Thematic concern in the select works of Wole Soyinka

Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka is Africa s most prolific writer and a man-of-the-theatre. His literarary talent was crowned with the award of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986. In his works Wole Soyinka has dexterously interwoven the native Yoruba tradition and culture with modernity. His hilarious comedy, pungent satire, profound tragedy and political allegory make him the Cynosure in the galaxy of Modern English Theatre. Leslie Alexander Lacy praises Soyinka s literary personality as Soyinkism. He bridged the gap between the theatre in Yoruba and the theatre in English, With him the Nigerian Theatre sprang to life, Both Black Africa and White Europe fall under the vast, universal scope of his art. He portrays several shades comprising a wide gamut of emotions. His plays are poetical and cerebral at the same time, and his art is an intoxicating aesthetic experience and a challenging intellectual exercise. Soyinka s writing talents are seven fold Playwright, poet, novelist, autobiographer, critic, translator and editor. His extra literary talents are also seven fold: actor and director on the stage and in the film, theatre manager, academic and political activist, recording