The Lion And The Jewel Setting

 Setting of The Lion and the Jewel By Wole Soyinka

There are two identifiable places serving as the plays setting: there is the village arena and the bale's bedroom. it is clear from the setting that the people lack very  many items of sophistication although modernity is threatening to overrun Ilujinle. There is the physical setting of a market in which stands firmly the Odan tree and Lakunle's part of a school block, a part of it protruding outside. As as already pointed out, it is largely a rural area, still steeped in moonlight shinning and story telling going on among mothers and there children. The block of a building having a classroom taught by Lakunle symbolizes the intruding world of Western Civilization. 

Then There is Baroka's bedroom; ordinary it is just a traditional which enhance the notion of  hinterland of Africa which we made reference to before. However, we see guns and animal skin in Baroka's room and our mind immediately recall that we are dealing with a preying fellow, a metaphorical hunter who will not spare of interest to him. at this point items of modern culture are still few and not well understood. This when we see things like camera, surveyor's implement, geometric sandwiches, spats and even a car, they come to us in flashbacks. These instruments hardly meant much to the rural dwellers. Probably only Lakunle and Baroka know the meaning and their implications to a modern world poised for an inovasion.  

There at s also the setting based on the time of the play. There are Morning, Noon and Night. Morning represent pristine innocence and adult existential experience. In morning events, there is youthfulness - the period when Lakunle is dominant and expresses love sentiment. which can not be said to be concrete gestures, especially as he plays down on the bride price payment included in this time episode is the mimed tale of the lost travelers - adventure, discovery, love and drunkenness. when we come to Night, it is full of deception. Sadiku, the head-wife of the bale spread the sad tale of Baroka's eventual impotence after his several exploits with women. By so doing she has unwittingly advanced her husband's further exploits, this text with a seventeen year old village belle. As well there is the mock duel between Baroka and his engaged wrestler with whom he regularly exercise himself. The Night is the adult world of intrigues. Here  the not so careful girl who is limited in her knowledge of cunning is ensnared. The night bears a scene of the masked male  who is pursued by a group of female dancers. Sidi, being a young girl, does not know what the mask and the man behind it portend. it is here that the masked male turns into a Baroka which will 'consume'  the young and inexperienced Sidi. 

 Noon has it's own implication it is a buffer zone of the day. what takes place correspond to Innocence just like at morning time. However, there still exist hints of impending harm. There is, for instance, the love message of Bale to Sidi through Sadiku. Here at noon, we are told of Baroka's past and present through the use of mime in which he bribes the white surveyor to look elsewhere so that he (traditional ruler) can further exploit Ilujinle's innocence. Here to his predatory eyes centre on Sidi who has no further information about the old man except that he has lost his virility after years of dealing with woman. and is now faced with possible shame. This is the setting in which the 'jewel' literally walks into the mouth of the lion.

Ilujile

The village of Ilujinle, in Nigeria, is the overall setting for all of the action in the play. Ilujinle is defined in comparison to Lagos, the capital city of Nigeria. Ilujinle is physically isolated from Lagos and is therefore also culturally isolated. Whether or not the cultural differences between Ilujinle and Lagos are a good thing or a bad thing is one of the defining questions of the play. 

Lagos

Lagos is the capital city of Nigeria. None of the events of the play take place in Lagos but it is a setting which looms large over many of the conversations had by the characters. Lakunle, in particular feels that Ilujinle would benefit from being more like Lagos. The Stranger, whose magazine is the catalyst for the events of the play, comes from Lagos.