Postcolonial Re-reading of Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel

This study provides a postcolonial re-reading of Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel, emphasizing the ideological tensions between traditional African values and imposed Western modernity. Using a library-based methodology, the research critically analyzed the primary text through the lens of postcolonial theory, with emphasis on concepts such as hybridity, cultural identity, subalternity, and resistance. Set in the Yoruba village of Ilujinle, the play stages a symbolic conflict between Baroka, who embodies traditional African leadership, and Lakunle, a Western-educated teacher who rejects indigenous customs as primitive. Sidi, the titular “jewel,” becomes a contested figure, representing the struggle of postcolonial subjects, particularly women, for autonomy and identity within a culture disrupted by colonialism. Soyinka uses satire, indigenous performance elements, and cultural symbolism to critique the uncritical adoption of Western ideals and to valorize African traditions. The analysis showed how the rejection of bride price, the conflict over railway construction, and the characters’ differing views on gender roles illustrate broader postcolonial concerns about cultural displacement, power dynamics, and identity formation. The study found that neither culture should dominate; rather, a nuanced integration of both is necessary, a position aligned with Homi Bhabha’s theory of hybridity. Soyinka’s portrayal of cultural conflict, resistance to imperialism, and the search for identity reinforced the role of African literature in challenging colonial narratives and reconstructing authentic voices. It was concluded that The Lion and the Jewel is not merely a satire of modernity but a profound commentary on the complexities of cultural negotiation in postcolonial Africa.