Medicine Of Love Flashcards
Who wrote Medicine for love?
James Ene Henshaw
What is the theme of the book?
Comedy
How many acts in the play?
3
What s the setting of medicine for love?
the setting is the living room of an up-and-coming politician,Ewia Ekunyah
What are the Key features of the play?
- african culture-traditional wives
- polygamy
- traditional culture
- corruption in politics
- hypocrisy
- the use of black magic
What does one mean by african culture-traditional wives?
A traditional wife can be chosen for a man even without his consent
by relatives who feel that he is an eligible
Most of the time, the cogent idea to note here is that marriages of
such nature are not often predicated on love. The parties involved in
such relationships see it as a marriage of convenience dedicated
solely to procreating children.
It was an honor to have relatives marry on your behalf in the
presence of the community
Most traditional wives are not told whom they were married to or
location of their final destination.
This practice is still in use in modern day setting in most countries of
the world.
You cannot say no to traditional wives
They come to the door and have been married by their parents. It was also very normal for the parents to marry a wife for their sons. For example, he has 3 traditional wives but he cannot send them back due to the culture of traditional wives.
What does one mean by Polygamy?
Closely associated with traditional marriages in Africa is the issue of
polygamy, wherein the man is at liberty to take more than one wife
under native law and custom and this is what in fact makes Ekunyah s
marriage to Ibiere Sua, Bekin Wari and Nene Katsina legal.
Of utmost importance to Henshaw are the conflicts and acrimony
which ensue as a result of the incompatibility of the husband and his
traditional wives or as a result of the bickering among a string of
traditional wives in a polygamous relationship.
Ekunyah finds himself psychologically, physically, spiritually and
culturally destabilized as a result of the tension generated within his
household by Ibiere Sua s and Bekin Wari s rivalry. Both women in
their struggle against each other, demand for Ekunyah s support as a
matter of right.
Most of the times protagonist in stories are involved( East Africa) Nothing positive is gained from polygamy according to Henshaw.
What does one mean by Traditional Culture versus the Church in the play?
Like so many African elites, he finds himself straddling two
very different cultures Western and African with each
struggling for his soul. He is a devout Catholic and the
Catholic Church frowns at polygamy which in itself is a very
important component of African culture.
Ekunyah s emotional degeneration becomes quite obvious
when he asks Olu Ita to invite into his home Agatarata, a
traditional herbalist, who embodies everything that Ekunyah
disdains in African culture: Olu Ita: Is there anything I can do,
sir? Ekunyah: Go and call me Agarata. Olu Ita: (surprised) The
medicine-man, sir? Ekunyah: (impatiently) Go and call him, I
say. Olu Ita: But you ve just spoken to the Chaplain, sir!
Ekunyah: Will you stop arguing, and do what I tell you?
What does one mean by Corruption in Politics in the book?
In Act Two, Henshaw focuses on a very important aspect of the modern African
society politics. He uses Ekunyah to focus on the activities of African politicians
and it is obvious that he detests the kind of dirty politics, which has become the
vogue in contemporary Africa.
Through Ekunyah and members of the committee, we see that many African
politicians are a bunch of self-centred, self-opinionated and very corrupt people
who engage in politics principally for the purpose of self-gratification
From Henshaw’ s perspective, African politicians are fraudsters and he presents
his ideas very vividly through Ekunyah. When Olu Ita tells his boss that the people
of Koloro and Udura want him to build a road connecting the two villages in
return for their votes, a very perplexed Ekunyah devises a very ingenious
fraudulent scheme aimed at deceiving the inhabitants of Koloro and Udura and
securing their votes. He instructs Olu Ita:…hire about a hundred drums of tar.
Line them all along the road from Koloro to Udura. Then hire several loads of
sand and heap the sand at suitable intervals along the road. An impression must
be given that the roadwork is starting any moment now.
What does one mean by Hypocrisy in the play?
Every Africa politician who aims at winning elective political offices at all
costs will work with a bunch of sycophants who will attempt to do
everything within their powers to win the election for their candidate.
We also find that in the play, Ekunyah has a committee of friends who
support his candidacy but who also use their positions as members of the
committee to enrich themselves at Ekunyah s expenses. They hire crowds
of people at Ekunyah s political rallies to shout the politician s praises in
order to let their mentor feel that the members of the committee were
functioning effectively. In an attempt to make Ekunyah win the election
unopposed, they pay two hundred pounds to twenty opponents of
Ekunyah to withdraw their nomination forms.
Most African politicians predicate their political careers on the concept of
service to mankind but Henshaw s Medicine for Love shows that the
acquisition of political offices by politician becomes a means of servicing or
rewarding the politician s acolytes, hangers-on and scophants represented
in the play by characters like Olu Ita and the members of Ekunyah s political
committee.
What does one mean by the use of black magic in the play?
Henshaw also highlights the important role occultic magic and
practices play in the world of African politics and family.
It is not uncommon to find politicians securing the assistance of juju
priests to influence in their favour, the outcome of elections. Part of
the money Joss collects from Ekunyah is spent on Agatarata. Joss
explains further:
Agatarata will make a special medicine, which we will blow into the
air from various places in this constituency. Whoever breathes that
medicine into his body will be filled with a special admiration for
you… In fact Agatarata has already made a special medicine which
your election agents and friends will nib in their hands, and any voter
with whom they shake hands will go straight into that booth and vote
for you alone… Already he has helped us when we were filling in your
nomination forms. Even the ink you used was treated by him (66-67).
What are the tips for Building and Sustaining Relationships Between Your Characters.
- Draw on your own life experience
- Create a relationship arc
- Let outward character behavior come from a detailed inner life
- Give your characters unique traits
- Place your characters in multiple relationships
- Let subtext carry the load
- Make a strategic narration choice
When did James Ene Henshaw die and when was he born?
He was born on August 29 1924 and died August 16 2007
What did Henshaw want to be before writing plays?
He wanted to be a doctor and even went to med school.
Mention 3 plays he wrote
- This is Our chance
- Medicine for Love
- Enough is enough
- Children of the goddess
