This work is concerned with the application of Relevance Theory within the context of the play “Morotoundun” by Nigerian playwright Femi Osofisan.
In Pragmatics, context is paramount. In other words, an audience is constrained to understand the speaker’s intention by taking
cognisance of the context in which utterances are expressed. One of those pragmatic theories of context interpretations is Relevance Theory. Within the purview of this theory, the cognitive domain of the audience is taken under advisement. In other words: in order to understand utterances of a speaker from within his context, the audience has to make use of their cognition in order to achieve optimal communicative relevance.
Therefore, Relevance Theory is applied to the play by analysing the conversations of the characters therein based on their contexts. During that process, the work also quickly touches upon the question of the place of women in African Literature and the function of theatre as a tool of a potential proletarian revolution.
The analysis does establish that the characters’ dialogues achieve communicative relevance by the cognitive ability of the reader to process contextual utterances.
Table of Contents
1. Background to Relevance Theory (RT)
2. Communication and Relevance
3. Ostensive-inferential Model of Communication
3.1 Dynamic Context
4. An Overview of the Play
5. Literature Review
5.1 The Place of Women in African Literature
5.2 Theatre as a Tool of Proletariatan Revolution
6. Application of Relevance Theory to Morotoundun
7. Conclusion
8. References
Research Objectives and Topics
This paper explores the application of Relevance Theory (RT) within the field of pragmatics to analyze the dialogues in Femi Osofisan’s play, Morotoundun. The study aims to demonstrate how a reader or critic utilizes their cognitive inferential abilities to decode the speaker's intentions from context, thereby achieving optimal communicative relevance.
- Fundamentals and cognitive principles of Relevance Theory
- The ostensive-inferential model of communication in literary analysis
- Socio-political context and class dynamics in Morotoundun
- Gender representations and proletarian revolutionary themes in African literature
- Practical application of pragmatic interpretation to dramatic dialogue
Excerpt from the Book
Application of Relevance Theory to Morotoundun
At the beginning of the play, the following dialogue ensues:
An Actor: Fair house today?
Director: Fair. Better than the last town we stopped (Morotoundun ,p.5).
From the foregoing the listener/reader is able to infer that the actors/communicators have gone somewhere earlier. By implication, the place in question is not fair. In other words, they have troubles. The previous troubles are what make the speakers ill at ease. However, from the utterance of the second speaker, the listener can infer that he is optimistic.
In another place, we hear a character say,
Titubi: So in what way are we responsible for the farmers’ uprising? Ehn? What does our being rich have to do with it? Or is it only when we wear rags that we qualify to breathe the air? (Morotoundun, p.9)
The contextual background of this utterance indicates that blames are being apportioned to the speaker’s class by the farmers. The farmers who represent the proletariat believe that their economic woes are caused by the speaker’s class (the bourgeoisie). The speaker here is trying to show her innocence. By posing the question, What does our being rich have to do with it?, she makes the reader understand that the bourgeoisie are not the cause of the fate of the peasant farmers.
Summary of Chapters
1. Background to Relevance Theory (RT): Introduces the cognitive principles of Relevance Theory, focusing on how listeners process inputs and seek optimal relevance through inferential ability.
2. Communication and Relevance: Explores the ostensive-inferential model, emphasizing that successful communication relies on the mutual recognition of intentions.
3. Ostensive-inferential Model of Communication: Details the framework where speakers produce stimuli to make intentions manifest and listeners infer meaning from evidence.
3.1 Dynamic Context: Discusses how context is a psychological construct, dynamically selected and constructed during the comprehension process rather than being fixed.
4. An Overview of the Play: Provides a synopsis of Morotoundun, centering on the Agbekoya peasant uprising and the character arc of Titubi.
5. Literature Review: Examines academic perspectives on gender roles in African literature and the use of theatre as a vehicle for social and proletarian revolution.
5.1 The Place of Women in African Literature: Analyzes the shift in the portrayal of women characters from domestic roles to heroic archetypes.
5.2 Theatre as a Tool of Proletariatan Revolution: Investigates Osofisan’s adherence to Marxist philosophy and his subversion of historical/mythical materials for social mobilization.
6. Application of Relevance Theory to Morotoundun: Applies pragmatic analysis to specific character dialogues to show how readers infer plot details and character intentions.
7. Conclusion: Summarizes the findings, noting that Relevance Theory is a highly effective tool for interpreting literary texts through the communication between characters and the reader.
8. References: Lists the academic sources and works cited in the study.
Keywords
pragmatics, utterance, context, relevance theory, cognition, cognitive environment, Femi Osofisan, Morotoundun, communication, inference, literary analysis, peasant uprising, proletariat, intention, interpretation
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this work?
The paper examines how Relevance Theory (RT) can be applied to interpret literary dialogue in Femi Osofisan’s play, Morotoundun, by focusing on the cognitive processes involved in understanding communication.
What are the central thematic fields?
The themes include pragmatics, the cognitive principles of relevance, socio-political peasant struggles, the portrayal of women in African literature, and the use of theatre as a revolutionary tool.
What is the core research objective?
The objective is to demonstrate that readers/critics achieve "optimal communicative relevance" by using their cognitive abilities to infer the intended meanings of characters within specific contexts.
Which scientific method is employed?
The author uses a pragmatic analytical approach based on Sperber and Wilson’s Relevance Theory to dissect character dialogues and interpret contextual nuances.
What does the main body cover?
The main body details the theoretical background of RT, the specific context of the play's historical backdrop, a literature review of relevant critical perspectives, and practical applications of the theory to selected play scenes.
Which keywords best characterize this study?
Key terms include pragmatics, relevance theory, cognition, context, Morotoundun, communication, and intention.
How is the concept of "context" treated in this paper?
Following Relevance Theory, the author defines context not as a fixed set of facts, but as a "dynamic" psychological construct that participants actively build to understand utterances.
How does the author analyze Titubi's dialogue?
The author analyzes specific lines from Titubi to demonstrate how her choice of words reveals her class consciousness, her perceived superiority, and her shifting intentions toward the peasant uprising.
- Quote paper
- James Ede (Author), 2018, The Importance of Context Within Communication. An Application of Relevance Theory to Femi Osofisan's Play "Morotoundun", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/454977
