IGBOSCHOLARS INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF IGBO SCHOLARS FORUM, NIGERIA

The purpose of this paper is to identify different humorous elements typical of a drama discourse as contained in a selected play-text. The data for analysis is taken from Stephen Inegbe’s Ebikaata’s Dilemma, a play-text officially classified by the author as a radio play. Ebikaata’s Dilemma is among a collection of five independent plays which the playwright christened 5 RadioPlays (2008) published in Cameroon by Veritas Press. Other titles in the collection include The Estate (a strong statement on social and domestic issues), The Visit (based on politics and societal decadence), Haba Pastor (showcasing religious hypocrisy), and A Man of Principles (a beautiful piece of irony on morality and integrity). Ebikaata’s Dilemma, was first produced on the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS Radio) Ibadan in 1993 as a radio drama and was later on produced on ‘Curtains Up’, an Akwa Ibom Broadcasting Corporation (AKBC Radio) series as Aniema’s Dilemma in 1996. This study pays special attention to different sources of humour prevalent in Ebikaata’s Dilemma. The humorous elements identified in the play-text will be analysed in the context of their workings in characters’ interactions in the play-text as interpreted by the speakers (characters) themselves and by the recipients. The workings of humour categories in this study are analysed based on two fundamental approaches to humour: incongruity and superiority theories. Instances of humorous components identified are specific to the play text. The essay advances two potent arguments; first, that the intent of humour is to make strong statements lightly without necessarily losing its bite; secondly, the elements of humour so identified in the selected play text are by no means limited to radio play series. They are also found in other performing arts sectors like stage drama, television serial or film series, although their order may vary. Aside the different types of conversational humour used by characters in the play to engage the recipients, the study also discovered that what corroborates the similitude of radio play series is that the radio play conversations and real-life discourses permeate each other. The study, without doubt, will be an addition and a contribution to the field of linguistic research on humour in dramatic discourse.

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