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Summary on lion and jewel by wole soyinka?
It just so happens that I was looking for the same thing, so here are two sets of notes I found:.
(1) from http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/anglophone/soyinka.html#lion(with a few …small revisions).
The Lion and the Jewel (1963).
This play is one of Soyinka's most popular. Despite occasional uses of unconventional devices, it is readily accessible and highly entertaining. Like Death and the King's Horseman, a much more serious work, it explores the value of traditional Yoruba ways vs. European innovations. Some modern readers object to its treatment of women and find the humor spoiled by the sexism. What is your reaction?.
Morning.
The play is set in the village of Ilujinle. Note Lakunle's age. Despite his behavior on occasion, he is essentially a lively young man. He tries to emulate European notions of courtesy by relieving Sidi of her burden, though carrying water is traditionally a women's task. His flirtatious opening speech may seem rather crude, but is typical of the kind of jesting that goes on in courtship. Sidi is not so much shocked as bored by Lakunle..
Sidi cleverly answers his insistence that she should abandon the traditional way of carrying loads on her head. Note the contrast between the ideas that Lakunle has derived from books about women's weakness and Sidi's answers based on experience. Baroka, the Bale (chief) of the village is a major character later in the play, here introduced as standing for tradition..
When Lakunle proposes to Sidi he is quoting words he has read in popular English books about marriage. Note that his pretentious metaphors are answered by her pithy proverb. "Bush" means "uncivilized," typical of people who live in the bush..
Their relationship is clarified when Sidi says she wants a bride-price. It is not that she lacks affection for Lakunle--what has passed before has been essentially good-natured sparring on her part. But she insists on the tradition which will prove her value in the eyes of the village. Lakunle, in his "Pulpit-declamatory" style, quotes to her lines from the wedding service which are in turn quoted from Genesis 2:24..
Sidi is eager to see the stranger's book. Notice how the conflict in the play which has been between Lakunle and Sidi is now complicated by the tension between Sidi and Baroka. How do you react to Sidi's celebration of her own beauty?.
The dance of the lost Traveler draws on Yoruba tradition and that of many other African peoples. Current events are often depicted and commented upon in dances involving costumes and pantomime. It is this sort of "street theater" which Soyinka sees as providing fertile ground for the development of drama in Africa . One of the problems with reading a play rather than seeing it performed, is that one skims quickly over what would be a very impressive high point in the production, with dancing and drumming building to a climax. Imagine this "dance" taking quite a long time and having much more dramatic impact than anything that has gone before. Note that Lakunle finally enters into the dance with enthusiasm. Despite his modern pretensions, he is underneath not so alien to Sidi and her comrades as one might at first suppose. The stranger had been photographing Sidi while she was bathing, and she quickly grabbed up her clothes to cover herself when she saw him..
Baroka gives Lakunle the traditional greeting and is displeased to get a European one in return. Far from being displeased by the dance, he insists on it being continued, playing the role he played in the original incident. When he tells Lakunle "You tried to steal our village maidenhead" he is speaking to the character Lakunle is playing, not the villager himself. He is telling him to go on acting. It is significant that Lakunle has been given the part of the stranger..
Noon.
"The Lion" is Baroka's nickname. It is common in many cultures for men to use elderly women as go-betweens to solicit a new bride. What do you think of the fact that Sidi seems to have learned that she is beautiful through the magazine photographs? How do the magazine photographs affect Sidi's perception of Baroka? The storm god Sango (often spelled "Shango" or "Xango") is a West African deity, the most famous of those to have survived the slave trade to the western hemisphere, where his name is invoked in such places as Bahia and Haiti, where African traditions linger on among the black inhabitants. Of what quality does Lakunle accuse Baroka?.
Laukunle's story is told through pantomime, in the form of another dance. Again it is important not to skip quickly over this passage, but to attempt to imagine it vividly enacted on stage. A matchet is a large knife used for clearing brush, machete in Spanish. Note how the Bale is worked into this "flashback." A bull-roarer is a carved piece of wood or stone which is whiled at the end of a long cord to produce a mysterious roaring sound, part of the religious traditions of many cultures. What do you think Lakunle's attitude is toward Baroka's success in diverting the railroad?.
The removal of body hair is a feature of many cultures, not--as is often supposed--of western ones alone..
Night.
Sadiku's glee at Baroka's impotence may be partly based on resentment at having been long abandoned by him as a lover; but there seems generally to be a tension between the Bale and his wives which roots his dominance over them in his sexual potency. Her story of the rusted key which could not open her treasure house is an obvious sexual metaphor. However, based on what we have just seen, she knows of his impotence only through what he has told her, not by first-hand experience as she claimed. Note the insistence on the power of women's rituals, from which men are banned. Note Sidi's glee in desiring to torment Baroka..
The wrestling match in Baroka's bedroom is of course a metaphor for the power struggle about to take place between himself and Sidi. Throughout this scene the Bale tries to throw Sidi off her balance by pretending not to know why she has come..
To "pull asses' ears" is to mockingly put one's fingers behind one's head to imitate a donkey's ears. Sidi mocks Baroka in her conversation with him. She uses metaphors to satirize his pursuit of young women. The "tappers" are palm-wine tappers. Baroka manages to keep throwing Sidi off balance in their conversation. In his description of Sadiku's activities as match-maker he quotes her typical line of chat. Sidi's respectful words in boasting of her traditional garment cause Baroka to call her "wise.".
Several small African nations make a large part of their national income by selling beautiful stamps to collectors abroad. It is not then too surprising that the Bale should view stamp sales as a major source of revenue. What is it the Bale says he dislikes about progress? How can you tell that Sidi is being bewildered by Baroka? Sidi is "overcome" by Baroka's words..
The third pantomime ironically depicts the triumph of women over a man just as the Bale is triumphing over a woman. Lakunle's description of the Bale's dungeons is probably a paranoid fantasy. "Mummers" are dancers who pantomime stories. Lakunle is expected to tip the mummers, like other people; but in this he adheres to the pattern established by his refusal to pay a bride price. He clings to modernism as an excuse for saving money, though the following description makes clear that he actually enjoys the performance..
Sidi is angry with Baroka, either because she has been seduced or because she has been deceived. Lankunle reacts with stereotypically heroic words of despair, but when he hears himself utter them, he recoils and changes metaphors. He reacts strongly to Sidi's loss of virginity. What are his motives? A "praise-singer" is a traditional poet-bard, often known as a griot , who sings the praises of whoever hires him. What is Lakunle's reaction to Sidi's seeming acceptance of his proposal?.
(2) From http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/stage2/reviews/th-mod017.html.
Synopsis.
The action takes place in the remote Nigerian village of Ilujinle, in the territory of the Yoruba people. Sidi is the local beauty, much admired by the village school teacher Lakunle (la-kun-li), who wants to make her his bride. She is not averse to his intentions, but insists he must pay her 'bride price' to maintain her reputation. Lakunle however, is a modernist, he has been to Lagos and is filled with modern ideas, consequently he is reluctant to fall in line with what he sees as an archaic tradition (at least that is his excuse, we surmise its more a case of penny-pinching). A photographer who had visited the village sometime earlier and taken photographs of the people returns to deliver a copy of the magazine in which the photographs appear. Photographs of Sidi have pride of place, on the cover and centrespread, whilst the village bale ('ba-lay' = chieftain) Baroka has only a small corner inside. Sidi realises the power of her beauty, placing her above even the leader of her people..
Baroka was once a powerful warrior known as 'the Lion'. He has lived a long life and collected many concubines. Now he wants to add Sidi to his harem and sends his head wife, Sadiku, to proposition her. Sidi is not interested since he is an old man, and with the arrogance of youth rudely rebukes his advances. But Baroka is a wily old fox, not so easily brushed aside. He has determined to have Sidi, and hatches a plan to seduce her. Who will win the battle of wills, the naive but headstrong young girl, or the wily experienced old statesman?.
Impressions.
Wole Soyinka's play is a spirited and ribald account of African village life that explores the conflicts between traditional and modern values, third World reality against first world ideals, and the power of men against the influence of women. The action is interspersed with raucous African song and dance. The visit of the photographer is told as a play within a play, a musical re-enactment with the villagers acting out the events of that day. The set is a simple circular affair but imaginative use of props serves to transform it from the schoolhouse to the village square and Boroka's bedroom. Colourful costumes round off the effect..
The strong accents of the characters make the dialogue a little difficult to follow at times for unaccustomed ears but adds to the realism of the piece. Unfortunately, the play loses it's way a little in the second act, accenting the humour but in so doing straying away from the darker side of the original story..
Performances.
Omonor Imobhio is ideally cast as the beautiful young Sidi, the 'Jewel' of the title. She captures perfectly the essence of the uncultured 'bush woman' who allows the power of her beauty to go to her head turning her world upside down. But Anthony Ofoegbu is the undoubted star of the show, garnering most of the laughs as the lovestruck modernising schoolteacher. Toyin Oshinaike was impressive as the 'Lion' of the title, Baroka, despite struggling with his lines on a couple of occasions and Shola Benjamin was wonderfully comic as the mocking head wife Sadiku. The remainder of the fifteen strong cast, including musicians, all performed admirably..
Verdict.
A colourful production with many genuinely funny moments. Despite the generally strong perfomances however, it has to be said that the direction went somewhat astray with the result that this production fails to capture the acerbic edge of the original play. (MORE)