IndexIntroduction"Death and the King's Knight" as a tragic narrativeElesin as a tragic heroCommon values ​​versus individualismConclusionIntroductionIn the realm of dramatic art, cultural influences often shape the narrative, resulting in captivating tragedies that resonate with the public. Wole Soyinka's masterpiece, "Death and the King's Knight," is no exception, delving into the intricate web of religion, tradition and human experience. As Aristotle, the famous philosopher, articulates in his seminal work “Poetics,” tragedy is the depiction of a serious and autonomous action, crafted in eloquent language adorned with artistic embellishments. These elements are meticulously arranged in dramatic form, weaving a narrative that evokes pity and fear, ultimately leading to the catharsis of these emotions (Aristotle, 23). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay “Death and the King's Knight” as Tragic Fiction Soyinka's magnum opus undoubtedly encapsulates the essence of tragedy, deftly eliciting a myriad of emotions from its audience. It is evident that the concept of "catharsis" serves as a channel through which the playwright conveys his thoughts and ideas. Through the vehicle of emotions, Soyinka effectively penetrates the depths of the human soul, allowing the audience to grasp the central message and themes of the work with unshakable conviction. "Death and the King's Knight" develops as a tragic narrative, the main purpose of which is the exposition of the terrible consequences that befall those who dare to defy divine mandates and disrupt the delicate balance between the three worlds: the kingdom of the non born, the kingdom of the living and the kingdom of the ancestors. Drawing parallels to the ancient Greek playwrights, Aeschylus and Sophocles, who created religious dramas exploring the intricate interplay between gods and mortals, Soyinka's work stands as a testament to the universal resonance of tragic themes across cultures. Furthermore, the rich tapestry of poetic language that envelops the narrative is based on historical events, creating a deep connection with the Greek tragic tradition. Therefore, "Death and the King's Knight" invites us to recognize its kinship with Greek tragedy, emphasizing that a true tragic hero should be, according to Aristotle's definition, "better than us" in terms of moral stature, meeting in the end a sad fate. due to a tragic flaw or error in judgment (Abrams, Harpham, 315). Elesin as a Tragic Hero In the case of Elesin, the protagonist of In the Tragic Tale of Soyinka, Aristotle's criteria are met almost to the letter. Elesin, holding the esteemed position of the king's knight, ultimately finds himself immersed in suffering and shame. His tragic fall is the result of a grave mistake: failure to fulfill his sacred ritual duty. Elesin's descent into calamity awakens a deep sense of compassion in the hearts of the audience, combined with a disturbing fear of succumbing to similar mistakes in one's own life. However, one distinctive element distinguishes him from the archetypal Greek tragic hero. In African theatre, the focus turns from individualistic concerns to the well-being of the community. In this regard, “Death and the King's Knight” represents a tragic masterpiece that embodies the essence of the Aristotelian tragic hero while embracing a unique African perspective. At the heart of Elesin's tragic fate, as espoused by Soyinka and rooted in Nigerian ethics, is his profound dereliction of duty. Once occupied the pinnacle of the social hierarchy, Elesin's abandonment in carrying out his ritual sacrifice inexorably inaugurates aseries of tragic repercussions. Elesin, in his own words, reflects on his former life of privilege: "How can this be? In all my life as a King's Knight, the juiciest fruit on every tree was mine. I saw, I touched, I courted, the answer was rarely No. The honor of my place, the veneration I received in the eyes of man or woman, made my cause prosperous and destroyed my hours of sleep" (Soyinka, 76). His social standing crumbles, leaving him mired in humiliation, while his spiritual standing diminishes as he transgresses the divine order, becoming a sinner and a rebel against the gods. Furthermore, his actions wreak havoc in the realm of the deceased, a transgression which, according to Yoruba beliefs, reverberates in the world of the living. The Praise Singer of Soyinka, the guardian of the culture, sternly rebukes its former leader: "Elesin , we put the reins of the world in your hands and you saw it fall over the edge of the bitter precipice" (Soyinka, 75). Lyaloja, also issues a vehement warning: "You have betrayed us. We gave you the sweets that we hoped would await you on the other side. But you said No, I must eat the scraps of the world. We said that you were the hunter who killed the prey; the vital parts of the game belonged to you. No, you said, I am the hunter's dog and I will eat the entrails of the game and the hunter's feces. We said that you were the hunter who returned home in triumph, with a buffalo killed pressing on his neck; you said wait, first I have to lift this cricket hole with my toes" (Soyinka, 68). The tragic essence of "Death and the King's Knight" crystallizes when Elesin's sacred ritual duty is thwarted, casting a deep shadow over the narrative. His son, Olunde, becomes the most poignant victim of his father's misstep. Witnessing his father's failure to perform the ritual, Olunde is overcome by a heartbreaking sense of shame and grief. He utters the heartbreaking words, “I have no father, eater of scraps” (Soyinka, 61), setting the stage for the climactic catastrophe that ensues. In an act of profound sacrifice, Olunde takes his own life, seeking to erase the shame inflicted by his father and offer a contrite apology to the ancestors and his people Lyaloja, keen observers of the unfolding tragedy, highlights the consequences of Elesin's actions: “Because he could not bear honor to fly out of the house, he stopped it with his life. The son proved the father, Elesin, and in your mouth there is nothing left to gnash but childish gums” (Soyinka, 75) . Looking at her son's lifeless body, Elesin is consumed by grief and guilt, and in a moment of profound despair, she takes her own life by strangling herself with a chain before anyone can intervene, while lamenting Elesin's late departure, He censures white men for trying to stop his self-inflicted fate, pointing out that he eventually left, though. too late: "At last he has come out into the passage, but oh, how late it is. His son will feast on the flesh and throw bones at him. The passage is clogged with the excrement of the king's stallion; he will arrive all stained with dung" (Soyinka, 76 ). Elesin's "hamartia", the tragic flaw that led to the abandonment of his mission, can be interpreted as his capitulation and submission to the European colonizers. As Tanure Ojaide astutely points out, Elesin's failure comes not from refusing to die but from not dying at the right time. The rituals follow a strict timeline, and Elesin's tardiness unintentionally gives the authorities an excuse to prevent him from fulfilling his sacred duty (Ojaide, Online). In a moment of desperation, Elesin succumbs to the overbearing influence ofexternal forces, a profound act of "blasphemy" against his own beliefs. When alien hands interrupt the sacredness of his mission, he contemplates the unthinkable, attributing divine intent to this intrusion: "It is when the alien hand pollutes the source of will, when an alien force of violence shatters the calm resolution of the mind, this is when a man is forced to commit the horrible betrayal of relief, to commit in his thoughts the unspeakable blasphemy of seeing the hand of the gods in this alien breaking of the world my powers and turned me into a child in the hands of unspeakable strangers. I made to utter my incantations again, but my tongue only trembled in my mouth" (Soyinka, 64). While Elesin points an accusatory finger at the white man, his gods, and his bride, he overlooks his own culpability. He recognizes that his weakness does not arise exclusively from the intrusion of the white man but is also rooted in his own desires: "My weakness did not arise simply from the abomination of the white man who came violently into my dying presence; also a burden of desire on my earthly limbs" (Soyinka, 65). Furthermore, in a moment of introspection, he almost concedes to surrender his will to the rule of the European colonizers, lamenting that his will had been extinguished in the face of an alien race: "My will was crushed in the spit of an alien race." (Soyinka, 65). In a fierce rebuke, Lyaloja hints at Elesin's submission, condemning him for allowing the colonizers to assert dominance over the situation (Soyinka, 65). Indeed, when the call of death initially came from Elesin's heart, nothing could dissuade him from fulfilling his sacred duty, not even the iron bars or the presence of the "alien race". "Death and the King's Knight", apart from Greek tragedy, is the main theme of individualism. The Yoruba religion places paramount importance on collective well-being and community prosperity, viewing individualism as a grave dishonor The idea that an individual's selfishness can disrupt the harmony of the three interconnected kingdoms - the living, the ancestors and the unborn – ultimately afflicting the individual himself. Consequently, there is no room for selfishness in this deeply communal ethos. In “The Fourth Phase” and subsequently in “Myth, Literature and the African World,” Wole Soyinka delves into the intricate relationship within Yoruba cosmology between man, gods and humans. the ancestors. This cosmology, as expounded by Soyinka, stands in stark contrast to the Christian and European emphasis on individualism and individual salvation. In Yoruba culture, the focus shifts to community, and this community transcends the boundaries that separate the dead, the living, and the unborn. The emphasis is on continuity, maintaining the unbroken and interconnected relationship between these three phases of existence (Ralph Bowman, 82). Mark Ralph-Bowman rightly argues that to grasp the "religious mystery" at the heart of the play, we must set aside the entire Western tradition of individual tragedy. Despite the protagonist's superficial resemblance to a tragic hero, with attributes reminiscent of "the grandeur, dignity, and pathos of Oedipus; the searching anguish of Hamlet," interpreting the play through such Western lenses would be misleading (94). Ralph-Bowman states that the work does not mourn the tragic loss of the individual, but rather condemns Elesin for his failure to uphold communal Yoruba values. Elesin, despite his imposing stature, must be unequivocally disowned by the community. He is rejected in the world of the opera because his selfish individualism diverges from deathsacrifice prescribed by the Yoruba religion (Booth, 529). Soyinka explicitly highlights this idea within the work itself. Elesin explains to Pilkings that his actions do not only affect him, but affect the entire community: "I have been prevented from fulfilling my destiny. You have thought of it all before, of this plan to divert our world from its course and sever the cord?" that binds us to the great origin?" (Soyinka, 63). The contrasting perspectives on the deliberate death of a soldier during a war encapsulate these opposing views. Jane sees the soldier's self-sacrifice as unreasonable and unjustified, proclaiming, " Nonsense. Life should never be deliberately thrown away" (Soyinka, 53), while Olundelo celebrates it as an act of self-sacrifice and great honor. The conversation between Olunde and Jane highlights these divergent perspectives. Jane questions Olunde about his acceptance and satisfaction with death of his father. Olunde responds that he began to mourn his father as soon as he heard of the king's death (Soyinka, 53). He states that Elesin has a duty to his community and must not dishonor his people: "What can you offer [ Elesin] in place of his tranquility, in place of the honor and veneration of his own people?" (Soyinka, 53). These strong ideological differences could be the main catalyst behind Elesin's tragic fate, with the English colonizers exercising their dominion. Lyaloja's final words to Pilkings affirm this notion. When Pilkings wonders whether this tragic outcome is what she desires, she directs all the blame and bitterness at him: "No, child, it is what you have created. , you who play with the lives of strangers, who usurp even the vestments of our dead, yet believe that the stain of death will not attack you. The gods asked only for the old expired plantain but you cut the sap-laden shoot to feed your pride" (Soyinka, 83). The tragedy of Elesin can therefore be summed up as the fall. of a great man whose aspirations are clash with the norms imposed by European colonizers. In all respects, the ideological divergence between the two tragedies is evident not about the downfall of one individual; it is the entire community that suffers to despise a character like Elesin, perceived as weak. However, Soyinka skillfully enhances the human dimension of the show, arousing pity and fear in the audience. It is during the imprisonment and death of his son that Elesin achieves tragic greatness, causing the audience momentarily overlooks his flaws. In the final act of the play, through a sequence of events and poetic language, Soyinka restores Elesin's hold on the audience's emotions. In a dark scene, Elesin is confined to a prison cell, drowned in melancholy and plagued by guilt and shame. The community gathers to admonish and humiliate him, and Elesin begs for forgiveness, uttering the words, “may the world forgive me” (Soyinka, 73). The very people who, to a large extent, are responsible for his suffering have imprisoned him and limited his freedom. Elesin is rendered helpless and disoriented, unable to determine whether to place the blame on his gods, the white man, or himself. In this touching scene, Soyinka lays bare Elesin's tormented soul. Furthermore, the scene where Olunde lies lifeless while his father watches him encapsulates the essence of the tragedy. The show's final act ends with two lifeless bodies on stage, cementing "Death and the King's Knight" as a profound tragedy. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom EssayConclusionIn conclusion, Elesin, in almost every: 19.3/1 (1992): 210-214.