Structure and meaning in Soyinka's works: a case study of The Road

Abstract

To an average student or a graduate of Literature, the works of Wole Soyinka are obscure and incomprehensible. The Road, one of Soyinka’s most discussed plays, is not free of these obscure and incomprehensibility claims. In fact, The Road has often been described by critics as “an enigma” and “a problem play”. Others have attempted a metaphysical interpretation of the play. One of the reasons why The Road is associated with these views is the complexity of its structure. This arises as a result of the organization of the various units of the text and the dramatic techniques deployed by the playwright. This paper, therefore, is an exploration of the structure of this play. At the end, it is observed that despite the complexity, the structure projects the meaning of the play. This, in a way, suggests that the artistic merits of the play lies essentially in its structure