Death & the King's Horseman: Characters (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE English Literature)
Revision Note
Characters
It is vital that you understand that characters are often used symbolically to express ideas. Wole Soyinka uses all of his characters to symbolise various ideas prevalent in his society, and the differences between characters reflect contemporary debates. Therefore, it is very useful not only to learn about each character individually, but how they compare and contrast to other characters in the play.
It is important to consider the range of strategies used by Soyinka to create and develop characters within Death and the King’s Horseman. These include:
How characters are established
How characters are presented:
Physical appearance or suggestions about their appearance
Their actions and motives
What they say and think
How they interact with others
What others say and think about them
How far the characters conform to or subvert stereotypes
The relationships between other characters
Below you will find character profiles of:
Main Characters
Other Characters
Examiner Tip
In the exam, the idea of a character as a conscious construct should be evident throughout your response. You should demonstrate a firm understanding that Soyinka has deliberately created these characters to perform certain functions within the play.
For instance, you could begin to consider why Soyinka has chosen to present Simon Pilkings in the way that he does. Consider his actions and mannerisms, as well as what he says. As this is a play, an exploration of dramatic form is also essential to a study of his character. Consider the music playing in the background during the costume party, for example. Perhaps you could consider how his authority is signified by his uniform in Act 5. Try to explore reasons as to why Soyinka uses music or costume to represent ideas and how this can contribute to the overall presentation of characters.
Elesin Oba
Elesin Oba is the protagonist and tragic hero of the play
According to Yoruba custom, as the dead king’s horseman he is duty-bound to perform a ritual suicide and follow the king into the afterlife
However, Elesin is presented as a dubious and flawed hero:
Elesin’s elevated position has afforded him a luxurious life and this makes him hesitant to leave the pleasures on earth
Although it is made clear the village believes Elesin to be an honourable man, his reassurance to the village (that he is prepared to die) is met with doubt
The praise-singer is concerned at his lack of reverence on such a spiritually significant day:
He is distracted by the women in the village and asks them to lavish attention and dress him in fine clothes
He insists he is granted a last wish, to bed a young woman who is already engaged
The audience are introduced to his fatal flaw: he is hedonistic, selfish and somewhat shallow
Soyinka’s tragic hero, though, is likeable and sympathetic:
His love for life is emphasised with exuberant comments about his love for women
He is dramatic and enjoys the attention he is paid
He dances and sings with the women and praise-singer
Through Elesin, Soyinka conveys themes about life and death in relation to honour:
When Elesin is tested he hesitates and delays his death
Elesin’s hubris can only lead to his downfall and doom the Yoruba community
The women and praise-singer remind him of this repeatedly
Elesin’s anagnorisis comes when he is jailed and prevented from carrying out the ritual:
His son’s disgust shames him
He curses the British officers for their lack of understanding
Ultimately, he realises he is to blame
Nevertheless, Elesin’s doomed fate is sealed: his son, Olunde, disrupts the order and takes Elesin’s place
His son’s suicide is more than Elesin can bear and he strangles himself with his chains
Simon Pilkings
Simon Pilkings is the British district officer for Oyo, Nigeria:
His job is to control the local area and ensure British values and laws are adhered to properly
His character represents British colonial rule
He is the play’s antagonist as he plays a crucial role in preventing Elesin from performing the sacred ritual:
Dismissing local advice, he charges Amusa with arresting Elesin while he attends a party
Despite repeated protest from the others, he insists on keeping Elesin isolated:
It is worth noting that the clock strikes midnight and the drums stop while Elesin is locked up in Simon’s study
Elesin says the moon has told him his moment has passed and the silence indicates impending disaster, not peace
This is a dramatic climax that shows the significance of Simon’s interference
Simon is introduced immediately as oblivious to local beliefs:
He and his wife Jane wear an egungun costume to a party:
This offends Amusa the police sergeant
He asks his servant about the drums and is unfamiliar with the ritual Elesin is about to undertake
He calls the natives “devious bastards”, unaware this is deeply insulting
Simon is presented as both reckless with his duties as well as unprincipled:
As district officer, Simon’s duty is to represent the Christian religion
Yet Simon is also disrespectful about this:
He remarks that Amusa is Muslim and therefore has no cause to be offended by the egungun costumes
He makes a disdainful comment to Joseph:
Simon is not remorseful when he makes an error, thus making him an unsympathetic character:
He repeatedly offends his servant, Joseph, and Amusa, the police sergeant
Even when he is made aware of the significance of the Yoruba ritual in progress he remains dismissive, calling it “nonsense” and “mumbo-jumbo”
Although he is reminded of Elesin’s pleas to keep Olunde in Nigeria according to custom, he refuses to change his behaviour
Simon is presented as self-important:
He is rude to his wife and ignores her
He is predominantly interested in meeting the prince
He wears his police uniform when he visits Elesin in jail although he has played a limited part in the arrest
Simon represents a villainous character and the catalyst for the tragedy:
In the end, Iyaloja tells him he is responsible for Olunde’s death as well as the destruction of the community
Olunde Oba
Olunde Oba
Olunde is Elesin’s eldest son and, thus, next in line as king’s horseman
This position places him directly in the middle of the conflicting action
He represents a character with a dual-culture:
Jane sees and greets him as a friend when he arrives at the party
Simon Pilkings believes he has “saved” him by sending him to England
However, his conversations with Jane at the party convey his loyalty to his homeland:
He says that while he admires the English for their survival skills, he also considers them disrespectful of things they do not understand
He says his time away has cemented his love for his culture
Olunde shocks Jane when he says he is proud of his father’s impending sacrifice:
This illustrates that Jane believes his time in England would have changed his mind about what she considers “barbaric” customs
Olunde’s character can be seen as the victim of the play, or even as a martyr:
He pays the price for both Simon Pilkings’s mistakes and his father’s hesitation
He sacrifices himself for the village
He is also presented as heroic:
He is principled and brave:
His father’s impending sacrificial rite brings him back from England where is studying to be a doctor
He stands up to Jane Pilkings and tells her she is easily persuaded to “desecrate an ancestral mask”
He disowns his father when he learns he has failed to complete the Yoruba ritual
He is shown as intelligent and a critical thinker:
Olunde reasons with Jane by comparing English and European events to the Yoruba custom
He compares the patriotism that allows Britain to send thousands to certain death to a mass suicide
He uses a British naval captain’s sacrificial actions as another example
Iyaloja
Iyaloja can be considered another heroic character in the play
She is presented as nurturing and kind:
She is the “mother of the market” as the women of the market look to her as a mother figure
Iyaloja can be seen as Elesin’s guide:
She helps Elesin prepare for his ritual
She often speaks in the Yoruba proverbs and explains them to Elesin
She asks the women to dress Elesin in fine clothes
Iyaloja is presented as selfless and loyal to her community:
When Elesin asks to marry a woman in the market, Soyinka emphasises the huge personal sacrifice she is willing to make for the tribe
Elesin works hard to persuade her to request his last wish, to marry a woman who is engaged to Iyaloja’s son:
This means her daughter will be unable to marry her son even after Elesin’s death
That she agrees to grant him his request presents her as merciful and selfless
Iyaloja’s reason for this, that she does not want to disrupt the order on such a significant occasion, illustrates her loyalty to the Yoruba people
By the climax of the play, Iyaloja’s generous nature changes to anger:
She denies Elesin any mercy and severely admonishes him for failing his community:
She tells him he has disrupted the order of the universe
She uses a metaphor to convey the significance of his disturbance of nature:
In the resolution, Iyaloja concludes the play, which shows her omnipresent and vital role in the community:
She stops Simon Pilkings from saving Elesin’s life and tells him he is responsible for Olunde’s death
She exits stage with Elesin’s new bride, the young woman who was to marry her son
Her last line refers to the play’s central theme regarding the living and the dead and the transition between each state: “Now forget the dead, forget even the living. Turn your mind only to the unborn”
Other characters
Jane Pilkings
Jane is married to Simon Pilkings, the district officer
She represents a British wife who begins to show an interest in local culture:
In this way, her character raises important issues and divisions
She engages in debate with Olunde about World War II, a recent ship explosion and the customs in England and Nigeria
She sees Amusa is upset about the egungun costumes and questions it
She tries to convince her husband to be more careful with his words and appears to know some things about the local people:
She tells him that the word “bastard” has more serious connotations in Nigeria than in England
Her character represents an unheard yet important warning voice in the play:
She attempts to stop Simon from his rash actions and asks him to talk to Elesin before arresting him
She asks Simon to attend to Elesin’s situation rather than attend the party
Nevertheless, she is easily distracted:
At the end of Act 2, she is thrilled at the idea of meeting the prince and forgets about Amusa’s disgust at their costumes
Amusa (the police sergeant)
Amusa, a native Nigerian, is a police sergeant who reports to Simon Pilkings
Amusa’s character highlights important cultural issues:
His character is presented as weak
He seems unable to fit in as a result of his position
He is humiliated by the women in the market:
They mock his subservience to the “white men”
Yet he is also questioned at the party by a resident who believes he may be part of the riotous crowd
Even Simon Pilkings treats him with disdain:
He disrespects him repeatedly
He mocks his extreme reaction to the egungun costumes:
He questions if Amusa has exaggerated his report on events in the market
The praise-singer
The praise-singer, in particular, represents the Yoruba tribe
His significant role in Elesin’s ritual is illustrated as the praise-singer accompanies Elesin on his journey to death with chanting, dancing and with songs of praise
In the introduction, the praise-singer reassures Elesin of his immortality as a result of his sacrifice
He warns Elesin not to disrupt the order of the universe by finding too much pleasure on earth
He tells Elesin he should think about his family and friends, rather than women and carnal pleasures
He praises Elesin (although at times questions his earnestness) and guides him into a trance at his time of death
In the resolution, the praise-singer tells Elesin he failed to prevent disorder and chaos
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