أفاق معرفية
Volume 5, Numéro 1, Pages 95-109
2026-06-28
A Contextual Analysis Of Olu Olagoke’s The Incorruptible Judge, Analyse Contextuelle De The Incorruptible Judge De Olu Olagoke
الكاتب : Hammed Raji Isiaka .
الملخص
ABSTRACT: The Incorruptible Judge (1962) by Professor D.O.Olagoke stands as a seminal work that inaugurates both the thematic direction of the author’s literary career and the ethical orientation of his worldview. Drawing from lived experience within Nigeria’s postcolonial judicial and administrative systems, the play dramatizes the moral struggle between integrity and corruption through the story of a young school leaver who refuses to offer a bribe of five pounds demanded by a corrupt police officer. Instead, he reports the crime, triggering a chain of events that culminates in the officer’s arrest and trial. Despite intense pressure from powerful figures, including the judge’s father-in-law and a prominent chief, the judge remains resolutely incorruptible, affirming the supremacy of justice over kinship and influence. This study provides a technical and critical analysis of the play by examining its themes, plot structure, characterization, and stylistic choices. The findings reveal that Olagoke employs a linear plot to heighten suspense and moral clarity, while his characters are crafted as ethical symbols representing justice, corruption, and social conscience. Stylistically, the playwright makes effective use of rhetorical devices such as emphatic diction, hyperbole, astonishment, and interrogative expressions to dramatize moral tension and provoke audience reflection. The research contributes to knowledge by situating The Incorruptible Judge within African protest drama and ethical literature, demonstrating how drama functions as a tool for social reform especially in Nigeria. It also highlights Olagoke’s innovative use of rhetorical strategies to advance moral didacticism in African theatre.
الكلمات المفتاحية
Olagoke ; African drama ; corruption ; justice ; rhetorical devices ; The Incorruptible Judge.
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