Hegelian Dialectic Structures in Selected Plays of Emeka Nwabueze

Hegelian Dialectic Structures in Selected Plays of Emeka Nwabueze.

ABSTRACT

The trend of the critical corpus on Emeka Nwabueze’s plays reveals a progression towards truncated scholarship as opinions on them are mostly stereotypical, neglecting the philosophical issues that provide an insight into their universal value. There is need for a fresh insight on the plays devoid of prejudices from previous readings to discourage possible critical redundancy.

This study adopted the historical-descriptive design and the theoretical framework was anchored on Phenomenology and Hegelian Dialectics.

The phenomenological approach enabled an analysis and description of data not hampered by presuppositions; and the Dialectic method offered a platform for interrogating the opposing perspectives in the plays, to determine  how they constitute a dynamic for meaning formation.

The objectives of this study were to: (i) ascertain the comprehensiveness and balance of the critical corpus on Emeka Nwabueze’s dramaturgy, (ii) explore the possibilities of Hegelian Dialectics as a legitimate model for discovering the philosophical essence of the selected plays and (iii) analyze the selected plays phenomenologically in order to establish their universal values.

The plays purposively selected for this study are Spokesman for the Oracle (1986/2011), Guardian of the Cosmos (1990), A Dance of the Dead (1991/2003/2007), When the Arrow Rebounds (1991/2005), Echoes of Madness (2001) The Dragon’s Funeral (2005) and Lachrymose (2014).

This entailed the deconstruction and reconstruction of structures of ideological exchange and oppositions in the selected plays.

The conclusion of this study is that a definitive dialectic structure, which clearly follows the Hegelian scheme of Thesis-Antithesis-Synthesis mediates the plots of the plays and represents the core of their dramatic essence.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page———— i

Approval page—- ii

Certification—- iii

Dedication——– iv

Acknowledgements——- v

Table of contents——— vi

Abstract———– ix

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

• Background of the Study————- 1
• Statement of the Problem——- 2
• Objectives of the Study———- 4
• Research Questions——– 4
• Significance of the Study——- 5
• Scope of the Study—— 5
• Theoretical Framework———— 7
• Research Methodology—– 12

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

• Empirical Literature Review———- 13
• Theoretical Literature Review—— 28
  • The Phenomenological Perspective——– 28
  • Hegelian Dialectics—– 33

CHAPTER THREE: DIALECTICAL ANALYSES OF THE SELECTED PLAYS

• Appearance and Reality as Dialectic Catalysts in Spokesman for the Oracle————– 46
• The Dialectic of Ancestral Transgression and Lineal Calamity in Guardian of the Cosmos. 66 3.3Psychological Projection and the Dialectic Tension in A Dance of the Dead——- 81
• The Dialectics of Individual Autonomy and Communal Affirmation in When the Arrow Rebounds 99
• Desecration, Retribution and Cosmic Balance as Dialectic Structure in Echoes of Madness.- 119

• Dissidence, Scapegoatism, and the Dialectic Tensity in The Dragon’s Funeral———– 136
• Intergenerational and Gender Conflicts as Dialectic Structure in Lachrymose——- 151

CHAPTER FOUR: HEGEL AND NWABUEZE: COMPARATIVE PARADIGMS

• Retributive Justice————— 176
• Sense of Community———– 179
• The Master-Slave Relationship——- 182
• The Tragic Perspective——- 184

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION

• Summary———- 186
• Findings——– 188

REFERENCES

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INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study.

The volume of critical opinions on Emeka Nwabueze’s plays and the fact that so many of them are recommended texts in many Nigerian schools and have been widely performed on stage and screen is sufficient evidence to assume that many people are, or appear to be, fascinated by Nwabueze’s drama.

Several factors are responsible for the popularity of the plays. The most obvious of these factors are the topicality of the play’s themes, the lucidity of their language, and the extraordinary engagement of their plot as well as the very imaginative character portrayals that connect with the reality of most readers and audience members.

But it appears that many critics do not go beyond the surface meanings of the plays. It seems there are so many who do not really understand the thought embedded in the plays, despite their fascination with them.

That is not to suggest that nobody understands the plays. After all, as Paulo Coelho says in  Brida, “Nothing in the world is ever completely wrong… even a stopped clock is right twice a day” (77).

However, there appears to be too much preoccupation with formalistic considerations, and little concern for the thought and the philosophical dimensions of the plays, among most critics.

One gets disturbed by the critical implications, for scholarship, of some disingenuous and putative opinions that are put forward about some of the plays.

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REFERENCES

Abrams, M.H. and Geoffrey Harpham.A Glossary of Literary Terms.Eighth Edition. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2005.
Abani, Rebecca O. “Gender Emancipation and Political Maneuvering in Emeka Nwabueze’s The Dragon’s Funeral”. In NgoziAnyachonkeya. Ed. A Lion on the Ijele Dance: A Festschrift in Honour of Professor P.Emeka Nwabueze. Abakaliki: Ojiaka Press, 2015. pp.79-87.
Abhedananda, Swami. Doctrine of Karma: A Study in the Philosophy and Practice of Work. Third Edition. Calcutta: Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 1947.
Adagboyin, Asomwan “Spokesman for the Oracle: A Play on Profligacy in Nigerian Society”. In Uche-ChinemereNwaozuzu. Ed. Theatre and New Horizons: Selected Essays on Emeka Nwabueze. Enugu: Abic Books, 2011 pp. 247-251.
Akoh, Ameh Dennis and Oja P. Egwemi. “Tradition and Social Commentary in KaluUka’sIkhamma and A Harvest for Ants”, in Effiong E. Johnson and Stephen E. Inegbe. Eds. A Road Well Conquered: KaluUka, Literature and Pedagogy. Kent: Alpha Crownes Publishers, 2014. pp.53-67.