Death & the King's Horseman: Understanding the Text (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE English Literature)
Revision Note
Understanding the Text
All questions in the IGCSE encourage an informed personal response, which means that it is not enough just to know the text you are being examined on really well; you also need to develop a sound understanding of the themes, main ideas, settings, situations and events in the play you have studied, as well as an understanding of the significance of a particular moment or scene in relation to the whole text. You also need to demonstrate an awareness of the text as a piece of drama and show an appreciation of the play on stage. All of this will help you to develop a sustained, critical understanding of the text, which will allow you to demonstrate individuality and insight.
Each of the sub-topics below will help you to develop a better understanding of the text:
Examiner Tip
It is crucial that you develop the skills to find your own ideas and arrive at your own meanings and interpretations of the text. Try to take a more exploratory and discursive approach to your reading of the play as the examiner will reward you highly for this approach. For instance, you could begin to develop your own interpretations by using sentence starters such as: “Soyinka may have used the character of Olunde to highlight ideas about…”
Background information
A knowledge of the historical and social context of the play can help you to develop an informed personal response. However, it is very important that you do not include lots of historical information about Wole Soyinka and/or the time in which the play was written in your answer. Your response to the play should be firstly based on the focus of the question and the key theme, or themes, that the question prompts you to explore.
Death and the King’s Horseman is a well-known play written by Wole Soyinka in 1975
Soyinka won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986, becoming the first African dramatist to win this award:
His work is praised for its innovative combination of poetry and drama, as well as for his close exploration of culture
Singing, dancing and music bring the drama and musicality of the Yoruba way of life to the stage
The play is studied in schools around the world, especially in America where it appears in many anthologies as an example of African literature
Nevertheless, Soyinka’s work has been seen as controversial:
In 1967, Soyinka was imprisoned for accusing the Nigerian government of corruption after its independence and received a death sentence
Recently, Soyinka destroyed his green card in an act of protest against Donald Trump’s presidency
The story told in Death and the King’s Horseman is based on an historical event:
In 1946, a royal horseman called Elesin was duty-bound to commit the ritual suicide according to Yoruba custom
This act was stopped by the British colonial powers, specifically by a British district officer much like the character of Simon Pilkings in the play
Soyinka grew up in colonial Nigeria under foreign rule:
His play draws attention to the experiences of individuals in colonial Nigeria
Soyinka shows how indigenous people who worked for the British Empire were often ostracised
The play explores the lack of understanding and disrespect shown by the British residents and settlers towards the African culture and customs:
A resident identifies Amusa, the police sergeant, as a local involved in the riot
Both Jane and Simon make offensive remarks about the villagers
The play, set in Nigeria where Soyinka grew up, raises the profile of African culture
Specifically, Soyinka uses African proverbs, ancient wisdoms and cultural values:
The play refers to Yoruba myths such as the Not-I bird
Iyaloja uses a metaphor about a plantain to explain how Elesin has disrupted the order of the universe
Like Olunde in the play, Soyinka left Africa to study in England:
Perhaps Soyinka presents Olunde’s dual-culture to exemplify similar influences
Certainly, Soyinka’s examination of religion appears to have been inspired by his life:
His father was an Anglican minister and the headmaster of a religious school
Soyinka’s play examines the strength and tolerance of characters’ beliefs
Amusa, a Muslim African, understands the Pilkings’ offensive behaviour
Simon Pilkings jokes about Christian “holy water”
Dramatic context
The literary context of a text can be thought of in terms of genre, as well as any ways that the text either conforms to or subverts the conventions of that genre. Death and the King’s Horseman is a play designed to be watched by an audience, so this is the context in which we should read the stage directions and any other relevant information Soyinka provides, in addition to the dialogue. It also contains elements of a musical and a classic tragedy, both of which will be explored further below.
Examiner Tip
Examiners like to see that students have an awareness of the form of a text, whether it’s a novel, a play, a poem, etc. Death and the King’s Horseman is a play, and so it’s important that you signal to the examiner that you know this. This is as simple as using the term “audience” instead of “reader”, and other play-specific terminology such as “act”, “scene”, “on stage” and even “playwright” instead of writer.
It is also important to add that commenting on stage directions is as valuable as analysing any other writer’s method. Indeed, it has the advantage of showing the examiner you are aware of the writer’s intentions (the overall message they are trying to convey), because all stage directions are literally their intentions for what happens on stage.
Staging
Soyinka uses detailed stage directions in the play in order to bring the play to life and give the audience and producers clear insights into the themes of the play and the minds of the characters.
Written in five acts, the play is designed to be performed without interruption:
This contributes to the rising tension in the village as the night draws on and the ritual suicide looms
This presents the actions as continuous and therefore with increasing intensity
Soyinka draws on African tradition, employing singing and dancing throughout the play:
The play opens as Elesin enters stage with drummers and a praise-singer
Elesin is described as a character with an “infectious enjoyment of life”
The dialogue in Act I is delivered as a song:
This suggests a sense of community
Elesin, the praise-singer, and Iyaloja refer to proverbs in their songs
Iyaloja’s poetic and proverb-rich language presents her as culturally aware and wise
Soyinka employs call and response chants to present the community’s shared bond:
Call and response songs, rooted in African tradition, may symbolise the diaspora:
The play refers to Olunde’s move to England to improve his education
Through the play’s setting (colonial Nigeria), Soyinka conveys themes of subjugation that may allude to slavery:
Stage directions instruct European music to be played poorly, “not of the highest musical standard”:
Soyinka’s specific instructions suggest the music conveys a lack of strength and weak British leadership
In contrast, loud music and drumming represents Yoruba culture:
When Elesin goes into a trance a “dirge wells up louder and stronger”
In the climax of the play, the Yoruba drumming becomes louder and more intense, perhaps representing the strength of the voices in support
Classic tragedy
Death and the King’s Horseman employs conventions typical of Aristotlean tragedy in order to convey deep-rooted issues in society. The play explores personal anguish about life and death, as well as the impact of destructive external forces.
Aristotlean tragedy is defined as the imitation of action that is serious and has magnitude:
Death and the King’s Horseman explores themes of life and death in an intensely emotional story about a ritual suicide
Classic tragedy uses elevated language rich in metaphor to exemplify heroes and gods:
The play’s symbolic dialogue examines cultural and religious issues
For example, the praise-singer, who represents links between life and death: “They love to spoil you but beware. The hands of women also weaken the unwary”
Tragedies always contain a tragic hero
For Aristotle, a tragic hero suffers a change in position from that of high status to misery and guilt because of hamartia, or his tragic flaw:
Elesin’s hesitation leads to his imprisonment where, ironically, he commits suicide
His last act is one of shame rather than honour
Typical of tragedy, the play explores the idea of fate:
It is Elesin’s destiny as king’s horseman to follow the king to the afterlife
Elesin understands this finally when he is jailed and unable to carry out his duty
His anagnorisis comes as he says, “I am stopped from fulfilling my destiny”
An Aristotlean tragedy includes incidents that evoke pity and fear in order to accomplish a catharsis:
Elesin’s struggle evokes sympathy and, often, fearful realisations in the audience
Elesin’s suffering is made clear with long monologues from his cell:
At first he blames others
He redeems himself when he turns the blame upon himself
In some ways the play’s focus on community deviates from classic tragedy:
The play explores personal sacrifice through the idea of shared responsibility
However, it can equally be argued that Elesin’s psychological and emotional torment makes him a conventional tragic hero
In the resolution, the sinister cloaked object is revealed as Olunde’s dead body
At this, overcome with grief and guilt, Elesin strangles himself with his own chains
The play ends with two deaths and little restoration of order as the future of the village is ambiguous
Key moments in context
It is not enough to just analyse a passage or scene in isolation; you must also consider why that particular passage or scene is important to the text as a whole. What key themes or ideas does it represent? Does it foreshadow upcoming events? Does it reveal more about a character’s motivations, thoughts or feelings, given what has happened and/or what is to come? The following section includes some key moments from the play and how they are relevant to the rest of the text, but this list is not exhaustive, and you are encouraged to consider other moments and how these also relate to the play as a whole.
Key moment
Act 1
Elesin: “But the smell of their flesh, their sweat, the smell of indigo on their cloth, this is the last air I wish to breathe as I go to meet my great forebears”
Summary of key moment:
This introduces Elesin’s love for life (and women) as he prepares for a Yoruba ritual
The praise-singer is doubtful Elesin takes this seriously and this foreshadows problems:
Elesin’s distractions with women and the earthly pleasures they offer present him as hedonistic
His focus on the lavish attention they are about to bestow upon him is his primary concern: he says he wants the smell of women to be the “last air” he breathes
Why this is important in relation to the play as a whole:
The tragic hero’s fatal flaw evokes sympathy from the audience:
His character is larger than life and humorous despite his obvious ego and, thus, is presented as a flawed yet likeable hero
This scene introduces Soyinka’s themes of duty and honour:
The scene offers audiences a chance to reflect on personal responsibility
It builds suspense so that, in the rising action, audiences are watching the decisions Elesin makes as a result of his nature
Key moment
Act 4
Elesin (an animal bellow from off): “Leave me alone! Is it not enough that you have covered me in shame!/White man, take your hand from my body!”
Summary of key moment:
In Act 4, the British district officer, Simon Pilkings, has arrested Elesin:
He has ordered for him to be taken to a cellar in the house where, Simon says, “the slaves were stored”
This scene shows Elesin’s ritual has been interrupted: he has failed to carry out his duty
In this climactic scene, Elesin breaks free of the guards and rushes in to the room where Jane Pilkings is trying to detain and distract Elesin’s son from seeing his father:
Elesin is reunited with his son but it is not a happy reunion:
The stage directions state: “Olunde stands frozen on the spot”
Here, Elesin’s character shouts like an “animal”, presenting him as a caged beast:
This may allude to primal emotions, illustrated in his exclamatory instructions
Elesin’s desperate frustration is portrayed as he challenges Simon Pilkings and his team:
The lines present conflicting cultures reaching a head:
Elesin says the British have shamed him by preventing the custom
He refers to their hands touching him, implying physical control and oppression
Why this is important in relation to the play as a whole:
This scene reveals the consequences of Elesin’s tragic procrastination
Elesin’s state of mind has declined as a result of his weakness and external pressures:
In this way, Soyinka punishes Elesin for his selfishness
However, Elesin’s words also show the impact of British interference
The suspense ends in Elesin’s peripeteia, or reversal of fortune:
The end of Act 3 shows Elesin entering a trance that implies his death
Act 4 opens in the Pilkings’ residence and both Olunde and Jane surmise Elesin has succeeded in his ritual suicide as the drumming ends
This scene reveals to audiences that Elesin is alive, but captured
Soyinka’s protagonist blames his failures on external pressures to highlight his own victimisation:
The scene draws attention to the impact of foreign rule that does not understand the local culture and enforces its will and values on the natives
Key moment
Act 5
Praise-singer: “Elesin, we placed the reins of the world in your hands yet you watched it plunge over the edge of the bitter precipice. You sat with folded arms while evil strangers tilted the world from its course and crashed it beyond the edge of emptiness”
Summary of key moment:
The praise-singer admonishes Elesin for his part in the inevitable disorder to come
Soyinka may be symbolising the significance of a single act at a time of crisis:
Elesin’s failure to stand up for his community is symbolised as a success for the colonial powers, described here as “evil strangers”
Elesin’s actions have tilted the scales further over the “edge” into the metaphorical void Iyaloja and the praise-singer warned Elesin about
Why this is important in relation to the play as a whole:
In the play’s resolution, Elesin has not only doomed himself, but his son and the future of his local community:
Soyinka ends the play with Elesin and Olunde’s tragic deaths
Iyaloja leads Elesin’s widow away, referring to the “unborn”
A dubious future awaits as the Yoruba culture has suffered a devastating blow
The “emptiness” the praise-singer mentions may refer to the end of the line of king’s horsemen (which links to the title of the play):
Soyinka conveys the significance of an individual’s actions on others’ futures
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