Láwuyì Ògúnníran (5 November 1935 – 21 September 2020) was a Nigerian

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

who authored several works in the

Yoruba language Yoruba (, ; Yor. ) is a Niger–Congo languages, Niger-Congo language that is spoken in West Africa, primarily in South West (Nigeria), Southwestern and Middle Belt, Central Nigeria, Benin, and parts of Togo. It is spoken by the Yoruba people. ...

. His play, ''Eégún Aláré'', is a widely acclaimed work, and is a required text for Yorùbá literature classes in many Nigerian secondary schools. Several academic papers have been dedicated to analysing different issues in his works, including a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

thesis by Saudat Adebisi Hamzat at the

University of Ilorin University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) is a federal government-owned public research university in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. The university's main campus sits on an expansive area of land, about 5,000 hectares in the ancient city of Ilorin; making ...

, entitled ''A New Historicist Analysis of Selected Plays of Lawuyi Ogunniran and Olu Owolabi''. Durotoye Adeleke, a professor of Linguistics and African Languages at the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public university located in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Initially founded as the University College Ibadan in 1948, it maintained its affiliation with the University of London. In 1962, it became an independe ...

has also examined the

topos In mathematics, a topos (, ; plural topoi or , or toposes) is a category that behaves like the category of sheaves of sets on a topological space (or more generally, on a site). Topoi behave much like the category of sets and possess a notio ...

of the 'Shakespearean Fool' in Ogunniran's work, alongside three other Yorùbá plays by Adébáyọ̀ Fálétí, Ọláńrewájú Adépọ̀jù and Afọlábí Ọlábímtán. Others have concentrated on exploring the poetics and oratory style that the dramatist deploys in his works.

Publications

*''Ààre-àgò Aríkùyerì'' *''Eégún Aláré'' *''Ọmọ Alátẹ Ìlẹ̀kẹ̀'' *''Ìbàdàn Mesìọ̀gọ̀: Kìnnìún ilẹ̀ Yorùbá (1829–1893)'' *''Ọlọ́run ò màwàda'' *''Àtàrí àjànàku'' *''Igi wọ́rọ́kọ́'' *''Nibo laye dori ko?'' *''Ọ̀nà kan ò wọjà'' *''Abínúẹni'' (coauthored with Yẹmí Ọmọ́táyọ̀) *''Ààrò Mẹ́ta Àtọ̀runwá!'' *''Ìṣe tí Àwọn Yorùbá Ńṣe''

References

Nigerian male writers 1940 births 2020 deaths Yoruba dramatists and playwrights Yoruba-language writers University of Ilorin alumni Academic staff of the University of Ibadan {{Nigeria-writer-stub