Drama and Social Change in Ola Rotimi's Hopes of the Living Dead

Abstract

The primordial task of the dramatist as a catalyst for social change is likened to that of a journalist, whose job is to source for information from all corners of the society. The dramatist processes this information and presents them to the society, unveiling the conflicts and tensions in the society and of course stimulating members of the public into redefining their steps for meaningful development to occur. Dramatic literature has played afunctional role towards this end; it provides relevant suggestions for the betterment of the nation. In this paper; an assessment of Ola Rotimi's Hopes of the Living Dead is carried out to see the potency of the drama medium for instructing, correcting, educating and mobilizing the people into taking proactive measures that could bring forth growth and development in all facets of the nation for the attainment of a responsible and responsive nationhood.