Death and the King's Horseman Wole Soyinka

Influential African novelists have long focused on tackling difficult issues occurring in their respective countries. One enduring issue that writers have explored is gender. Common questions are: how are gender norms established? Why are women...

Soyinka presents Yoruba women in contrasting ways by showing the different roles of women both as in the Yoruba culture, in the case of Iyaloja and the young bride (as well as the communal and individual roles of women) and in a contrasting...

As in other plays, reflecting a specific culture, “Death and the King’s Horseman” has kept close to religious and traditional issues, but it has shaped culture into a great tragedy. Aristotle defines tragedy in his book poetics as:

A tragedy is...

In Death and the King’s Horseman, Wole Soyinka tells the dramatized version of true events that happened in the Yoruban city of Oyo in 1946. A Colonial District Officer interrupted a traditional ritual suicide which then led to the death of both...

As seen in the Death and the King’s Horseman, by Wole Soyinka, the Yoruba culture and tradition have very strong, unusual customs and values. This play is centered around one particular custom: when a king dies, his servants and horsemen must die...