Classification and Criticism of Nigeria Literary Drama

Abstract

Nigerian drama has gained prominent and permanent position on the world literary map especially with the winning of the Nobel Prize by Wole Soyinka. In spite of this, problems of definition and criticism of Nigerian drama still persists. The Relativist-Evolution controversies on the origin and classification of Nigerian drama laid the foundation for this definition, but the building has remained uncompleted. Scholars offer divergent views on the issue of evolving authentic literary cannon(s) for the evaluation of Nigerian dramatic literature. These views are documented in this study which is an attempt to reawaken scholastic debates, discussions and interests on the proper place of African literature in general and the Nigeria literary drama in particular as it concerns evolving appropriate critical models. There is perhaps, no higher challenge facing Nigerian dramatists today, then initiating and evolving authentic and indigenous critical theory/theories. Who said that Nigeria cannot produce an Aristotle a Betolt Bretcht, or a Derrida?