Okot P'Bitek - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

The Song of Lawino has been described as one of the most important works of African literature of the 1960s. The Luo original was written in rhymed couplets, and was metrically regular. The English translation, published a decade later in 1966, is in a staccato form of free verse, running to 13 sections and a total of around 5000 lines. It develops from many angles Lawino, the almost-discarded wife of an upwardly-mobile husband, as a persona or type, but also as an individual of great verbal resource who probably reflects the author's mother. Kwame Anthony Appiah remarks in In My Father's House that the specific cultural points made are carried off without the need for much exposition. Given that the form mixes harangue with self-reflection, it is always clear where the argument tends and the context is brought along with the main thrust, whether the issue is cooking, Lawino's relatives being told they cannot drop in unannounced, or the pretensions and fashions of the urban second wife.

Scholars have identified numerous allusions in and sources of Song of Lawino, in Acholi traditional songs. These can be found at the level of particular phrases. They also come from across the range of genres, making the Song of Lawino a cross-section of an entire culture.

The shorter sequel Song of Ocol was less well received. The self-justification of the ambitious husband had no doubt a satirical and political aim. It has also dated much more quickly, while the many-faceted Lawino, who starts with the comment 'My husband's tongue is bitter', is more likely to become a timeless creation.

In Two Songs, he addressed other issues, in the same style. Song of a Prisoner drew on his reactions to Kenyan politics, and Song of Malaya deals with the life of a prostitute.