I read it because I was going to see it on stage.

Brilliant read, this. I especially liked how the characters are not the usual Westerner/African stereotypes, and due to their own individual differences, the conflict between them arises. Soyinka's plays are always insightful and deep.

(2 1/2 stars)

Meh. The story's language was beautifully poetic, but the actual story-line was only ok. As for the criticism in the back, I got quite bored of colonial and post-colonial methodology by the time we finished (we read this in Lit Methods).

I liked this play probably for different reasons then most people read it. I like how he is using this play as a communication with the audience, and where dance and music play an integral part to the overall structure. The diction is good, as well as the characters.

4.5 <3 yoruba culture is so rich & i love reading things by yoruba writers

A play that really evokes ideals of cultural clash, despite the author's notes stating that his story is not focused on cultural clash. What is the lesson to be learned from this play? I am not sure but the play brings up several question, such as when can one's ideal lead to objectifying and tampering another's culture? Is it better to step in a situation you see as not moral, or turn a blind eye-while both have consequences. If you call something by a different name does it truly change the meaning, i.e. "murderous defeats" which is "war" or "strategic victories?"

Not a clash of colonial cultures but a deadly collision of pride, religion and philosophy. Two men, both bent on the correctness of their ways, destroy lives in order to prove that they alone know the meaning of tragedy. Although Soyinka has an opinion on which is right, he leaves that thought to settle in the dust of the play's feverish, enchanted desire. What's most amazing is the playwright's ability to call up real human emotion where so many others would let stock characters play their parts; you are surprised how much more this scene in a British Nigeria can terrify you when stereotypes are cast aside.

"Not-I was lately heard even in the lair of beasts... Not-I became the answering name of the restless bird, that little one whom Death found nesting in the leaves when whisper of his coming ran before him on the wind. Not-I has long abandoned home. This same dawn I heard him twittering in the gods' abode. Ah, companions of the living world, what a thing this is, that even those we call immortal should fear to die" [11:]

"Split an iroko tree in two, hide a woman's beauty in its heartwood and seal it up again - Elesin, journeying by, would make his camp beside that tree of all the shades in the forest." [18:]

"it is the death of war that kills the valiant,
Death of water is how the swimmer goes
It is the death of markets that kills the trader
And death of indecision takes the idle away
The trade of the cutlass blunts its edge
And the beautiful die the death of beauty."

“No I am not shocked, Mrs. Pilkings. You forget that I have now spent four years among your people. I discovered that you have no respect for what you do not understand.”

actual rating: 3.5/5

overall i really enjoyed the show and the various themes that it touched about death and community/duty. i’m not every well versed in yoruba tragedy but i felt like this was a good introduction to it. obviously soyinka is a very talented writer and put a lot of thought into this show and i would love to read more of his works. also side note but literally fuck colonialism!!!!

I seem to have forgotten to mark this one as read?? This play is heavy and metaphysical and kind of messed up, and I kind of love it. We will see if I still feel the same once I've taught it again, though.

One of my co-workers is involved in an online romance with someone from Nigeria.
It is the season.
During the cursory conversation where I discovered this, I thought rather often that I should be reading more Soyinka.
So I did.
Much of the play was rather familiar and I suspect I read this some time ago. The plot is pretty simple--native religious rites are halted by the colonialists for reasons of alleged civilization and, also, as a fumble for propriety. The fated Horseman is a remarkable character; the colonial authority is truly human.

An incredible modern tragedy. It works especially well because most of its protagonists are living in a traditional world full of myths and superstitions, more classical than Shakespearean. And yet the events, and part of the fatal flaw, are modern: the intrusion of a British police official plays on the king’s horseman’s love for life. The prose is beautiful, again not in a modern way, and yet often very modern.

It would be easy to focus a review of this book on the clash of cultures, and though wonderfully handled here, there are lots of books about that. What I found astonishing and eye-opening was the Yoruba belief system and cultural depth of death and the responsibilities of the native society’s members around it. The absolute certitude of belief and yet the offhand dismissal of them by the colonial masters creates deep relief on how ANY religious beliefs are just magical thinking.

The native characters are deep, and beautifully and believably drawn, including the son who went to London for modern medical training and returned to honor his estranged father. The colonial characters are successfully drawn with all their typical colonial master smugness and arrogance.

I would love to see this staged.

Nobel laureate I want to read more of.