Theory question 102
Set Text: The Gods Are Not to BlameLiterature 2, Section A. Ola Rotimi: The Gods Are Not to Blame
With reference to at least four incidents, examine Rotimi's use of irony in the play.
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Dramatic irony: the audience knows from the prologue that Odewale killed his father and married his mother; he does not.
Odewale fleeing Ijekun to avoid fate takes him straight to Kutuje, where it is fulfilled.
He curses and vows to punish the murderer: he is cursing himself.
He says he is not of Kutuje, yet he is its son.
He calls Baba Fakunle blind, yet it is Odewale who cannot 'see' and ends up blinding himself.
He swears never to see Aderopo again 'with these eyes'.
The saviour of Kutuje is the cause of its plague.
Effect: suspense, tragic intensity, theme of fate.
Give four incidents and explain the irony in each.