Paper short abstract:

Butake and Besong's plays are hallmarks of revolutionary praxis in Cameroon's bicultural conflict. Though they dramatise the need for resolution, their views differ. Key Words: Franco-British Heritage, Cameroon Anglophone Literature, Anglophone Problem, Peaceful Co-existence, Nationhood

Paper long abstract:

Bole Butake and Bate Besong are amongst the most renowned Anglophone writers in Cameroon. Their writings do not only serve as a source for intellectual development but also as guide-books for revolutionary praxis. The Playwright’s opera in spite of their universal overtones, fall within the context of Cameroon Anglophone Literature which sprang in the last decade of the 20th century and demarcated itself as essentially a protest literature against what has become “The Anglophone Problem” in Cameroon. The fundamental difference between the two playwrights is that while Besong’s revolutionary drama is uncompromising and apparently precludes possibilities of peaceful co-existence between Anglophone and Francophone Cameroons, Butake’s radical dramaturgy possesses signposts of harmony between the two sections of Cameroon. Read from the perspectives of Homi Bhabha and Joseph A.B. Clara in Nation and Narration and “Nation Because of Differences” respectively, the paper argues that Besong’s plays like The Most Cruel Death of the Talkative Zombie, Beasts of No Nation, and Requiem for the Last Kaiser appear to be oppositional to the fundamental principles of nationhood. Conversely, Butake’s And Palm wine Will Flow, Family Saga and Betrothal without Libation dramatize the Anglophone plight in Cameroon but envision a peaceful and united Cameroon that benefits fully from its dual Franco-British heritage. The paper concludes that, Besong and Butake dramatize the urgent need for the resolution of the Anglophone Problem in Cameroon so that the country can enjoy its bicultural heritage.

Key Words: Franco-British Heritage, Cameroon Anglophone Literature, Anglophone Problem, Peaceful Co-existence, Nationhood