Colonialism Theme Analysis

In the introduction to the play, Soyinka says outright that it's inappropriate and reductive to consider Death and the King's Horseman only as a play about a "clash of cultures" and the role of colonialism in Nigeria. Instead, he encourages readers and prospective directors to focus on the conflict that Elesin experiences as he fails to follow through with his suicide for a host of other reasons not related to Pilkings's attempts to stop him. Despite this warning, the fact remains that colonialism, racism, and prejudice loom large over the story, if only because it takes place in colonial Nigeria during World War Two. When considered in terms of colonialism, the action of Death and the King's Horseman becomes less about one man's failure to uphold his society's traditions and maintain cosmic order—instead, Elesin and Olunde's deaths come to symbolize the death of the Yoruba society as a whole under colonial rule.

It becomes clear in the side comments and observations of all characters, Yoruba and English alike, that the city of Oyo has a long and tragic history of European occupation that, even in the play's present, influences all the characters. When Pilkings arrests and imprisons Elesin, for example, Elesin is chained in a cellar where slaves bound for North America were once held. Though he's not taken to North America like his forebears, Elesin suffers at the hands of white invaders who wish to maintain control over African bodies and customs by imprisoning them and denying them dignity and agency. In the same vein, much of Pilkings's distress when he learns about Elesin's upcoming suicide has to do with the fact that the prince is visiting the colony and, as far as the prince is aware, Nigeria is a rare calm and safe colonial state amidst the horrors of World War Two. In other words, it's absolutely essential for Pilkings to suppress local customs that might not go over well with the colony's prince in order to maintain the illusion that after nearly a century of occupation, the locals are subdued and are no longer a threat to their occupiers—even when those "threats" don't threaten Pilkings directly or, for that matter, the presence or ruling power of the English as a group.

There are indicators, however, that despite the generations of English occupation in Nigeria, the English are only barely suppressing what Pilkings, at least, sees as an even greater threat than violence, revolt, or losing administrative power: the local culture and belief system. Though Amusa, a Nigerian man, converted to Islam and is now a sergeant serving under Pilkings, he cannot bear to look at Pilkings and Jane when he finds them wearing the egungun in preparation for the costume ball to be held that night in the prince's honor. He attempts to explain to Pilkings that it's wildly inappropriate for them to wear the egungun and, further, that it's disrespectful even for Amusa to touch or look at the costumes when discussing a matter related to death. What's most galling for Pilkings in this situation is that, as far as he's concerned, Amusa was supposed to have left his respect and belief for "any mumbo-jumbo" behind when he converted to Islam. This reveals that Pilkings's true goal is to stamp out the local culture and belief systems.

While Elesin and Pilkings seem to represent two ends of a spectrum, Elesin's son Olunde, who is in the process of training to be a doctor in England, represents the potential for a middle ground. When Olunde arrives, Pilkings is initially thrilled, as he thinks that Olunde will be a "voice of reason" who can "talk sense" into Elesin and stop his ritual suicide. Despite four years of life and training in England, however, Olunde calmly explains that he only returned to Nigeria to bury his father. He explains that the ritual will go on, no matter what anyone says to the contrary, and furthermore, that it's essential that it happen. This suggests that, like Amusa, Olunde still respects and understands the belief system he grew up with, even as he steps firmly into the Western world by training as a doctor. His time in England doesn't compromise his knowledge that upon his father's death, he needs to bury his father and perform rituals reserved for a firstborn son. Olunde's suicide after Elesin's failure then becomes indicative of Olunde's belief in the importance of maintaining these traditions and making sure that, at least in the cosmic realm, the culture persists properly. The fact that both Olunde and Elesin die, however (and especially that Olunde dies without ever becoming the king's horseman in an official capacity, and without leaving behind children of his own), makes it so that the custom cannot continue into the next generation. Through Olunde's insights into both Yoruba and English culture, the play suggests that there's massive potential for cross-cultural understanding through education and a desire to learn—while through his death, the play drives home the massive human and cultural consequences of elevating the beliefs of the colonizers over those of the colonized, a cost that harms everyone in the long run.