Death and the King's Horseman

UNDERSTANDING WOLE SOYINKA'S "DEATH AND THE KING'S HORSEMAN" An issue worth noting in Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman involves his prefatory remarks and the impact they have on the meaning of the story. While Soyinka, in his preface, forcefully rails against readers who would make his play into a portrayal of "culture clash", actual reading of the story does draw significant attention to cultural tension. More specifically, the portions of the …showed first 75 words of 1445 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1445 total…clash," this is a case where the author’s intent is not the same as what actually presents itself in the play. By renaming cultural themes as themes involving understanding, it is possible to incorporate the cultural themes into the play without disturbing or drawing too much attention away from the threnodic theme Soyinka promotes. And, in fact, incorporating culture only adds extra richness and complexity to the play and to the theme of understanding.