(Ebook) A Satirical Reading of Wole Soyinka’s A Play of Giants by Ademola Adenigbo, Matthew Alugbin

(Ebook) A Satirical Reading of Wole Soyinka’s A Play of Giants by Ademola Adenigbo, Matthew Alugbin

A Satirical Reading of Wole Soyinka’s A Play of GiantsSatire is the literary art of diminishing a subject by making it ridiculous and evoking towards its attitudes manner in which the follies and foibles or vices are unmasked by the satirist. The great modern age of satire was the neo-classic period when the satiric spirit was everywhere present and a return was made to formal verse satire. This paper examines how Soyinka has responded to the socio-political and economic situation in Africa by creatingA Play of Giants. It also examines how Soyinka, a sensitive playwright, inA Play of Giantsmirrors events in the African society in such a daring and imaginative manner by satirizing them. The findings reveal that Soyinka presents his characters as hollow men to show their worthlessness and emptiness despite being at the helms of power. Soyinka reveals the hollowness of the characters exposing their linguistic incompetence. This study identifies some devices technically deployed by Soyinka to include irony, humour, wit, sarcasm andsymbolism. Through the use of satire, Soyinka targets African political leaders who have become monsters because of the powers they wield. Wole Soyinka uses satire to raise the consciousness of the people and prick the conscience of the ruling political elite in Africa.