Death and the King's Horseman IGCSE Revision - Literature 4ET1 & 0475

IGCSE Literature in English 0475 - The City Planners by Margaret Atwood

More for students of IGCSE English

Revision Study Materials for Death and the King’s Horseman IGCSE Literature

Below you will find my video lesson, revision PowerPoint and study notes for Death and the King’s Horseman IGCSE revision.

Although aimed at students of IGCSE English Literature Edexcel 4ET1 and IGCSE English Literature Cambridge 0475 – let’s be realistic. Any student of IGCSE or GCSE Literature will study the same key points for this literary text:

Context
Themes
Character
Symbols
Writer’s intentions
Form and structure

Just skip to minute 04:00 if you want to jump ahead past the Edexcel and Cambridge content.

Video Lesson for Death and the King’s Horseman IGCSE Revision

More like this on my Youtube channel: Youtube.com/@Taughtly
Video lesson and resources for Macbeth

Download Death and the King’s Horseman IGCSE Revision PowerPoint

1. DATKH – Revision Overview Download

Death and the King’s Horseman IGCSE Revision Notes

Introduction

Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman explores themes of duty, culture, and colonialism. Based on true events in British-occupied Nigeria, the play follows Elesin Oba, who must commit ritual suicide to maintain cosmic balance following the king’s death. However, his hesitation and colonial interference lead to tragic consequences. This guide will break down everything you need to know for your IGCSE literature exam, from key themes to character analysis and essay tips.

Assessment Objectives

For Edexcel IGCSE Literature Paper 2, Modern Drama, you’ll be assessed on two key objectives:

AO1: Demonstrate knowledge of the text, use relevant quotations, and develop an argument.
AO2: Analyse language, form, and structure.

Understanding the cultural and historical background will deepen your analysis.

Example Questions for Death and the King’s Horseman IGCSE Literature

Here are some example past paper questions:

How does Soyinka make the opening of the play fascinating?
Explore the significance of Yoruba beliefs in the play.
How does Elesin Oba change throughout the play?
Discuss the role of colonialism in Death and the King’s Horseman.
Analyse the importance of duty and sacrifice.

Context

Understanding the historical and cultural background is crucial:

Yoruba Beliefs: The Yoruba people believe in three interconnected stages of being—the unborn, the living, and the ancestors. Elesin, as the king’s horseman, must transition between these states through ritual suicide to maintain cosmic balance and to keep the “passage” open between these realms. If this transition is disrupted, it risks the harmony of all three stages.
Colonial Nigeria: The play is set in 1940s British-occupied Nigeria, during a time when indigenous customs were often disregarded or outlawed by colonial authorities. The British, represented by Pilkings and his wife, fail to understand Yoruba traditions and impose their own values on the local people. This conflict between colonial law and indigenous duty creates tension within the play.
Ritual vs. Individualism: The play explores the tension between duty to society and personal desires. Elesin’s hesitation in fulfilling his ritual obligation reflects a struggle between personal enjoyment and communal responsibility. In contrast to Western individualism, Yoruba culture emphasizes collective responsibility, where one person’s failure can impact the entire society.
Cultural Erosion and Resistance: Soyinka uses the play to comment on how colonial rule eroded indigenous cultures, replacing them with foreign structures and beliefs. However, the play also shows resistance through characters like Iyaloja, Olunde and the Praise Singer, who uphold Yoruba traditions despite colonial intervention.
Historical Inspiration: The play is based on real events from 1946, when a British colonial officer prevented a ritual suicide in Nigeria. Soyinka adapts this historical event to explore deeper philosophical and cultural questions about fate, duty, and colonialism.

Writer’s Intentions

Soyinka’s primary goals were:

Critique colonial arrogance and cultural misunderstandings.
Highlight the importance of tradition and collective duty.
Explore the tragic consequences of hesitation and failure to fulfill one’s role.
Celebrate Yoruba culture, language, and oral traditions.
Warn against the dangers of corrupted leadership to Nigeria’s political leaders.

Tragedy Genre

Death and the King’s Horseman follows the tragic structure:

Tragic Hero: Elesin Oba is a high-status figure whose hamartia (fatal flaw) is his attachment to worldly pleasures and failure of will. His excessive pride and complacency make him believe that fulfilling his duty will be easy, failing to heed the Praise-Singer and Iyaloja’s warnings, which ultimately leads to his downfall.
Foreshadowing: The marketplace and musicality of Act 1 symbolise life, foreshadowing Elesin’s struggle with death. His love for the vibrancy of life and his attachment to earthly pleasures are early indications of his reluctance to fulfill his duty.
Reversal and Downfall: Elesin’s hesitation leads to his disgrace and the ultimate tragedy of his son’s death in his place. This reversal of fortune is common in classical tragedies, where a noble figure’s fall is the result of personal weaknesses and external pressures.
Catharsis: The play provokes reflection on duty, honor, and colonial disruption. The audience experiences pity and fear, key elements of Aristotelian tragedy, as Elesin’s failure leads to devastating consequences for his people, his family and his tribe.
Hubris and Hamartia: Elesin’s hubris (excessive pride) prevents him from adequately preparing for the sacrifice. His hamartia (flaw) is his failure of will, his desire for pleasure, and his overconfidence in his ability to complete the ritual when the time comes.
Role of Fate vs. Free Will: The play engages with the classical tragic debate of fate vs. free will. While Yoruba tradition dictates that Elesin must die, he ultimately exercises his own free will in delaying the ritual, leading to disaster. This aligns with other tragedies, such as Oedipus Rex, where characters’ actions contribute to their preordained fates.
Tragic Waste: The unnecessary loss of life is a hallmark of tragedy. Olunde’s death—an act of duty to correct his father’s failure—represents the tragic waste that could have been avoided had Elesin fulfilled his role.
Moral Lessons and Warnings: Soyinka uses the tragedy not just to tell a story but to critique individual weakness, colonial arrogance, and the dangers of failing in one’s duty. The play serves as a warning about the consequences of neglecting cultural and spiritual responsibilities – especially leaders.

Character Analysis

Elesin Oba

A gregarious, charismatic, larger-than-life and proud figure.
Loves the marketplace, symbolising his attachment to life.
Foreshadowing of his weakness in Act 1: “This night I’ll lie my head upon their lap and go to sleep.”
His hubris (excessive pride) leads to his downfall.
Represents the tragic hero, whose fatal flaw (hamartia) is his attachment to earthly pleasures.
Symbolically, he is the bridge between the worlds of the living and the ancestors, but his failure disrupts the natural cycle.
His love for life is reinforced through his language, which is rich and poetic, contrasting with the flat, utilitarian speech of the British characters.
His downfall is marked by his transition from a man of confidence to one of disgrace, ultimately leading to his imprisonment and tragic demise.

Praise Singer

Represents Yoruba tradition and serves as Elesin’s guide.
Warns Elesin about material pleasures: “The unwary is definitely weakened.”
Betrayed by Elesin’s failure, showing how collective duty is valued over personal indulgence.
His role is to remind Elesin of the sacredness of his task, reinforcing the theme of duty versus desire.
Uses elaborate metaphors and Yoruba proverbs, showing the cultural richness that contrasts with the colonial mindset.

Pilkings

British colonial officer who intervenes in Elesin’s ritual.
His ignorance is evident in his mockery of Yoruba customs, such as his careless use of the egúngún mask, a sacred Yoruba ritual item.
Symbolises Western interference and cultural imperialism, as he imposes British law over Yoruba spiritual customs.
Lacks depth in understanding Yoruba culture, reinforcing the play’s critique of colonial arrogance.
His conversations with his wife, Jane, highlight how colonial figures see indigenous beliefs as backward and superstitious rather than profound and spiritual.
Criticises and dismisses other characters as “pagans“, yet lacks conviction is how own religion as he often blasphemes.

Iyaloja

Represents the voice of tradition and communal duty.
A matriarch – “Mother of the market”.
Initially respects Elesin but later condemns him for his failure, showing the weight of societal expectation.
Makes a sacrifice for the good of the tribe by allowing Elesin to marry her son’s fiancée. Contrasts with Elesin’s failure to commit to his own sacrifice.
A strong, moral figure who upholds Yoruba values, contrasting with Elesin’s indulgence in earthly pleasures.
Acts as the guardian of cultural continuity, emphasizing the importance of duty over personal desires.
Challenges Elesin directly, showing her authority and influence: “You have betrayed us”, reinforcing the collective shame of his failure.

Olunde

Elesin’s son, who has absorbed both Yoruba and Western influences.
Sacrifices himself to fulfill his father’s duty, highlighting the theme of duty over personal desire.
His character represents integrity, honor, and responsibility, making him the true hero of the play in contrast to his father.
His death restores balance, but it is a tragic loss that could have been avoided had Elesin done his duty.
Symbolically, Olunde represents the younger generation who must correct the failures of their elders, reinforcing Soyinka’s critique of moral weakness and irresponsibility.
His conversation with Jane Pilkings highlights the stark difference in cultural perception; he respects his people’s traditions, whereas the colonizers dismiss them as primitive.
A doctor – his death heals the wrongs of his father.
A mouthpiece for Soyinka – like Soyinka he also travelled to the UK whilst remaining deeply Yoruba.

Jane Pilkings

Wife of Pilkings and a symbol of colonial ignorance.
Although more open-minded than her husband, she still fails to fully grasp the cultural significance of Yoruba rituals.
More sympathetic than Pilkings.
Urges compromise over upsetting Amusa and Joseph’s religious beliefs.
Her interactions with Olunde highlight her shallow understanding of duty and sacrifice, contrasting with Yoruba values.
Represents the well-meaning but ultimately misguided colonial perspective.
Listens even if she learns little.

Amusa

A Nigerian colonial officer working under British rule. Native Administration policeman – lowest rank of police.
Struggles between his Yoruba heritage and his duty to the British authorities, e.g. refuses to look at Pilkings in the Egungun.
Displays discomfort with Pilkings’ disregard for sacred Yoruba traditions, showing his internal conflict.
Represents the colonized subject caught between two worlds, embodying the tension of cultural erosion under colonial rule.
Muslim: not Yoruba, not Christian. An outsider to both the colonialists and the Yoruba tribe. Inhabits neither Yoruba nor white world.
Source of humour and comic relief (e.g. market women scene).
Ridiculed because he has sold manhood to serve the colonists.

Joseph

Servant to the Pilkings, also of Nigerian descent.
Pilkings’ houseboy – always a boy – like Amusa, he has also symbolically lost his manhood in servitude.
Unlike Amusa, he fully embraces the colonial mindset and has converted to Christianity.
His rejection of Yoruba traditions reflects the cultural alienation experienced by many under colonial rule.
Serves as a contrast to Amusa, showing different responses to colonial influence.
Christian convert yet his Christian beliefs far stronger than Pilkings’.

Themes

Duty and Will

One of the central themes in the play is the concept of duty, particularly through the character of Elesin, the King’s Horseman. Soyinka illustrates the catastrophic consequences that arise when a leader fails to fulfill his cultural obligations. Elesin’s tragic fall serves as a critique of how earthly pleasures can corrupt one’s sense of duty. For instance, Elesin’s failure to commit ritual suicide not only impacts his family but also has far-reaching consequences for his community, illustrating how individual actions resonate within a cultural framework.

Power and Corruption

The theme of power emerges prominently through the interactions between the British colonial officers and the Yoruba characters. Simon Pilkings, a representation of British colonial authority, embodies the corruption and moral insensitivity that often accompanies imperial power. He disrupts the sacred ritual, showcasing not just a clash of cultures but a blatant disregard for the spiritual beliefs of the Yoruba people. This power dynamic highlights the broader implications of colonialism, which seeks to impose its values and systems upon indigenous cultures, often at great cost. Soyinka effectively critiques this interaction, urging the audience to reflect on the impacts of colonial power on traditional practices.

Spirituality and Politics

The ritual suicide expected of Elesin is not merely a personal choice but a political act that sustains the balance of the community. The disruption caused by Pilkings illustrates the larger political ramifications of colonial interference in indigenous spirituality. Soyinka’s portrayal encourages viewers to consider the complexities of human existence, moving beyond simplistic depictions of good versus evil.

Reclaiming History and Culture

Another vital theme in the play is the reclaiming of history and culture. During the colonial period, European powers often dismissed and devalued African cultures, claiming that they needed to ‘civilize’ the indigenous people. This historical narrative led to a sense of shame among some educated Africans regarding their customs and traditions. Through Death and the King’s Horseman, Soyinka seeks to celebrate and reclaim Yoruba culture, illustrating its richness and vibrancy through idiom, song, and dance. By asserting the importance of these cultural practices, Soyinka challenges colonial narratives and affirms the dignity of African identity.

Women and Power

Women serve not only as cultural interpreters but also as powerful figures who uphold community values. Characters such as Iyaloja, “mother of the market”, challenge Elesin’s actions and emphasize the importance of maintaining traditions for societal benefit. Additionally, the power of women is seen when the market girls resist colonial authority to protect their cultural rituals when Amusa attempts to disrupt Elesin’s wedding night. This representation speaks to the broader role of women in cultural preservation and the societal structures within Yoruba culture.

However, the Bride has no choice over her destiny and never speaks during the play. This complicates our understanding of women’s role in Yoruba society as it reveals that Yoruba society is still patriarchal.

The Significant Individual

Soyinka also highlights the concept of the significant individual, emphasizing that certain people hold special roles and responsibilities within their communities. Elesin is depicted as a leader bound by cultural duties, and his failure directly endangers the Yoruba society. Soyinka illustrates that when a great leader betrays his obligations, it threatens not only the individual’s fate but the very fabric of his culture and people. This theme underscores the importance of individual agency in shaping cultural destinies and reflects the moral weight of leadership.

More Than a Clash of Cultures

While the play is sometimes interpreted as a clash of cultures, Soyinka cautions against oversimplifying this narrative. He suggests that the events would have transpired similarly even without colonial intervention, attributing the central conflict to Elesin’s personal failure of will rather than to a purely cultural opposition.

Symbols

The Marketplace: Represents the vibrancy of life and Elesin’s attachment to the material world.
Music and Drums: The heartbeat of Yoruba culture; its presence throughout the play reinforces tradition and fate.
Clothing (Alari fabric): Symbolises status, tradition, and identity.
Cockerel Imagery: Elesin as a “cockerel” symbolises pride and sexual desire, reinforcing his worldly attachments.
Egungun Costume: Represents Pilkings’s disregard and disrespect for Yoruba traditions. Acts as a visual reminder of the cultural gap.
Nature Imagery: Emphasises the deep connection between the Yoruba people and the natural world.
Slavery Imagery: Evokes the historical context of colonization and the oppression faced by African societies. Serves as a reminder of the loss of autonomy and the commodification of culture and identity.

Use of Language

Yoruba Poetic Language and Idiom

From the opening scenes in the bustling marketplace, Soyinka employs a distinctly Yoruba poetic style. Characters like Elesin and the Praise-Singer use vivid imagery, metaphors and poetic language that draw upon the natural world, communal beliefs, and the spiritual realm. This Yoruba idiom elevates the dialogue, giving it a ceremonial tone that highlights the sacredness of Elesin’s duty.

Example: “When the moment comes, don’t turn the food to rodents’ droppings in their mouth. Don’t let them taste the ashes of the world” – Iyaloja, Act 1
Example: “Then tell him to leave this market. This is the home of our mothers. We don’t want the eater of white left-overs at the feast their hands have prepared” – Girl to Amusa, Act 3

Metaphor

Metaphor is central to the play’s use of language. The marketplace becomes a metaphor for life itself, bustling with commerce and vitality but also signifying the “closing stages” of Elesin’s worldly existence. Likewise, Elesin is frequently likened to a “cockerel,” underscoring his pride, virility, and penchant for earthly pleasures.

Example: The Praise-Singer asks, “What tryst is this the cockerel goes to keep…?”—hinting at the sexual undertones of Elesin’s desire for life’s physical delights and foreshadowing the tragic conflict between his worldly attachments and ritual duty.

Use of Yoruba Language

Soyinka weaves Yoruba words (e.g., Olohun iyo for “praise singer,” Alari for a bright woven cloth, oba for chief) into the English script, grounding the play in its cultural setting. This code-switching not only reflects the reality of bilingual or multilingual societies but also honors the musicality and depth of the Yoruba language. It also keeps alive the Yoruba language which was under threat when colonialists imposed the English language upon its subjects.

Effect: For audiences unfamiliar with Yoruba, these terms convey cultural authenticity. They signal that the play is firmly rooted in an African context, challenging Western-centric notions of “universal” drama.

Rhythmic and Poetic Free Verse

Some of Elesin’s and the Praise-Singer’s speeches resemble free verse poetry, rich with alliteration, repetition, and a flowing cadence reminiscent of Yoruba oral tradition. This lyrical quality heightens the ritualistic aura of the play, aligning with the spiritual and ceremonial aspects of Elesin’s impending sacrifice.

Example: Repetitions like “This night I’ll…” build a hypnotic, incantatory rhythm, as if the language itself is propelling Elesin toward his fate.
Example: Elesin’s Not-I Bird story

Folktales and Storytelling

In keeping with Yoruba oral tradition, the play features a strong element of storytelling. Characters often reference past heroes and ancestors, framing Elesin’s duty within a larger tapestry of folktales and communal lore. This not only deepens the cultural backdrop but also underscores the weight of history and ancestral expectation on Elesin’s shoulders.

Relevance: The Praise-Singer’s role is akin to that of a traditional griot or bard, who preserves collective memory and moral lessons through performance.

Colonialists’ Thin, Slang-ridden English

In stark contrast to the rich Yoruba idiom, the British colonial officers (Pilkins and others) speak in a more limited, basic, sometimes slangy English. Their language is often functional or dismissive, revealing their ignorance of Yoruba customs and the sacredness of the ritual at the heart of the play.

By juxtaposing the poetic grandeur of Yoruba speech with the flat, utilitarian style of the British, Soyinka critiques colonial arrogance and highlights the cultural divide.

Example: “I think you’ve shocked his big pagan heart bless him.” Jane, Act 2
Example: “Damn it, what a confounded nuisance!” Pilkings, Act 2

Mimicry

Mimicry means copying someone to mock them.

Shallow use of English is mocked when the girls parody European manners and speech in mimicry, as well as their shallow, frivolous, meaningless concerns.

— What’s your handicap old chap?

— Is there racing by golly?

— Splendid golf course, you’ll like it.

— I’m beginning to like it already.

— And a European club, exclusive.

— You’ve kept the flag flying.

— We do our best for the old country.

— It’s a pleasure to serve.

— Another whisky old chap?

— You are indeed too too kind.

— Not at all sir. Where is that boy?

Pidgin English

Pidgin English is a simplified form of English mixed with elements of local languages, often used as a means of communication between people who do not share a common language.

Amusa speaks Pidgin English, the English of the common man in Nigeria.

This language separates Amusa from the other characters in the play as an outsider and emphasises his comedic status.

“That egungun itself, I no touch. And I no abuse ‘am. I arrest ring leader but I treat egungun with respect.” Amusa, Act 2
“We dey go now, but make you no say we no warn you.” Amusa, Act 3

Form and Structure

Songs and Music

Throughout the play, music and drumming form a near-constant backdrop, evoking the pulse of Yoruba life. From the market scenes to the solemn rituals, the beat of the drums functions like a communal heartbeat, tying individual actions to the broader spiritual and social fabric.

Example: Even in Act 5, a funeral dirge underpins the entire scene, reinforcing the gravity of Elesin’s intended (and later disrupted) transition.

Costume

Costume is symbolically potent in Death and the King’s Horseman. Traditional Yoruba garments carry spiritual weight—like the egungun attire, which should never be worn irreverently. When British officials don sacred costumes as mere fancy dress, it exemplifies the colonial disrespect that fuels the cultural clash in the play.

Impact: By misappropriating Yoruba ritual attire, the Pilkings unwittingly mock the very beliefs and traditions that sustain Elesin’s community.

Combining Western and African Literary Traditions

Soyinka blends Western dramatic structures—particularly the classical idea of the tragic hero—with Yoruba cosmology and performance styles. The play unfolds in five acts, reminiscent of Shakespearean structure, but the content is deeply rooted in African oral storytelling, communal singing, and dancing.

Significance: This fusion challenges the assumption that African theatre must conform entirely to Western conventions or vice versa, asserting that a rich middle ground can exist.

Circular Structure of the Ritual Suicide

Elesin’s planned ritual suicide completes a sacred cycle, ensuring that the King’s spirit is accompanied to the afterlife and that cosmic harmony is maintained. The structure of the play mirrors this circular notion of life and death, constantly alluding to the three stages of being (the unborn, the living, and the ancestors) and the passage between them.

Consequence: When Elesin fails to die at the ordained time, this circle is broken, causing a profound disruption in the natural order—both for the living and for future generations.

The play begins with discussing the upcoming ritual suicide of Elesin and ends with the completion of the ritual suicide by his son, Olunde. This circular structure suggests a sense of completion and wholeness. This may imply that Olunde’s suicide has restored the Yoruba three states of being.

Irony and Foreshadowing

From the very first lines—“The market is in its closing stages”—Soyinka foreshadows Elesin’s imminent end. Yet the irony lies in Elesin’s vibrant enjoyment of life, which ultimately undercuts his ability to follow through on the ritual. He boasts about his commitment to duty while indulging in the earthly pleasures that lead him astray.

The Praise-Singer’s warnings, references to the “other side,” and repeated reminders of the cosmic balance hint at Elesin’s destiny. Still, he remains overconfident, setting the stage for his tragic downfall.

Pilkings displays ignorance about the Yoruba custom of ritual suicide by dismissing it as “savage” and “barbaric,” yet the audience perceives the profound depth of the Yoruba belief system and, by contrast, the shallowness of Pilkings’s own religious or cultural convictions. This creates irony.

Although Pilkings assumes Olunde has been thoroughly Westernized, Olunde remains unwavering in his commitment to duty and customs, demonstrating a resolve that surpasses even that of Elesin, again creating irony.

Act 1 – Extract Analysis Video Lesson

More resources for Death and the King’s Horseman IGCSE Literature

Free university course on World Literature that includes lessons on Death and the King’s Horseman: HarvardX: Masterpieces of World Literature | edX
Full play adaptation on Youtube

Conclusion

Death and the King’s Horseman is a deeply layered play exploring duty, cultural conflict, and the consequences of hesitation. Soyinka’s masterful use of Yoruba traditions, tragic structure, and rich symbolism makes it a profound text for study. When writing essays, always connect back to Soyinka’s intentions, cultural context, and the broader themes.

Good luck with your revision!

Death and the King’s Horseman IGCSE Revision – Literature 4ET1 & 0475