Abstract:
Classics have generally been perceived from the angle of the Greco-Roman literary contributions. The Renaissance
scholars pronounced these contributions more through their humanistic studies and revelations of the profundity of
classical literary materials. They defended the classical ethics prescribed for different literary genres, like Aristotle’s
three unities. A deconstruction of the classical tradition will reveal some characters that reverberate from the
Greco-Roman epoch to the contemporary time. It is, therefore, not surprising that contemporary writers refract
these classical characters to satisfy diverse contemporary needs. Another perspective to classics, which will be the
primary domain of this study, is the timeless reverberations of some literary creations, exclusive of the Greco-Roman
canon, which may include characters, events and motifs in literary texts. These reverberations make these classic
creations become timeless with infinite importance in different periods. This reconceptualisation of the classics aptly
describes some typical female characters in Femi Osofisan’s drama texts. This study, therefore, interrogates some
revolutionary female characters in selected plays of Osofisan. This interrogation will be based on their classic roles
and how these typical roles have made them to stand the test of time, therefore, making the female characters a
model in contemporary time.
Description:
Generally, Classical tradition in literary cultivation of
the modern age has mostly been perceived from the
angle of adaptation. The Hellenistic or Greco-Roman
literary culture has contributed to contemporary
literature because of its validity and aesthetic functions
hitherto. These contributions have earned them the
appellation classics. Classics or Classical tradition,
alternatively as it may regard to the practice, in this
case, has informed the various formalistic definitions
and thematic preoccupations of literature to the
present age. Critics like Aristotle, Longinus and the like
through their critical writings have defined the
different literary aesthetic qualities that have been
bequeathed to the present age while writers like
Sophocles, Aristophanes and their Greco-Roman
contemporaries have provided the needed artistic
means through their plays.
