This question is based on Wole Soyinka's The Lion and the Jewel. '...He risked his life that you may boast A warrior-hunter for your lord...But you- You sel...

This question is based on Wole Soyinka's The Lion and the Jewel.

'...He risked his life that you may boast

A warrior-hunter for your lord...But you-

You sell him to the rhyming rabble

Gloating in your disloyalty...

In these lines the 'rhyming rabble' refers to

Answer Details

In the lines from Wole Soyinka's play 'The Lion and the Jewel', the 'rhyming rabble' refers to the mummers who dance in mockery of the Bale's rumoured impotence. The lines suggest that the Bale risked his life to be a warrior-hunter for his people, but Sidi, the village belle, has betrayed him by selling him out to the mummers who make fun of him and his supposed impotence. The 'rhyming rabble' are a group of people who use poetry and dance to ridicule and humiliate the Bale. They are called the 'rhyming rabble' because they use rhyming verse in their performances. Therefore, the 'rhyming rabble' refers to the mummers who dance in mockery of the Bale's rumoured impotence.