Proverb as a Literary Technique in Nigerian Literature and Oral Communication: A Deconstruction of Ola Rotimi’s The Gods Are Not to Blame

Abstract

This is an evaluation of the proverbs in Ola Rotimi's The Gods Are Not to Blame. It investigates the significance, implications, framing language and agenda setting functions of the proverbs in the promotion of oral communication in the play and the Nigerian society. Using the thematic descriptive qualitative content analysis (TDQCA), the proverbs are coded by categorising them according to thematic agenda, frames, and sources. Two theories (deconstruction and agenda setting) and two research objectives control the research. The proverbs are further deconstructed to show why the author and the gods are to blame for Odewale's tragedies. Findings show that the play is laced with 77 African proverbs with such narrative frames and thematic agenda as incest, patricide, danger, blame, dramatic irony, identity crisis, causality, leadership quagmire, warning, conflict of interest, and attack. Using the proverbs, Rotimi sets agenda for the audience to enhance oral communication in the play and society. In addition, it is discovered that both the playwright and the gods are to blame for the tragedies in the play. This paper recommends that Nigerian literary artists should frame and set their agenda on relevant contextual and situational proverbs in their works to promote oral communication and Nigerian cultures. Secondly, communication, cultural and literary researchers in Nigeria should engage in the deconstruction of the proverbs in the play to further demonstrate that the playwright (by using proverbs depicting dramatic irony and predestination) and the gods (by predetermining Odewale's fate) should be blamed for the tragedies in the play.