Light, color and myth in Wole Soyinka's Idanre and other poems

Abstract EN

The poetry of Wole Soyinka (1934--) does not yield its secrets upon first reading.

A reader of his poetry has to be armed with patience so as to excavate the treasures hidden among the intricate lines of the poems.

Each poem is meant for the reader to be an act of discovery.

The justification for the often encountered difficulty in Soyinka's poetry can be seen in his attempt to reward the reader with a new discovery every time he reads the poems.

In this article, some poems are selected from Idanre and other Poems (1967) to be textually analyzed in an attempt to show how Soyinka employs light, color and myth to highlight the Nigerian culture and mythology, raise the readers' awareness towards the human identity, and effect a long lasting reconciliation among all religions and sects both in his homeland and the world at large.