Interpretation of DKH

When we first started reading Death and the King's Horseman, we discussed the author's intent of the message of the play. Although in the West it is interpreted as a commentary on ignorance and entitlement of white people, it was not Wole Soyinka's initial message. In the article we had to read for class "Wole Soyinka on how he came to write Death and the King's Horseman" Soyinka says that to Western people, it is "understandable only as a 'clash of cultures.'" Instead, he was commenting on failure of following tradition. In the play, Elesin fails to complete the ceremony because he spends the night with the market girl after the marriage ceremony. However, this does not stop the people in the west from understanding his play, Soyinka deeming this "analytical laziness." With the spike in suicide bombings across the world and the war on terror, the ritual suicide is interpreted as a barbaric act. Nonetheless, Soyinka does not take this interpretation as an insult, but rather a message about the importance to find a mutual understanding between cultures. From reading this play, I've learned more about the importance of perspective when analyzing literature.