Names as a Deliberate Stratagem by Dramatists – An Anthroponomic Survey of Ola Rotimi’s Kurunmi

In some (particularly Africans) literary master-pieces, names exist as a purposeful ploy by authors to call critical attention to the thematic concerns of the pieces. While this aspect of literary criticism is usually ignored by critics, or have not been given sufficient critical attention as though names in literary works exist for mere purposes of character and characterization as necessary literary elements, the study shares the concern of authors whose literary pieces contain names that form a substantial part of the holistic thematics of such works. Investigating Kurunmi, which qualifies as an anthroponic research by Ola Rotimi, the paper calls analytical awareness to names and naming in literary works as one way to content the craving of authors on the holistic appreciation of literary texts. The foci, therefore, are to reintroduce anthropological investigations of literary texts; show how this intersects with interests in the relationship between humans and their beings or identities, ritual and daily social life; demonstrate how names govern the unconscious stimuli of individuals in Yoruba (African) society, and specifically, fasten the carnage, including the suicide of Kurunmi, in the play on the name of the protagonist. An aspect of onomastics, anthroponymy, is employed as a frame to justify names as forceful linguistic and literary codes permeated with didactic logic, establish some authors as anthroponymists, and provide reasons why critics should give attention to names in any literary work under study. Keywords: Metaphoric nominalization, anthroponymy, Kurunmi, Stratagem, Yoruba names