Death and the King's horseman
Deathi in the play Death and the King’s Horseman In the play Death and the King’s Horseman, Wole Soyinka allows death to function outside of the people in the play and work as a character of its own. This is seen in the title of the play. It is not The Death of the King’s Horseman or The King’s Horseman and his Death. The title reads “death” as a separate character from “the King’s Horseman.” The most important role of death in the play is in fact not that of the King’s Horseman, but rather the way death functions in both societies.
In the Yoruban culture, death is not something that is feared. It moves you past the earthly confines of the body and moves your soul to a better place. Death also functions as a means to achieve honor in the society. Elesin’s death would affirm that he lived dutifully and would save his people. When he fails to die and shatters his chances of attaining this honorable status, it is his son Olunde who steps up and fulfills what his father could not. Death is not something that either man fears, but rather something that should bring honor.
When Elesin kills himself at the end of the play, death functions in a different way. It is an escape. He has nothing left to live for and has shamed himself by not dying when he was meant to. He swiftly kills himself, without thought, which reflects his connection to the Yoruba culture’s idea of death. In the final line of the play, Iyaloja says, “Now forget the dead, forget even the living. Turn your mind only to the unborn” (63). She emphasizes the insignificance of death in the society, but also acknowledges its role. It is responsible for making the unborn, the future, attainable. Olunde’s death shows the honor and importance of dying in the culture, while Elesin’s death shows the shame that comes from not doing what is necessary for the future.
Death functions in different way for the European society. The people feel like death should never be a choice, but life should be cherished.
In the Yoruban culture, death is not something that is feared. It moves you past the earthly confines of the body and moves your soul to a better place. Death also functions as a means to achieve honor in the society. Elesin’s death would affirm that he lived dutifully and would save his people. When he fails to die and shatters his chances of attaining this honorable status, it is his son Olunde who steps up and fulfills what his father could not. Death is not something that either man fears, but rather something that should bring honor.
When Elesin kills himself at the end of the play, death functions in a different way. It is an escape. He has nothing left to live for and has shamed himself by not dying when he was meant to. He swiftly kills himself, without thought, which reflects his connection to the Yoruba culture’s idea of death. In the final line of the play, Iyaloja says, “Now forget the dead, forget even the living. Turn your mind only to the unborn” (63). She emphasizes the insignificance of death in the society, but also acknowledges its role. It is responsible for making the unborn, the future, attainable. Olunde’s death shows the honor and importance of dying in the culture, while Elesin’s death shows the shame that comes from not doing what is necessary for the future.
Death functions in different way for the European society. The people feel like death should never be a choice, but life should be cherished.