THE PROF

Wole Soyinka's "Death and the King's Horseman"

Background Study

— History
— Myth (Abobaku)
— Yoruba worldview — Tripatrite (3 stages)
1. The world of the Living
2. The world of the Dead
3. The world of the Unborn.
All the three are joined by transition.

The play is taken from history, that is, it actually occured in a place called the Oyo Empire.
— The Elesin Oba is the one in charge of the stables.
— According to tradition, the Elesin Oba is supposed to commit suicide and die with the king.
— When the king is alive, the Elesin Oba enjoys every privilege of the king because of the belief
that if he is not given what he desires, he would not perform his responsibility.
— The Yoruba believe that the world goes on in a circle; the living — dead — unborn which is
uninterrupted and it is believed that the three worlds are joined by transition which means death.

THE PLOT

Elesin Oba is going to take his departure. He is followed by Olohun Iyo, the praise singer. Elesin
Oba is going to the market to take his departure and he is in a hurry that Olohun Iyo asked for
the reason for his haste. Upon being asked if he was afraid to die, he gave the anecdote of
The-Not-I-Bird which is a short story about a herbalist who was going to die.

The anecdote emphasizes or reinforces Elesin Oba's fearlessness that means that he is not
afraid to do what he has been born for. It is believed that if the Elesin Oba doesn't die, there will
be chaos in the Yoruba race. The Iyaloja represents the custodian of Yoruba cultural tradition.

— why did Olunde call Elesin Oba "eater of leafover"?

— The play is a tragedy. However, it is an African tragedy in the sense that there's hope. The
hope us the hope in the unborn which would create a new beginning to avoid chaos in the
Yoruba society.
— "Myth, Literature and the African World" is a collection of essays by Wole Soyinka which tells
what African tragedy is about. Read it to understand what the play is about.

THEMES
— Evocation of African culture.
— Sheer beauty of African culture
— Sacrificial death.

There are two categories of characters in the book. The white and the black people. However, in
the author's note, Wole Soyinka warns that the play should not be seen as a clash of culture.

Scholars have however argued that the play portrays the clash of culture. It is believed that is
singularly based on the book "Death and the King's Horseman" that Wole Soyinka won the
Nobel Prize for literature.

Who is to blame for the tragedy of Elesin Oba: he is however to be held responsible for his own
action.

CHARACTERIZATION

Elesin Oba is the protagonist of the play. The whole of the Yoruba race rests upon his shoulder.
He is an important chief, full of life and uses a lot of proverbs. He loves women and enjoys life to
the fullest and that became his tragic flaw. He is an epicurean figure.

Iyaloja; she is the custodian of African culture. She is very blunt. She can also be blamed for the
Elesin Oba's downfall.

— The play is compact as it happened within a day and there is no catharsis [which is the
purgation of emotion]
— Elesin Oba's death does not mean the end of the story as the story continues in the world of
the unborn.