.3 Justification / Significance of Study
The basis of this research work is to make clear the relevance of Oral literature in Modern African Literature, using: Wole Soyinka’s “The Beatification of Area Boy” which seems to have a number of oratory features embedded in it. This research work, is a worthwhile exercise because, oral literature has its origin in the African literature which some critics regard has been non scholastic. Hence, this research work is going to make known its importance to the writing of the play, “The Beatification of Area Boy” and then to the Modern African Literature at large.
1.4 Scope of Study
This research work shall be restricted to examining oral literature in “The Beatification of Area Boy” relating it to the Modern African Literature. as many as possible elements of Orature found in “The Beatification of Area Boy” that can be related to the Modern African Literature shall be pointed out. As the research topic is Orature in Modern African Literature using Wole Soyinka’s the beatification of Area Boy as a case study. Some dramatic element in the Beatification of Area Boy shall also be considered.
1.5 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
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