description: Based on events that took place in Oyo, an ancient Yoruba city of Nigeria, in 1946, Wole Soyinka's powerful play concerns the intertwined lives of Elesin Oba, the king's chief horseman; his son, Olunde, now studying medicine in England; and Simon Pilkings, the colonial district officer. The king has died and Elesin, his chief horseman, is expected by law and custom to commit suicide and accompany his ruler to heaven. The stage is set for a dramatic climax when Pilkings learns of the ritual and decides to intervene and Elesin's son arrives home. "Soyinka both entertains and asks subtle questions about mass psychology, individual psychology, and universal human struggles of the will."—Chicago Tribune
language: English
title: Death and the King's Horseman
titlecomplete: Death and the King's Horseman
genres: Theatre, Drama, African Literature, Fiction, Classics, Africa, School, Nigeria, Plays, Nobel Prize
ratings_count: 4366
places: Nigeria, Oyo, Africa
awards: awardedAt: 725875200000
name: Premio letterario Giuseppe Acerbi
publisher: Hill & Wang Pub