An ecocritical reading of Victor Yankah‟s The Pretty Trees of Gakwana and Sikaman

Abstract

The increasing environmental concerns of the 20th and 21st centuries have given rise to the term ecocriticism, a field of literary theory and criticism. In this paper, we examined two plays of Victor Yankah using some concepts from ecocriticism as an analytical framework. The paper is premised on the basis that the playwright shares a symbiotic relationship which has become a significant feature of the selected plays. Drawing from the eco-critical theory of ecocriticism and using two of his nature plays: The Pretty Trees of Gakwana and Sikaman, we intend to demonstrate Yankah‟s view and preoccupations about the mutual relationship between the human other and nature (the nonhuman other)-the natural world of environment with the view to prove the playwright‟s concern about the interference of human beings into the world of nature. This situation adversely results in the disruption of the symbiotic (human-nature) relationship. Yankah has presented both the epistemic and retributive forces of nature as well as raised concerns about the environment, ecological consciousness in advocating for ecological sustainability in modern African theatre and dramatic literature scholarship. Thus, the reading of Victor Yanka‟s selected plays adds to the relatively new and developing interest in environmental discourses on the African continent. To the extent that intrinsic features of nature are exhibited in his selected plays, we argue that Yankah provokes environmental debate and a rethinking in African playwrights concerning environmental issues to raise awareness and inspire environmental consciousness and ecological sustainability among people in Africa, and Ghana in particular.