SUMMARY OF HORACE ARES POETICA

Wedlock of the gods

The “Wedlock of the gods” is compared with Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” The prologue of the play tells us that Uloko and Ogwoma (male and female) protagonists are lovers from an early age and they agree to marry themselves and thus spend the rest of their lives together. However, there is a twist of fate in their love life and their lifelong goal of being together is cut short, by Ogwoma’s parents.

          Ogwoma is forced to marry Adigwu a man who is older and wealthier than Uloko, who cannot afford to pay the bride price for his dearly beloved Ogwoma; this was done to secure a bridewealth to obtain medicine for her sick brother. Adigwu eventually dies and Ogwoma oblivious of the bounds of tradition feels free to live a happy life having been released from the chains and pangs of being married to a man that she never loved, nor wanted to do anything with in the first place.

However, according to tradition, Ogwoma must mourn her deceased husband for three months after which, she is to marry his (Adigwu’s) younger brother in order to bear him children. It is observed that in the second month of mourning that Ogwoma is found to be pregnant for her erstwhile lover-Uloko. This unraveling quickly metamorphosed into a reversal of fortune for Ogwoma and Uloko. Odibei, Adigwu’s revengeful mother, who had being suspecting and even accused Ogwoma of infidelity as the cause of her son’s death-as she had stated that Adigwu did not die an ordinary death, as it is a bad omen for a man to die with a swollen stomach. Odibei, sets out to avenge the death of her son, she therefore invokes magic to eliminate Ogwoma’s life.

 The community on their part tries to broker peace, but they have to confront the two lovers who see nothing wrong in their action, but rather, they see it as an act of the gods. Amid their defiance, the families of both Uloko and Ogwoma blame each other as being responsible for the calamity that is befalling the two lovers. However, the families are united in their quest to ensure that Ogwoma and Uloko are safe and alive, following Odibei’s threats to harm Ogwoma.

With the aid of an incantation, Odibei puts Ogwoma under a spell to adhere to her nefarious plans. Odibei prepares a poisonous drink and instructs Ogwoma to drink it. Ogwoma dies of the poisonous content, angered Uloko vows to avenge the death of his lover and the mother of his unborn child by killing Odibei to complete the cycle of death, as the play is termed “a tragedy which finds its roots in the ritual of deaths and mourning” Uloko after keeping to his vow, takes his own life by drinking of the same poison that killed his lover: declaring that “…ours is the wedlock of the gods…” with the firm belief that their union will continue in the world of the dead.