Wole Soyinka sets the stage for his play “Death and the King’s Horseman” in his author’s note preceding the play.

Wole Soyinka’s play “Death and the King’s Horseman” begins with a note from the writer himself. The note is about how readers and directors should approach the work. Soyinka is unhappy that so many reduce the depth and complexity of the play to the simple, worn-out theme of “clash of cultures.” The note states that there is much more at work in the play than merely two cultures clashing with one another. Instead, he says that colonialism is merely a catalyst for the events. While there is certainly a clash between the imperial British culture and the native Yoruba culture, it is not that clash which constitutes the body of the work, nor does that clash comprise the source of the friction. Instead, Soyinka notes that the play deals with individual human action –the human mind –as the source of friction. As can be seen at the end, Elesin’s actions and thoughts would have occurred with or without the presence of the British. The presence of the British provides the reader with a Western lens through which to view customs and traditions outside those of the West and for the Yoruba to see how their own culture differ from that of the British.