Death and the King's Horseman (Norton Critical Editions)

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Summary: One Great Writer
Review: At a university seminar in the US recently, Prof. Soyinka was asked to respond to charges by certain critics that his writing wasn't 'African' enough. He responded, saying "The people who say these things, I refer to as neo-Tarzanists, people whose Africa is the Africa of Tarzan, swinging from tree to tree. That's not my Africa", he said, to a standing, thunderous ovation. It is difficult to imagine a writer in English today with a wider grasp of the language. Some of his work is unbelievable - metaphor, irony, the supernatural, interwoven with tragedy, lyricism, and language. Top-draw.

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Summary: Death and the King's Horseman
Review: At a university seminar in the US recently, Prof. Soyinka was asked to respond to charges by certain critics that his writing wasn't 'African' enough. He responded, saying "The people who say these things, I refer to as neo-Tarzanists, people whose Africa is the Africa of Tarzan, swinging from tree to tree. That's not my Africa", he said, to a standing, thunderous ovation. It is difficult to imagine a writer in English today with a wider grasp of the language. Some of his work is unbelievable - metaphor, irony, the supernatural, interwoven with tragedy, lyricism, and language. Top-draw.

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Summary: Clash Between Two Cultures
Review: Death and the King's Horseman is a play written by Wole Soyinka, whose main focus is on the difference between the Western culture as opposed to the African culture. In his play he demonstrates how the western culture feels superior to the African one by supposing that they can interfere in their customs. The westerners from the play, the Pilkings, invaded Nigeria where the tribe of Yoruba inhabits. Throughout the whole play, there was a constant struggle between the Pilkings and the people of the Yoruban tribe to stop a certain traditional ceremony practiced by the Yorubans. This consisted of the king's horseman commiting suicide one month after the king died. It was so customary and natural for this to occur, but for the westerners it was totally insane and inhumane. The end is very unpredictable and will keep you on the edge of your seat while reading this book. I highly recommend this book because it exhibits an abundant amount of insight on human nature and it also helps us attain a greater understanding of the African culture.

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Summary: A review for Mr Helle
Review: Hello! And welcome to my review of Wole Soyinka's Death and the King's Horseman. In my opinion the book lacked suspense, a characteristic I admire in a piece of work. It wasn't completly mundane but neither was it the kind of book I can't put down once I start reading. What I did in fact like about this play was Soyinka's use of language. The characters in the play expressed themselves through Soyinka's thoughtful words. There were some passages that stuck with you even after reading the play. For instance "There is only one home to the life of a river-mussel; there is only one home to the life of a tortoise; there is only one shell to the soul of a man: there is only one world to the spirit of our race. If that world leaves it's course and smashes on boulders of the great void, whose world will give us shelter?" That right there is one of my favorite passages. When reading this play expect more of these philosophical character monologues. The play also had some situational irony. Some roles were reversed while others were forgotten. It also introduced you the culture and traditions of Africa. The tension builds throughout the play and explodes in the end. But I don't want to give it all away. If you like the kind of pieces which explore foriegn cultures than this might be your bag. Personally I wouldn't have read this book if I didn't have to.Anyways thanks for reading my review...I'm out!

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Summary: the ancestors, the living and the unborn
Review: I have read the other 6 reviews and I am sorry they got it so wrong. Even if what they say is very true but not related with the subject (Yoruba tragedy) that matter to us. "Death and..." is more related to the person who was asking help because she/he could not understand what was about. I would advise this person to read attently Nietzsche's "the Birth of Tragedy" and "the Antichrist" and if he has some more time, Shopenhauer as well (yet less influencer on Soyinka than Nietzsche). Soyika understand the terrible problems Africa and specially Nigeria has. However, the theme of this play is fare more universal. Is related with the creation and recreation of art and the human being in a turbocapitalistic society. It is about to cross the "abyss"ÿ

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Summary: GHOST OF 808 COMES THROUGH WITH THE GOODS BABY!
Review: In the book, Death and the King¡¯s Horseman, by Wole Soyinka, the author at first appears to portray the white culture as hedonistic beasts, who are self righteous and heartless, but when examined closely, that perception is proven to be false when compared to the play as a whole. In order to fully understand the heart of the opposing culture that is present in the book (which is the white culture), one must closely examine the character that mainly represents them. The character, Simon Pilkings, is basically the major character representing the white culture. Pilkings at first is portrayed as a savage, who does not understand, nor care about the importance of the ceremony that must take place, in order for the death king (who died a month earlier), to enter the after-life, needs his chief horseman, Elesin, to guide his horse through. The problem with that was that Elesin, in order to accompany his king to the after life, had to kill himself. The act of suicide, to Elesin, is a passed down honor from his forefathers that is considered to be a high privilege because they have the weight of guiding their king into his new home. The problem with this idea is that Pilkings, does not agree with the fact that Elesin needs to go through the whole process at all. In the end, he does in fact stop the ceremony from continuing, but at the cost of not only Elesins¡¯ honor and life, but also Elesin¡¯s son, Olunde as well. Pilkings did what he did, not because he hated the African American culture, nor because he did not understand them. In fact, he did what he did because he cared a great deal about Olunde. Olunde is the basically, the son Pilkings never had. Plkings sends Olunde across seas to England, to attend medical school, which Pilkings is paying for at his own expense. Pilkings knows that it is Olunde¡¯s father who is going to commit suicide, and so in order to save Olunde from losing a father and going through unbearable heartache, Pilkings does what he believes would be the best for Olunde. Pilkings proceeds to stop the ceremony, not realizing that Olunde knows that his father was going to commit the act. By the time Pilkings found out that Olunde had arrived to the village, the act had been done. Elesin was captured and his divine time, to commit the act had passed. In Pilkings¡¯ mind, he is at peace because he thinks that he has done the greatest thing for Olunde. He believes that he saved Elesin from eternal damnation and protected Olunde from the pain of losing a father. But in fact, he caused the opposite affect because Olunde has to take his fathers place and must kill himself so that he could guide the king into the after life. Overall, Pilkings can be portrayed as a heartless character, but if one examines the motive behind the act he committed, he is probably the most caring and understands character that is presented in the play.

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Summary: Western Ignorance and Centrcity Imposing Itself On Africa
Review: In this play Soyinka gives such roundness to his characters that it is hard for some to decipher their goodness or "badness" as characters. The play is a story of the western colonizers' failure to recognize African culture as substantial. The play deals with the Yoruba religion and a specific ritual that is thwarted by an ignorant colonizer who does so for reasons traced back to ethnocentricity and racism. The man who is deemed to kill himself is pitied by the westerners and this shows their hippocrisy. By demanding that suicide was immoral and could not be a spiritual endeavor they denied the status of one of the most important men to grace Western Civilization with their presence: Jesus Christ. Christ gave himself away the same way that the character in this play does and did so for spiritual reasons that transcended himself.
THe play gives great insight into African culture and builds with intensity to a hugely climatic ending that is rewarding for the reader to experience.

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Summary: My Horseman has a first name, J I L L.
Review: This piece is astounding in the way that it compells a reader to delve into race relations in Africa between the Ugun-gun and the British. The irony used is good also.

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Summary: the truth about race relations
Review: This play is a must read for anyone seeking the truth about race relations around the world. Especially between African people and europeans. I think the author's account of how the europeans tried to rob the Africans of what little pride, religion and culture they still had left spoke of the horrible genocide that existed then and continues now. It's also most disheartening to know that African people can't even have their freedom in death.

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Summary: need some help!
Review: Wole Soyinka's work is such a great one that I'm afraid I won't understand all. I need someone who study this author and who could give me some clues about Death and The King'Horseman!