FREUDIAN SYMBOLS IN J.P. BEKEDEREMO – CLARK’S SONG OF A GOAT

Abstract

Sigmund Freud, regarded motivation as a producer of a kind of exerting energy–a self directing inner force which generates human activity. This is ascribed to the human psychic energy. He offered, in this psychic theory of motivation, erotic and libidinous explanations which apply to the thought motives and actions expressed by J.P. Bekederemo–Clark in Song of a Goat (a dramatic episode). The social appeal of this evokes a moral question of language acceptability. A quick literary appraisal unfolds a play with great psycho-analytic fascination. The morality of the utterances thus reveals an overdose of Freudian slips or symbols which help explain the poetic essence in which the play is couched. J.P. Bekederemo–Clark’s Song of a Goat makes use of Freudian symbols that certainly explain one of the most rewarding ways of studying the play. One also needs to decode the message encapsulated in these symbols. Furthermore, because the issues dramatized in Song of a Goat dwell largely on the problem of procreation, most of the crucial symbols found in the play are erotic and Freudian in nature. This paper explores the proliferation and meaning of these Freudian symbols that are present in this highly fascinating play and concludes that Clark’s use of Freudian symbols, evidently shows the expertise displayed by the literary giant, who, like Freud, is interested in the development of the human psyche which he expresses literarily.