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6 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Basic Plot of Death and the King's Horseman
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The King dies, and the town prepares for the ritualistic suicide of his Horseman, which is expected in the culture. At the last minute, the British colonial ruler steps in and prevents him from committing suicide, disrupting the cosmic order of the universe.
The horseman is accused of being too attached to the Earth to fulfill his duty. The horseman's son, recently returned from studying medicine in Europe, steps in and takes his father's place to restore his family's honor and the order of the universe. However, this may have been insufficient and the world may still be adrift in the void. |
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Themes found in Death and the King's Horseman
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Duty
Transition Many say anti-colonialism, however, Soyinka states that this play is simply a statement of an incident, not a clash between old cultures and new values. |
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Elesin's Internal Struggle
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This play calls into question the internal struggle of the horseman to perform his duty. He does not particularly want to die. He refers to his weaknesses after he is unsuccessful in the ceremony and wonders if this lack of success was the intervention of the gods. He does not understand if he was correct in failing to commit suicide or not.
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Basic plot of Woza! Albert
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It is a political satire of the second coming set in Apartheid-ridden South Africa. Portrayed in 26 quick-action scenes, it shows the absurdity of the apartheid and the hope of a savior coming to help the blacks. In the end, "Morena" (Jesus) raises many of the dead black political and societal leaders to create a "heaven on Earth" for blacks in South Africa by addressing the atrocities of the apartheid.
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The Longing for Morena
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Though all being to anticipate the coming of Morena, none do so more than the lowest level of society--the African men who struggle to find and keep work and provide for their families. They are oppressed by a system that has no regard for their human needs, freedoms, wives, or children.
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Themes in Woza! Albert
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Resisting oppression with religious faith: this theme takes on ironic undertones because, in a society where there is such institutionalized racism and systematic oppression, it seems hypocritical that the Afrikaner government is a self-proclaimed Christian nation. Thus, the metaphor of the Savior’s return is complex and appropriate for the type of satire created for the stage.
Need for Black Leaders in an Afrikaner government: shown through Morena raising the dead at the end. |
