Death and the King's Horseman

The main themes in Death and the King's Horseman are death and colonialism. The play contrasts the Yoruba view of death as a natural, necessary part of life with the British perception of it as...

In Death and the King's Horseman, Elesin Oba is portrayed as a tragic hero whose lack of resolve leads to his downfall. His failure to fulfill his ritual suicide, due to distractions and desires,...

In Death and the King's Horseman, honor is presented through Elesin and his son, Olunde. Elesin loses his honor by failing to complete the ritual suicide, prioritizing his desires over his duty....

Elesin Oba fails to perform his duty to die and accompany the king into the afterlife because he is attracted to a woman and takes her as his wife. He loses his will to die because of the pleasure he...

In "Death and the King's Horseman," Elesin is initially portrayed as a respected and vital horseman, dedicated to his sacred duty of committing suicide. However, his fatal flaw is his inability to...

The similarities and differences between cultures in Death and the King's Horseman highlight the clash between Yoruba and British colonial values, emphasizing the universal theme of "threnodic...

The central conflict that is introduced in Scenes 2 and 3 of this masterful tragedy is the conflict between Yoruba culture and Western culture. This of course finds its strongest expression in...

PRAISE-SINGER: Far be it for me to belittle the dwellers of that place but, a man is either born to his are or he isn't. And I don't know for certain that you'll meet my father, so who is going to...

The central conflict of Death and the King's Horseman is not between two civilisations but rather the conflict between individual responsibility and individual desire.

Elesin’s behavior causes the ritual to be changed. His son takes his place as horseman and sacrifices himself in order to complete the ritual.

the Greek tragic hero suffers death (or some other horrific consequence like blinding and exile) as a result of a tragic flaw in his character that leads to a fatal mistake or decision resulting in...

It is possible to see that there are a number of important ways in which the play deals with honour and duty, and they are carried through in various different ways throughout. One of the key...

Important quotes from Death and the King's Horseman include: "The world is not a constant honey stream; it is a river of dangers," highlighting the themes of duty and sacrifice, and "Not I became the...

Yes, Elesin is a tragic character.  As the now-dead king's "horseman" he is expected to committ suicide in loyalty to his former leige.  Here is an excerpt from the character page at...

Iyaloja's words to Elesin's bride actually end the play, as the women react to Elesin's suicide and then have to face the consequences both of Elesin's inaction and of his terrible final action in...

The political agenda of this masterful play clearly concerns colonialism as expressed through the very precarious and uneasy relationship between the two cultures of the Yoruba and the British. The...

If this play is a question of failure, it is important to be very clear about who precisely is to be blamed. It seems rather extreme to blame the tribe as a whole for failing to maintain their...

In all three works, the authors portray women as supporting characters on the stage of life.  In Yellow Woman, the Pueblo Indian woman follows her mysterious lover's lead. She is...

Soyinka in this play presents his audience with two very different and, apparently, opposed world views. The Yoruba world view presents a view of life that is cyclical by nature and where life is...

Pilkings is not presented as an important character in the play so it is not possible to say that his life ends tragically.

I am not entirely certain that anyone can mandate how a work of literature can be ready. Even the author cannot fully control how individuals perceive their work.  This means that Death and...

Oriki is a kind of Yoruba literary genre used to inspire people. It is usually in the form of poetry, consisting of songs of praise. Oriki can also take the name form as well. One must learn,...