Barbs: A Study of Satire in the Plays of Wole Soyinka

Patrick Ebewo

A wide-ranging introduction to Wole Soyinka's dramatic literature and an in-depth and comprehensive study of satire in fourteen of Soyinka's plays from Childe Internationale to King Baabu, and the sketches in Before the Blackout. Ebewo treats satire as an instrument of criticism, a literary genre and an institution in society. He explores the history and definition of satire in various cultural contexts, approaching Soyinka as an African satirist influenced by Western and African satirical modes.