Genre
Comedic play
Language
The language in which the play is written is English.
Setting and Context
The first Act of the play is set in Africa sometimes in the 1800s, during Queen Victoria’s reign.
Narrator and Point of View
Because this is a play, there is no narrator and no point of view.
Tone and Mood
The tone or mood in the play is a critical and an ironic one. This tone is used to make fun of the major characters in the play and their way of life.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The antagonist is Clive, his status as an antagonist being the result of his unwillingness to listen to anyone. The protagonists are Clive’s wife, Betty, and their son, Harry, who eventually break away from the tyranny of their husband, respectively father.
Major Conflict
The major conflict appears to be between the British society, presented here as being civilized and king, and the African tribes, described here as being extremely violent and unpredictable.
Climax
The play reaches its climax when Clive discovers that his son has sexual tendencies and forces him to get married to a woman.
Foreshadowing
The way Clive that will treat Betty in the second act is foreshadowed by the abusive way he treats her in the first act, not allowing her to make any decision for herself.
Understatement
In the beginning of the first act, Betty claiming that she does not like Harry is an understatement, as it is later revealed that the two are in love with one another.
Allusions
It is alluded that Joshua is a domestic servant or even a slave to Clive and his family. Joshua became attached to the family after saving Clive and from that point on he has been serving the family.
Imagery
No imagery can be found.
Paradox
A paradoxical idea is the way in which Clive treats the sins coming from the members of his family while denying there is something wrong with his behaviors.
Parallelism
Parallelism can be drawn between the way in which the characters behave in the play and the way in which the British Empire behaved in the countries it controlled. Just as the characters tried to claim they were good and moral, the British Empire tried to prove to the rest of the world that they had the best interest of the countries they ruled at heart but in reality they wanted to gather more resources and wealth.
Personification
We find a personification in the line "Frosty wind made moan’’.
Use of Dramatic Devices
The author uses dramatic devices to explain certain things about the characters such as their gender, skin color, or even if they are real people or not. This technique is employed to transmit the real feelings experienced by the characters and not what they show to the other characters.
