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Once Upon an Elephant is a richly layered drama by a Nigerian author that blends folklore, political allegory, and social commentary. The playwright, Bosede Ademilua-Afolayan, uses a variety of literary devices to deepen meaning, engage the audience, and reflect societal tensions. The focus is within an African context, especially Nigeria. This article explores the literary devices used in Once Upon and Elephant.

Summary and analysis of Once Upon an Elephant by Bosede Ademilua-Afolayan

Characters and Themes in Once Upon an Elephant by Bosede Ademilua-Afolayan

Literary Devices in Once Upon an Elephant

1. Allegory

The entire play functions as an allegory for tyrannical leadership seen in some African contexts. Ajanaku (Elephant), often the central figure, symbolizes leadership, power, or governance. His boastful description of the elephant represents his leadership and kingdom, reflecting how he sees himself and his subjects. While Serubawon represent corrupt kingmakers who would go to any length to enthrone their candidate.

Through characters such as these, the playwright critiques real-world issues such as corruption, abuse of authority, collective silence, and related political issues.

This device allows sensitive political and social issues to be explored indirectly, making the message both powerful and safe within restrictive contexts.

2. Personification

Personification is employed through the central allegory in the drama, where animals are given human characteristics like speech, reasoning, emotions, and political roles. Although the play is performed by humans, some characters are described as animals as their attributes are reflected through the features and characters of the animals.

For instance:

• Ajanaku, the elephant, is the ruler and influences decisions. This choice of character draws from Yoruba folklore, where the elephant represents a haughty, arrogant, and destructive power.
• Serubawon, the manipulative, greedy, self-centered chief priest and king-maker, is called the cunning tortoise.
• This is further seen in Iya Agba’s stories and parables as she uses animal characters to buttress her point. Iya Agba’s riddle, parables, and proverbs constitute the majority of this device in the play.

This humanization bridges the gap between fiction and reality, making it easier for audiences to relate to the characters and see themselves reflected in the narrative.

3. Satire

Once Upon an Elephant is a satirical drama. It uses satire to mock societal flaws, especially the stupidity and destruction caused by tyrannical rulers. Here, satire is achieved through characterization, irony, and innuendo. Examples of flaws mocked by the play include:

• Leaders who act on self-interest: Ajanaku (Elephant) aims for grandiosity, but his selfish actions reflect his insecurity and triviality. He also aims for immortality through a ritual (Ijedodo ritual) to secure his reign; this backfires, causing the death of his own family.
• Citizens who remain passive despite injustice: the people were unable to speak up, even some elders, hunters, and the young men, chose to live quietly without rocking the boat.
• Systems that reward loyalty to their self-interest over loyal competence: The cunning priest, Serubawon, benefits greatly from Ajanaku’s reign.

Humour, irony, and exaggeration are used to expose these without direct confrontation, making the critique sharper and more memorable.

4. Irony

Different forms of irony appear throughout the play. Examples include:

(a) Situational irony: The elephant expected to protect becomes the source of fear or oppression.

Example:

• Serubawon creates a ritual meant to bring power and longevity (immortality) to the king. However, the Ijedodo ritual, which requires the blood of six virgins, backfires and targets Desola, Serubawon’s daughter and King Ajanaku’s half-sister.
• Iya Agba, often referred to as a madwoman and an outcast, is also the ultimate truth teller and saiviour who exposed Ajanaku’s secrets and help bring him down, saving the village.

(b) Dramatic irony: the audience often understands the consequences of actions before the characters do.

Example:

The audience knew throughout the play that Ajanaku (Elephant) was not the heir to the late King but the son of the evil chief priest. But Ajanaku boasts of his royal legitimacy and focuses on his brutal quest to maintain a position he does not truly deserve.

Irony heightens tension and emphasizes the gap between expectation and reality.

Read also:

Literary Devices in “The Marriage of Anansewa”

Literary Devices in “The Lion and the Jewel”

5. Dialogue and Oral Tradition

The play reflects the African oral tradition of storytelling. It uses techniques such as repetition, proverbs, and call-and-response patterns to elevate the play. These elements root the drama in African cultural expression, enhancing authenticity and audience engagement, especially in performance settings.

6. Imagery

The depiction of the tyrannical ruler as the elephant reflects the size and strength of the animal and the presence it commands among other animals. This creates strong mental pictures of Ajanaku’s power. When paired with his interaction with his subjects, his abuse of authority becomes more vivid.

This enhances the theatrical experience and helps the audience visualize both the physical and symbolic worlds of the play.

7. Foreshadowing

Events and dialogues in the drama often hint at the future downfall of the tyrannical King, Ajanaku. This is often signaled through proverbs regarding his misuse of power, symbolic warnings from Iya Agba, and the illicit nature of his rise to the throne.

 For example,

• Iya Agba maintains that Ajanaku’s reign was temporary and that he was not the rightful ruler of the land. She says, “To the rafter belongs the load; the shaft only pretends.”
• When she warns about the danger of hiding the questionable paternity of Ajanaku, she likened it to trying to “collect rain water with a sieve”.
• Desola asking her lover to sing an Ijala about a hunter who failed to catch any game, just before the arrival of Ajanaku, foreshadows that Ajanaku’s quest for power will ultimately fail.
• A foreshadowing of Ajanaku’s destruction is seen in his ritualistic rape of virgins in the Ijedodo ritual. This act is supposed to grant him immortality while the virgins die slow, painful deaths. However, it shows that he is building his reign by destroying the future, which will eventually lead to his own destruction.

Foreshadowing builds suspense and prepares the audience for major turning points.

8. Characterization

The writer used the characters to depict roles within a struggling society. King Olaniyonu, self-proclaimed Ajanaku (Elephant), represents a greedy, arrogant, cruel, tyrannical leader with unchecked power, while Serubawon stands for manipulative, self-centered king-making puppet masters. Another example is Iya Agba, the voice of wisdom and truth.

Characterization in Once Upon an Elephant helped Bosede Ademilua-Afolayan capture the picture of the society depicted in a way the audience can easily relate to.

9. Innuendo

Innuendo is a rhetorical technique where a speaker or writer makes an indirect suggestion, insinuation, or hint about a person or thing. It often implies something derogatory, rude, or sexual while appearing innocent on the surface. This device allows the author to convey hidden meanings without stating them explicitly.

The playwright employs this device in the play to achieve the aim. An example is seen where Iya Agba criticized the king as unfit for the role and compares him to a lizard – “lizard that resembles a crocodile”.

This way, the case of the king, Olaniyonu, self-acclaimed Ajanaku (Elephant), being a bastard child who stole power despite being incompetent and unfit for the throne according to tradition, was not confronted directly but clearly implied.

Another example is seen in the portrayal of the rape cases and adultery in the play. None of the cases is explicitly described. The situation is either implied or stated with discretion in African choice words. For example, When Iya agba speaks of seeing the affair of Adebisi and Serubawon she said they were doing what only King Akinjobi should do with Adebisi, his junior wife.

10. Symbolism

The drama is rich with symbolism. Here are some examples:

• Ajanaku – represents tyrannical leadership.
• Ijedodo ritual – represents the ultimate corruption and destructive nature of the power on the throne.
• The name of the chief priest, Serubawon, represents his character. The name means “intimidate them” or “scare them”.
• The Horse: represents the end of an era. It marked the unstoppable decline of the old, sick king, Akinjobi.

Conclusion

In Once Upon an Elephant, literary devices such as allegory, irony, symbolism, and personification work together to create a compelling dramatic experience.