August Wilson’s Signification on the Kójódá within the “Structurally Conservative” Fences

Authors

  • Omiyemi (Artisia) Green William & Mary

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/awj.2022.74

Keywords:

Fences, Kojoda, Yoruba, Ethnocultural Dramatic Structure

Abstract

Despite being hailed as August Wilson’s “most structurally conservative work . . . modeled on the well-made play” (Savran 20), the plot of Fences signifies on a Yorùbá concept of measuring time, the Kójódá, and thus, the play has an Ethnocultural Dramatic Structure. Within an EDS framework the usual posts along which well-made plays are developed—exposition, inciting incident, climax, falling action, and resolution—are influenced by and/or at times, wholly subordinate to the African cultural and/or temporal signifiers of the racial or ethnic group at the center of the text. In this fashion, Wilson dramatically treats the experiences of Black Americans, with full cognizance of Western formulaic constructions in playwriting, yet the social behaviors of his characters and his plotlines are propelled by identifiable diasporic formations of indigenous African practices and concepts.

Author Biography

Omiyemi (Artisia) Green, William & Mary

Omiyẹmi (Artisia) Green is a Professor of Theatre and Africana Studies at William & Mary. An Ifá-Òrìṣà priest, director, dramaturg, and interdisciplinary scholar, Omiyẹmi is published in Continuum, the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society Journal Peer Review Section, the August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle: Critical Perspectives on the Plays (McFarland), African American Culture: An Encyclopedia of People, Traditions, and Customs (Greenwood), FIRE!!! The Multimedia Journal of Black Studies, the Journal of American Folklore, and Journal of American Drama and Theatre.

References

Barnes, Clive. "Fiery 'Fences'" in the New York Post, March 27,1987.

Epega, Afolabi and Philip Neimark. The Sacred Ifa Oracle. New York: HarperCollins, 1995.

Frisvold, Nicolaj, De Mattos. Ifá: A Forest of Mystery. Shropshire: Scarlett Imprint, 2016.

Green, Artisia. “Risa Thomas: A “cultural flashpoint” representative of the dramatic journey of Two Trains Running. Fire!!!: The multimedia journal of ASALH, Africana Aesthetics Special Topic, vol. 6, no. 2, 2020.

------. “Resurrecting “phantom limb[s] of the dismembered slave and god”: Unveiling the Africanisms in Gem of the Ocean.” In August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle, Critical Perspectives on the Plays, edited by Sandra G. Shannon. North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2016.

Lyons, Bonnie and George Plimpton. The Paris Review—August Wilson, The Art of Theatre No. 14. Web. 14 January 2017.

Neimark, Philip, John. The Way of the Orisa: Empowering Your Life Through the Ancient African Religion of Ifa. New York: HarperOne, 1993.

Richards, Sandra, L. “A Critical Frame.” In Approaches to Teaching the Plays of August Wilson, edited by Sandra G. Shannon and Sandra L. Richards. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2016.

Savran, David. “August Wilson.” In Conversations with August Wilson, edited by Jackson R. Bryer and Mary C. Hartig. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. 2006

Wilson, August. Fences. New York: Penguin Group, 1986.

Wilson, August. King Hedley II. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2005.

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Published

2022-10-18

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Section

Articles