3rd and 4th May,2022

A Study of Death and the King’s Horseman

 Thematic Analysis of Scene 2
Learning Objective:
 Comment on how the playwright employs language
and style to depict the characters and themes in
scene 2 of the play.
 Identify the dramatic techniques explored in the
text.
DEATH AND THE KING’S HORSEMAN

THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF ACT 2

Analysis
Act II of the Death and the King’s Horseman is very different from
the first: the language is simpler and more prosaic, the theatrics of
ritual are replaced by the
mundaneness of bureaucratic colonialism, and the stirring figures of
Elesin
and Iyaloja give way to the nonentities of Pilkings and his wife.
That is not to say Pilkings is not a significant character, for if there
is one specific antagonist to Elesin’s protagonist it is he, but critics
largely view Pilkings as a “type” rather than a fully fleshed
character. Critic and professor Tanure Ojaide states that “Simon
Pilkings is portrayed as a typical district officer rather than an
individual” and is “symbolic of the colonial administrator rather
than just a male character.”
Indeed, this act is rife with examples of how Pilkings embodies the worst traits of the
European colonizer. First of all, he and his wife are completely culturally insensitive,

parading around in the egungun costumes without bothering to learn anything about
what they mean to the Nigerian people. When Amusa expresses his trepidation about
being near the costumes, Pilkings mocks him. Pilkings also mocks the young houseboy,
Joseph; interestingly, he mocks him for his embrace of Western religion and
“elephantine notions
of tact” (27), which are things that Europeans purportedly aimed to achieve in their
colonial endeavors. Other examples of this conspicuous lack of understanding of the
people he has supposedly come to “civilize” are his actions of sending Olunde away to
England
without Elesin’s permission, and dismissing Nigerians’ extended kin networks as mere
opportunities to shield illegitimate children –“Elastic family, no bastards” (30).
There are many examples of Pilkings saying offensive things
about the Nigerian people, and
dismissing them as stupid, ignorant, and childlike. He rolls his
eyes at Amusa’s fear and says to Jane, “When they get this
way there is nothing you can do. It’s simply hammering
against a brick wall” (25). He upholds the English colonial
experiment and rues the fact that Nigerians have not fallen in
line, commenting in response to hearing about Elesin, “You
think you’ve stamped it all out but it’s always lurking under
the surface somewhere” (26). He comments derisively that
the natives will “open their mouths and yap about their family
secrets before you can stop them” (29) and that they are “sly,
devious bastards” (29).
 
Pilkings also seems to have a streak of misogyny in him, something
not uncommon in Western culture. His words to Jane at the end of
the act, while ostensibly joking, are still harsh: “Shut up woman
and get your things on” (34).
 
Jane laughs along with her husband, but in other instances in the
text seems to be frustrated with her husband’s rudeness. Ojaide
notes that while Pilkings is a type –the colonial administrator
–“Jane is more individualized” and “It seems [students] see in her
the humane and sensitive aspects of womanhood that are lacking in
Simon.”
She cautions Pilkings not to be rash in concluding Elesin is guilty, urges
him to be kinder to Joseph, and defends the Nigerians’ “chatter” by
commenting that while they may talk a lot, “do they really give anything
away? I mean, anything that really counts. This affair for instance, we
didn’t know they still practiced that custom did we?” (29). Overall, Jane
is more nuanced and capable of thinking more deeply about the
relationship between the English and Nigerians, although it would be a
mistake to claim that she is not still a product of the dominant race.

Class Task
 State the significant events in the text that involve rituals.

ASSIGNMENT
 Explore how Soyinka remarkably depicts the
metaphor for Elesin achieving union with the
28TH APRIL,2022

A Study of Death and the King’s Horseman

 Exploring dramatic techniques and
Characters in Scene 2

Learning Objectives:
 Explore the dramatic techniques in the play
 Comment on how the playwright presents the
characters in Scene 2
Dramatic Techniques
Music, Dance, and Poetry
Music, dance, and poetry are featured throughout the text. For
the Nigerians, they are fundamentally important parts of the
ritual. They can tell stories, induce trances and meditation and
reverie, bring about transformation and change, and overall,
demonstrate great power and importance. The ritual needs
these elements to survive. The Europeans also have music and
dance, but they do not possess the same influence. The music
is restrained, the dancing stilted. The European dance/music is
also sullying through its existence in Nigeria, where it does not
belong. It is alien, just as the Pilkings's wearing the egungun
costumes is an alien act.
Symbolism
The captain and the ship
The captain and the ship symbolize the sacrifice the king's horseman will make for
his people.
Dancing
Dancing permeates the text. It is part of the ritual, and is directly connected to
Elesin's suicide. Elesin, the women, and the praise-singer dance to enact the ritual.
However, Pilkings and Jane also dance, but their dance is awkward and
representative of their outsider status.
The egungun costumes
These costumes symbolize traditional Nigerian culture, and are improperly worn by
Pilkings and Jane.
Elesin
Elesin is a symbol for Nigeria in all of its vibrant culture, vitality, and humbling at the hand of
Europeans.
Joseph
Joseph symbolizes a Westernized Nigerian, one who has assumed elements of Christianity and
Western values but retains some of his own culture. This gives him a sort of 'double
 Class Task
Identify the dramatic techniques explored in the
text.
Analysis of Characters in ACT 1
Elesin Oba, the chief horseman of the recently deceased king of a
Nigerian village. Full of vitality, Elesin enjoys women, singing, and
dancing. Despite his great thirst for life, he is a man of honor and
wisdom. He must, therefore, adhere to native laws and customs
that mandate that he kill himself prior to the king's burial so as to
accompany his master to heaven. Although he has an abundance of
wives and is in his final hours on Earth, his eyes wander to a young
woman who has been promised to another man; as a result of his
stature, the girl is given to him in marriage.
Regardless of having yet another reason to live, he is
prompted by honor to pursue his death ceremony. When
the critical rite is interrupted by the British colonial
forces and his suicide is prevented, Elesin is disgraced
and humiliated. His son, whom he had previously
disowned for abandoning the tribe to attend school in
Europe, now disowns him. Elesin is repudiated by friends
and tribesmen and is held in prison by the British as a
means of protecting his life. After witnessing his son's
suicide to right his wrong, he strangles himself with his
own shackles.
Praise-Singer, a man who follows Elesin around only to sing
praises of him. Although his love for Elesin is great, he knows
that the world demands the death of his master. During the
death ritual, he takes on the role of the deceased king to speak
with Elesin. He, too, is disgraced by Elesin failing to complete
the ceremony, thereby disrupting the order of the universe.

Iyalo of the marketplace. Despite her lofty position above the

other women, she is subservient to men and is terrified of
offending Elesin, a man of such prominence. Her respect of his
mission is so great that she willingly gives her son's fiancée to
him in marriage. When Elesin's death is stalled, she scorns him,
even calling his seed an abomination.