Foregrounding aspects of Esiaba Irobi’s dramatic techniques in three selected plays

Abstract

This essay on “Foregrounding Aspects of Esiaba Irobi’s Dramatic Techniques in Three Selected Plays” attempts to decode the playwright’s artistic vision and how it is deployed to realize his social vision. We adopted the sociological approach, precisely the Marxist theory as the basis for analysis. Evident in the plays is the playwright’s use of foreshadowing/flashback, metaphors, allusions, imageries and appropriate language. The study shows that in spite of the high demands of his social vision, viz, arousing the consciousness of the audience to the appalling and sub-human conditions in which they live as well as calling for revolution, the three plays are not without carefully selected and equally carefully applied artistic embellishments which make them enjoyable and interesting. The study clearly identifies the playwright’s efforts at growing the consciousness of the less-privileged with regards to the injustices which they suffer and as a corollary urge them to take their destiny into their own hands and rid the society of injustice. We adopted the qualitative research method which calls for careful reading of the three texts, use of the library and the internet. We have identified, and discussed in details, the playwright’s use of a number of dramatic techniques, which engage the audience’s sensory organs and arrest attention in such a manner that compels the audience to take side with the oppressed.

Keywords: Foregrounding, aspects, Marxism, dramatic techniques, social injustice, revolt