About
Death and the King's Horseman Synopsis
Based on real events that took place in Oyo, the ancient Yoruba city of Nigeria, in 1946, Nobel Prize-winner Wole Soyinka's play tells how Simon Pilkings, a well-meaning District Officer, intervenes to prevent the ritual suicide of the Yoruba chief, Elesin.
Elesin Oba, the King's Horseman, has a single destiny. When the King dies, he must commit ritual suicide and lead his King's favourite horse and dog through the passage to the world of the ancestors. A British Colonial Officer, Pilkings, intervenes.
This Student Edition includes a full introduction, commentary and questions for study and an interview with the author.
Commentary and notes by Jane Plastow.
A Preview of Death and the King's Horseman is available here.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780413695505 |
| Publication date: |
2nd July 1998 |
| Author: |
Wole Soyinka |
| Publisher: |
Methuen Drama an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
112 pages |
| Series: |
Methuen Student Editions |
| Suitable For: |
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Press Reviews
Wole Soyinka Press Reviews
This play, by the winner of a Nobel Prize for Literature, asks: 'On the authority of what gods' the white aliens rupture the world. It puts exciting political theatre back on the agenda... a masterpiece of 20th century drama Guardian
A transfixing work of modern world drama Independent clearly a masterpiece... he achieves the full impact of Greek tragedy Irving Wardle, Independent on Sunday
the action of the play is as inevitable and eloquent as in Antigone: a clash of values and cultures so fundamental that tragedy issues: a tragedy for each individual, each tribe Michael Schmidt, Daily Telegraph
Author
About Wole Soyinka
Wole Soyinka - playwright, novelist, poet and polemical essayist - was born in Nigeria in 1934. Educated there and at Leeds University, he worked in the British theatre before returning to West Africa in 1960. In 1986 he became the first African writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. He is currently Woodruff Professor of the Arts, Emory University, Atlanta.
More About Wole Soyinka
