Metaphoric Topicality in Femi Osofisan’s Drama

Abstract

This paper examines the functional and the significant role of metaphors in literary works. It discusses the centrality of metaphors as a dominant literary device consciously deployed by Femi Osofisan to project the theme of oppression, dehumanization, social injustice and poverty in his plays. The paper focuses on the use of animal and predatory metaphors in Osofisan’s plays to launch an offensive literary attack on the rich and the ruling elite in the society who use their privileged positions to brazenly oppress and brutalize the poor and the downtrodden. The paper, on the other hand, examines the appropriate use of animal metaphors to enlighten and educate the poor on their precarious condition as preys in the hands of the carnivorous ruling class. Finally, the paper discusses the settings and the titles of Osofisan’s plays, the quest motif and the traditional modes as metaphors for oppression.