Death And The King's Horseman
by Wole Soyinka

Elesin Oba, the King's Horseman, has a single destiny.

When the King dies, he must commit ritual suicide and lead his King's favorite horse and dog through the passage to the world of the ancestors.

A British colonial officer, Pilkings, intervenes.

"The action of the play is as inevitable and eloquent as in Antigone

: a clash of values and cultures so fundamental that tragedy (ensues): a tragedy for each individual, each tribe."-

Daily Telegraph

"This play, by the winner of a Nobel Prize for Literature, asks: "On the authority of what gods" the white aliens rupture a world.

It puts exciting political theatre back on the agenda ... a masterpiece of 20th century drama."-

Guardian

Methuen Student Editions are expertly annotated texts of a wide range of plays from the modern and classic repertoires.

As well as the complete text of the play itself, the volume contains a chronology of the playwright's life and work; an introduction giving the background to the play; a discussion of the various interpretations; an interview with Wole Soyinka

; and notes on individual words and phrases in the text.