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Africa has been a fertile ground for Christianity, where it is growing faster than anywhere else, except perhaps in the former territories of the communist eastern bloc. Churches multiply and spread wildly, many of them quite unconventional. This play is a satire on a theme familiar to many Americans: the unscrupulous preacher more interested in greed than salvation.
A \"divine\" is a clergyman. Jeroboam is a \"Beach Divine\" because he belongs to a lower class of preachers who, lacking churches, preach in the open, on the public beach. There is a common English expression \"eggs is eggs\" (probably originally a pun on the algebraic statement \"X=X\") which means roughly \"they\'re all the same\". This Jeroboam denies, at least in the case of Prophets. High Life is an older form of popular urban dance music in West Africa. Note how in even in this simple comedy Soyinka uses techniques such as having the protagonist directly address the audience while a flashback of his old Master cursing him takes place in the background in an almost cinematic \"voiceover.\" \"Daughter of Eve\" is an expression for \"woman.\" There is a prophet named Jehu in the Bible (1 Kings 16:7), but Soyinka is probably slyly alluding to the more famous and flawed king of that name in 2 Kings 9.
Scene II
We now go back from this prologue to an earlier day. Ministers in this context are high government officers (they would be called \"cabinet members\" in the American system). What is Amope\'s attitude toward her husband? The \"cola\" referred to here is the same mild stimulant called kola nut elsewhere. \"One pound, eight and nine\" is one pound, eight shillings and nine pence. A calabash is a large gourd, often used for making vessels. It is traditional for a customer to denigrate the goods of a vendor when bargaining, but Amope rather overdoes it.
Scene III
What signs are there in Jero\'s speeches that he has a mainly mercenary attitude toward his followers? Note that the satisfaction and release the young girl experiences in swimming, presumably naked, is contrasted with the systematic frustration employed by Jero to control Chume. How does she affect Jero? The names Jero calls out are all pious men from the Bible who presumably could help him in his struggle, though David was notoriously susceptible to women too. Chume speaks in dialect. \"Help am\" is \"help him.\" \"Na\" is \"He is.\" Stressed adjectives are repeated, so \"very quickly\" becomes \"quick quick.\" \"Hebra\" sounds vaguely like \"Hebrew,\" but it is not clear what \"Abraka\" means. These words are meant to indicate miraculous \"speaking in tongues\" practiced by some Christian groups, as becomes clear in the next aside by Jero. An apostate is one who leaves the true faith. Ashtoreth and Baal are pagan gods denounced in the Bible, and sometimes considered demons. Why does Jero find it a safe prophecy to predict a man will live until eighty? The convulsions alluded to are a common by-product of spiritual possession, both in traditional African animist religions and certain forms of Christianity. Note the use here and earlier of \"talking\" drums as a form of insult. Soyinka cynically comments on the ritualistic nature of possession by the spirit by referring to it as \"the expected penitent\'s paroxysm.\" Why is Chume able to take over the congregation? \"Palaver\" is talk, or--here--argumentation. Who do you think has been beating Jero? Why does Chume not know that Jero is the man his wife is after? Eve is famous for being the first human to sin, Delilah for betraying her husband Samson, and Jezebel as the wicked wife of King Ahab. Why does Jero change his mind about allowing Chume to beat his wife? See John 2:15 for Jesus\' use of a whip to drive the money changers out of the Temple. Why is Jero sadly fingering his cape at the end of the scene?
Scene IV
What is Chume\'s reaction to learning whose house his wife has been waiting in front of?
Scene V
A \"back-bencher\" is a junior member of Parliament, without much influence. Such politicians rarely make speeches. Why do you think he is introduced into the play? Does he resemble anyone else? How does Jero appeal to him? What conclusion does Chume draw (mistakenly) about the relationship between Jero and his wife? Why is the member of Parliament so impressed when Jero disappears? How does Jero plan to use him to get rid of Chume?
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