path

Glazed by the soles of my great precursors. (Scene 1)

This line creates a powerful image of Elesin walking down a path his ancestors have traveled. He is following in their footsteps and fulfilling his duty to his people.

When doubts about his willingness to die are raised, Elesin tells a lengthy parable of the Not-I Bird, a servant of Death who reminds everyone of their mortality. Elesin tells the Praise-Singer that, rather than dismissing the bird like everyone else, he welcomes it.

I, when that Not-I bird perched

Upon my roof, bade him seek his nest again,

Safe without care or fear. I unrolled

My welcome mat for him to see. Not-I

Flew happily away, you'll hear his voice

No more in this lifetime — You all know

What I am. (Scene 1)

"Death and the King's Horsemen" encapsulates the essence of a tragic narrative through its exploration of cultural collision and personal dilemmas. The play engages with the Aristotelian concept of tragedy by presenting a noble protagonist, Elesin, who experiences a reversal of fortune due to a combination of internal and external conflicts. 

The tragic flaw, in this case, is Elesin's excessive pride. Elesin takes immense pride in his ceremonial role of accompanying the king's soul on its journey through the afterlife. However, his hubris becomes apparent in his unyielding belief in his entitlement to worldly pleasures, including the Bride, who is promised to another. This pride-driven insistence on consummating a marriage with her before his suicide contradicts his duty.

Had Elesin demonstrated humility, he would have upheld his duty without deviation. His disregard for the wisdom of others, exemplified by Iyaloja, is illustrated through her indirect questioning of his honor. She implores him not to tarnish the Bride's prospects for happiness and reminds him of his professed honorable character.

Elesin's decision to marry on his last day among the living sets off a chain of events that prevent his ritual suicide and bring dishonor to his son Olunde, who takes his place in the deadly rite.

Like many tragic heroes, Elesin's ill-fated decisions emanate from his excessive pride and contribute to his tragic downfall. His tragic trajectory aligns with Aristotle's criteria for a tragic hero, encompassing his hubris, erroneous choice, and catastrophic consequences, culminating in the loss of his son and his suicide.

A Nation in Turmoil

When Soyinka wrote Death and the King’s Horseman in 1974, he was living in exile from Nigeria and lecturing at Churchill College, Cambridge University in England. The preceding years had been challenging for both Nigeria and Soyinka personally. In 1967, the southeastern region of Nigeria declared itself as the independent Republic of Biafra, sparking a civil war. The conflict's roots were intricate: the secessionists, primarily from the Ibo tribe, believed the Nigerian government favored the Hausa tribe; many in the southeast were Christians, while the north was predominantly Muslim; oil production in the region led to disputes over revenue distribution.

Soyinka saw the government’s policies toward Biafra as unjust and expressed his views through letters to national publication editors. In 1967, he was arrested and detained without charges for over two years, spending fifteen months in solitary confinement. During his imprisonment, the war continued, confining Biafrans to an increasingly smaller territory. Shortly after his release in 1969, the war ended with Biafra's total defeat. This conflict, the first modern war between African blacks, resulted in over one million deaths and left many more homeless and starving. Although oil profits soared, the Nigerian economy was in shambles because the wealth was siphoned off by corrupt military rulers and European oil companies, leaving the average Nigerian impoverished and hungry.

Following these events, Soyinka briefly directed the University of Ibadan’s Theatre Arts Department before spending five years mostly outside Nigeria. He traveled across Europe and the United States, teaching, writing, and directing, and worked as an editor in Ghana for two years. Critics note that his focus shifted post-imprisonment. Previously, he had critiqued colonial powers' negative impacts on the colonized; now, he scrutinized weakness and corruption wherever they appeared. He particularly aimed to explore how Africans treated each other unjustly and how his own community had betrayed itself. Death and the King’s Horseman, as Soyinka emphasizes in his Author’s Note, reflects this evolved perspective.

African Literature

In the latter half of the twentieth century, African writers encountered a significant challenge. Traditional African literature, deeply rooted in oral traditions and ritual performances, was becoming increasingly unfamiliar even to local audiences. Meanwhile, more popular genres such as the novel and classical tragedy were based on European structures and philosophies, which often did not align well with African themes and beliefs. Language also posed a problem: while a play written in a local language would more accurately capture the essence and spirit of the people, its audience would be very limited.

Many African writers who have achieved international recognition spent time traveling, teaching, and creating important works in Europe and the United States. These authors blended European influences with African materials in their works. With each new piece, they sought to define what made African literature uniquely "African." Writers like Soyinka penned eloquent essays that delved into Africa's place in world literature and examined how African writers could reconcile various influences. For instance, after gaining success with several publications, Ngugi wa Thiong’o from Kenya decided in 1977 to stop writing in English, opting instead to write his novels and plays in Gikuyu, while still promoting their translation. Soyinka’s works, though written in English, include original Yoruba for certain proverbs, as seen in Death and the King’s Horseman. In 1994, Akin Isola translated the play into Yoruba as part of a new movement in Yoruba literature, a translation that Soyinka supported.

Setting

Death and the King’s Horseman unfolds in the Nigerian town of Oyo around 1943 or 1944. In the nineteenth century, Nigeria became a British colony, and by the 1940s, British officers maintained order and protected a small community of white Europeans residing in the country. The white expatriates and the black Africans, who are members of the Yoruba people, lived in separate worlds, each striving to preserve their traditional lifestyles.

The market serves as the community's hub, a place for socializing, trading, celebrating, and performing rituals. It is here that Elesin arrives as his final day comes to an end. The Western-style residences of the district officer and the resident are located away from the village, yet close enough for the ceremonial drumming to be audible. These two communities, each hosting a special event on the night depicted in the play, remain separate. No whites attend the ceremony marking Elesin’s transition, and the only blacks at the fancy-dress ball are servants.

Tragedy

Structurally, Death and the King’s Horseman follows the form of a tragedy. Tragedy is an ancient style of drama where a significant figure undergoes a sequence of events and decisions that lead to a major catastrophe. Tragedies have been written globally for millennia to explore human dignity and our greatest strengths and flaws. The ancient Greeks believed that tragedy evoked fear and pity in the audience, helping the community psychologically cope with these emotions. Typically, the structure of a tragedy includes several distinct parts: an introduction that establishes characters, setting, and situation; the complication or rising action where an opposing force is introduced; the climax or turning point; the falling action focusing on the opposing forces; and the catastrophe, or the tragic conclusion.

Death and the King’s Horseman follows this tragic structure. Act 1 introduces Elesin and his duty. Act 2 presents the opposing force in the form of Simon Pilkings, who intends to prevent Elesin’s suicide. Act 3 reaches its climax with Elesin in transition, seemingly moments away from the central act of his death. Act 4 shifts back to Simon Pilkings and concludes with the revelation that Elesin’s suicide has been thwarted. Act 5 features Elesin’s reflections on the chaos his failure has caused and depicts the deaths of Olunde and Elesin.

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing occurs when a story or play provides early hints about what will happen later. In Death and the King’s Horseman, Act 1 contains several indications that Elesin might not follow through with his plan to commit suicide. When Elesin and the Praise-Singer enter the market, Elesin remarks on the beauty of the women there. The Praise-Singer agrees but cautions, “The hands of women also weaken the unwary.” This warning plants the idea of possible failure or danger in the audience’s mind. When Elesin vows to remain faithful and join his ancestors, the Praise-Singer responds, “In their time the world was never tilted from its groove, it shall not be in yours.” This again suggests the potential for failure, a theme that is echoed multiple times by the Praise-Singer and the market women as they reassure each other that Elesin will not fail.

Elesin himself speaks passionately about his resolve to fulfill his duty. He dances and tells a lengthy story about the “Not-I bird,” a bird that flew away when “Death came calling.” Several critics have noted that Elesin appears to be overcompensating here. Why does he repeatedly promise the crowd that he will “not delay”? Why does he continually bring up the possibility of failure on what should be a celebratory day? This foreshadowing prepares the audience for what is to come, heightening the anticipation and emotional impact of watching Elesin face and ultimately turn away from his duty.

Ritual

Death and the King’s Horseman is deeply rooted in Yoruba culture, with its metaphysical themes stemming from Yoruba beliefs. However, as Nigeria and the rest of the world progress and become more Westernized, ancient customs and beliefs are increasingly lost. In the Author’s Note, Soyinka mentions the play’s “threnodic essence,” referring to its mourning of lost traditions. With both Elesin and Olunde dead, the tradition of the king’s horseman cannot continue, as it relies on the role being passed from father to son. Elesin’s failure signifies the loss of an important ritual.

On stage, the play both honors and laments ritual. Unlike William Shakespeare's plays, which feature almost no stage directions, Death and the King’s Horseman includes several extensive passages where the playwright details the actors' actions alongside their spoken lines. Often, these stage directions describe aspects of music, dance, and costume unique to Yoruba rituals. For instance, Elesin enters the market with a group of drummers and praise singers, and the opening of the play—before any dialogue—is a reenactment of part of the horseman’s final day ritual. The stage directions also require Elesin to dance, accompanied by drumming, as he recites the tale of the "Not-I bird." They specify that the alari-cloth the women drape him with must be bright red and that they should dance around him. Additionally, Simon and Jane are directed to dance the tango and perform a blasphemous imitation of the egungun ceremony. Elesin is also instructed to dance his way into a trance, among other actions. These scenes are vibrant with sound and color, and most are not mentioned by the characters. They provide a separate layer of meaning, inaccessible to those who merely read the script. Beyond the themes and ideas conveyed through dialogue, the audience witnesses a series of rituals performed on stage, reminiscent of how they were traditionally enacted in village markets.

1940s: Nigeria is a British colony, administered by a white British minority bureaucracy.

1963: Nigeria attains independence and becomes a republic, with Nnamdi Azikiwe serving as its first president.

1975: A military coup results in General Olusegun Obasanjo taking power. He becomes Nigeria’s third military ruler since 1966.

1999: General Abdulsalami Abubakar, the latest in a line of military leaders, takes control and invites Soyinka back from a four-year exile. The general vows to end Nigeria's prolonged period of military oppression.

1967: Soyinka begins a prison sentence of over two years for criticizing the Nigerian government, spending fifteen months in solitary confinement.

1974: Nobel Prize-winning author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is stripped of his Soviet citizenship and exiled. Writer Es’kia Mphahlele is in exile from South Africa after being arrested for protesting apartheid. Soyinka becomes a visiting lecturer at Cambridge University in England.

2000: Solzhenitsyn, having regained his citizenship, resides again in Russia. Mphahlele and Soyinka live in their home countries, where they are celebrated as intellectuals and political activists.

1970s: African literature is rarely taught in European or American schools and is not widely recognized outside Africa. When Soyinka is invited to Cambridge University, it is to lecture on anthropology rather than literature.

1986: Soyinka becomes the first African writer to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature, recognizing his global literary significance and attracting more readers worldwide.

2000: High schools and colleges routinely offer World Literature courses that increasingly include African and other so-called Third World literatures. Soyinka’s plays, including Death and the King’s Horseman, are commonly featured in textbooks.

1953: In Nigeria’s first official census, 43 percent of the population identifies as Muslims, 22 percent as Christians, and 34 percent as followers of ancestral religions.

1999: Fewer Nigerians practice traditional religions. Approximately 50 percent identify as Muslims, 40 percent as Christians, and only 10 percent follow ancestral beliefs.

1945: Higher education opportunities for black Nigerians are limited. Formal education is mainly provided by missionary schools and does not extend beyond the secondary level.

2000: Nigeria boasts an extensive public school system along with many religious schools. Several universities exist, including a few medical schools associated with teaching hospitals. Nigerians pursuing medical careers no longer need to study abroad.

Death and the King’s Horseman has never been adapted into a film or recorded.

Sources

Gotrick, Kacke, ‘‘Soyinka and Death and the King’s Horseman, or How Does Our Knowledge or Lack of Knowledge of Yoruba Culture Affect Our Interpretation?,’’ in Signs and Signals: Popular Culture in Africa, edited by Raoul Granqvist, University of Umea, 1990, pp. 137, 139.

Maduakor, Obi, Wole Soyinka: An Introduction to His Writing, Garland, 1986, p. 273.

Mwagiru, Ciugu, ‘‘A Crusader’s Return,’’ in World Press Review, Vol. 46, no. 2, February 1999, p. 35.

Wright, Derek, Wole Soyinka Revisited, Twayne, 1993, p. 73.

Further Reading

Aboyade, Bimpe, Wole Soyinka and Yoruba Oral Tradition, in Death and the King’s Horseman, Fountain Publications, 1994. This brief examination highlights the significance of oral tradition in Nigerian culture, serving as a foundation for the play. Aboyade, a Yoruban himself, describes the egungun celebration, elucidates the role of the praise-singer, and contemplates how Elesin and his community perceive honor.

Durosimi Jones, Eldred, The Writing of Wole Soyinka, 3rd ed., Heinemann, 1988. The initial edition of this volume, released in 1973, was part of the Twayne World Authors Series and was long regarded as the definitive book-length study of Soyinka. The third edition remains robust in its integration of Christian and Yoruba elements, though the discussions of Soyinka’s later works, including Death and the King’s Horseman, are brief.

Gibbs, James, ed., Critical Perspectives on Wole Soyinka, Three Continents Press, 1980. This collection compiles critical essays on Soyinka’s plays, poetry, memoirs, and critiques from various viewpoints. Although somewhat dated, and potentially challenging for general readers, the essays offer consistent insights and the collection is comprehensive.

Gotrick, Kacke, ‘‘Soyinka and Death and the King’s Horseman, or How Does Our Knowledge or Lack of Knowledge of Yoruba Culture Affect Our Interpretation?,’’ in Signs and Signals: Popular Culture in Africa, edited by Raoul Granqvist, University of Umea, 1990, pp. 137-148. Gotrick outlines two primary interpretations of the play: Elesin’s failure or a cultural clash. The conclusion posits that readers' and viewers' interpretations are influenced by their level of ‘‘Yoruba competence.’’ The analysis is based on the 1987 New York production and includes three photographs from that performance.

Levy, Patricia, Nigeria, Marshall Cavendish, 1996. Part of the Cultures of the World series, this volume is geared towards middle and high school students. It provides a clear yet substantial overview of Nigeria’s history and geography, and explores the religions, languages, arts, and festivals of the major ethnic groups. The numerous colored photographs vividly illustrate the similarities and differences between Nigeria and North America.

Maduakor, Obi, Wole Soyinka: An Introduction to His Writing, Garland, 1986. This book aims to make Soyinka’s work more accessible to Western students by explaining his worldview, his use of mythology, and his linguistic style. Maduakor interprets Death and the King’s Horseman as a play about the transition from one spiritual realm to another, paralleling the journey of the hero-god Ogun.

Wright, Derek, Wole Soyinka Revisited, Twayne, 1993. This is an outstanding introduction to Soyinka’s life and works, highlighting Yoruban traditions and themes that influence his writing. Wright’s analysis of Death and the King’s Horseman emphasizes the modifications Soyinka made to the historical events, showing how these alterations strengthen the themes of disrupted rituals and substitution. The book also covers Soyinka’s early years and initial works.