CHAPTER FOUR
THEME
This definition indicates that we can hardly speak of a piece of literary work that doesn't have a theme. The theme forms the gist of the author's work. Inother words, a theme shapes what the author expresses as his views and ideas in a literary work.
Without a theme therefore, a piece of a fiction is lifeless and meaningless.
Msimang (1986:133) also concurs that the theme is the central idea in a literary work.
. He further stipulates that:
The fact that theme is central, implies that everything else, including plot, setting, characters and their action is concerned with conveying
that theme.
With regard to the theme ofa radio drama, Tshamano (1994:184) says:
Theme may be viewed as the message which the scriptwriter wants to convey to the audience.Itis the central idea which the audience arrives at, at the end of the radio drama.
We also agree with many other scholars who emphasise the notion of the theme as the central idea of a story or literary work. We also feel that theme is what shows the intention for which a piece of literary work is presented to us. The defining of theme by many scholars as what the story or play is all about, brings us to another interesting argument. There seems to be confusion in many definitions as to whether there is a difference between a theme and a subject matter in a literary work. Kerr (1956:60) for instance, has this to say:
A theme is a subject or topic ofdiscourse.
Anattempt at clearly elucidating the difference between the two terms is also offered by Lenake (1984:15) who argues that:
The term subject matter relates to what is being saidina poem, while theme refers to the underlying idea of the poem. The two concepts appear to be inseparable for literary analysis.
The above definitions, although the latter refers specifically to a poem, show that theme means different things to different people. We note however, that with regard to
a play, most scholars seem to agree that theme has to do with what the play is all about and what the playwright is trying to say through the medium of his play.
For the purpose of this study, our definition and understanding of theme will be in line with the view by Willis (1967:81) who defines theme in two ways. He says:
The term theme is often used to denote the basic subject matter of a play.
He goes further and gives this clarification:
A second way in which theme may be defined is to describe it as a statement about life that is implicit in the action of the play.
Ngara (1982: 15) concurs with Willis and explains:
...What the author sets out to write about is the subject matter...what he says about the subject matter is the theme.
In our analysis ofNtuli's one-act radio plays, we will adopt the definition of theme as both the subject matter of the play and a statement which the playwright puts forward in the play.
What becomes evident in dealing with theme is that it is a very difficult task to point out the theme of the play and there is no prescribed method of doing so. The delicate nature of this task is best expressed by Perrine (1983: 109) who says:
Sometimes we willfeel what the story is about strongly enough and yet find it difficult to put down this feeling into words.
What makes things more difficult is that most scholars agree that a play can have more than one theme. Itcan also have one dominant theme but in taking a closer look, one can realise that there are related statements made by the playwright which can also be regarded as co-themes. In connection with this, Zulu (1986: 28) contends that:
he also comments on peripheral, but related issues which may even be moral lessons in the form of sub-themes. These are known as motifs or sub-ordinate themes.
We have mentioned that theme is the reason for the playwright to embark on a writing adventure. This means that the playwright may convey different themes for different purposes to his listeners. Some themes may be didactic in nature so as to impose a moral lesson on the listeners. The playwright may also convey informative themes which will serve to inform the listener about the playwright's observation on human nature and behaviour as portrayed through characters in the play. In some cases, the play may be for purely entertainment purposes and serve to divert the listener's mind from the commitments and hurdles ofthe day.
There are certain requirements which a theme must meet in order to incite reaction which may be negative or positive, depending on how the listener interprets the play.
Willis (1967:88) states that for a theme to achieve significance:
First, the statement the theme makes about life should be an important one. Second, this statement should be one that is meaningful to as many people as possible.
It is in consideration of such observations that we are going to tackle our discussion of Ntuli's themes. Ouraim will be to look at the topics and subject matter that seem to dominate most of Ntuli's one-act radio plays. We are also going to consider the statements that he makes explicitly or indirectly through the subject matter that he chooses for his plays. Most importantly, we are going to illustrate the symbolic aspects ofthe themes that Ntuli chooses and how this enhances the message of the play.