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Difficulty: HardTextual Analysis of Prescribed African Drama

Read the excerpt below from John Pepper Clark's prescribed play *Song of a Goat*:

MASSEUR:
"An empty house, my son, is a white elephant.
If your wife is a wall of stone,
Why do you keep leaning against it
Hoping to draw warmth from cold granite?"

In the context of the play's thematic conflict and character motivations, what underlying situation is the Masseur addressing in this dialogue with Zifa?

  1. A
    Ebiere's defiant refusal to bear children due to her secret romantic affection for a rival fisherman
  2. B
    Zifa's hubristic defiance of the sea gods by continuing to fish during a sacred taboo period
  3. Zifa's physical impotence and his prideful reluctance to let his brother father a child with EbiereAnswer
  4. D
    The Masseur's sarcastic ridicule of Zifa's financial poverty and inability to purchase sacrificial animals

Answer

Zifa's physical impotence and his prideful reluctance to let his brother father a child with Ebiere
In J.P. Clark's *Song of a Goat*, the central tragedy stems from Zifa's impotence following a family curse. When the Masseur speaks of 'leaning against cold granite', he uses figurative language to describe Zifa's inability to father children with his wife Ebiere. The Masseur suggests the traditional practice of passing the wife to a male relative (Zifa's brother, Tonye) to preserve the lineage, a remedy Zifa vehemently rejects due to personal pride.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the dramatic context of the excerpt from J.P. Clark's *Song of a Goat*
The conversation occurs between the Masseur (a traditional healer/oracle figure) and Zifa regarding Zifa's family crisis.
Establishing speaker identities and situational context is essential for textual interpretation.
2
Decode the metaphorical expressions ('empty house', 'white elephant', 'cold granite')
'Empty house' symbolizes a childless home, while 'cold granite' represents Zifa's biological inability to impregnate Ebiere.
Literary analysis requires linking poetic imagery directly to thematic subtext.
3
Evaluate the underlying traditional resolution proposed by the Masseur
The Masseur suggests that Zifa allow his younger brother Tonye to sleep with Ebiere to maintain the family bloodline, which Zifa's pride rejects.
Connecting character motivation to traditional cultural customs reveals the primary tragic conflict.

Key Concept

Textual Analysis of Prescribed African Drama
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Textual Analysis of Prescribed African Drama

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