Depiction of Yoruba Culture in A Dance of the Forests

Wole Soyinka is a well known Nigerian dramatist, who was awarded Nobel Prize in 1986, for his achievement in the arena of African literature. He is a prolific writer and versatile genius of African continent. His works are based on Yoruba society, culture, tradition and politics of Africa. The dramatic environment that Soyinka creates has been enriched with variegated realistic scene portraying African life very exactly and fashions and characters holding a mirror up to nature and presenting life as it is. His literary corpus reveals his unmistakable creative and critical mooring in African traditions, myths and history. He observed inherent theatrical qualities in many rituals, beliefs, festivals and ceremonies of West Africa which might be stretched in the direction of theatre. This study focuses on Soyinka's use of Yoruba cultural tradition as a way of life in Africa. His plays reflect Yoruba songs, dance, myths etc. Thus, the playwright attempts Yoruba culture as Western dramatic form in his plays, A Dance of the Forests.