Harby, H. (2019). Myth as Collective Memory in Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman. CDELT Occasional Papers in the Development of English Education, 68(1), 447-480. doi: 10.21608/opde.2019.132686
Hala Mahmoud Mohammad Harby Harby. "Myth as Collective Memory in Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman". CDELT Occasional Papers in the Development of English Education, 68, 1, 2019, 447-480. doi: 10.21608/opde.2019.132686
Harby, H. (2019). 'Myth as Collective Memory in Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman', CDELT Occasional Papers in the Development of English Education, 68(1), pp. 447-480. doi: 10.21608/opde.2019.132686
Harby, H. Myth as Collective Memory in Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman. CDELT Occasional Papers in the Development of English Education, 2019; 68(1): 447-480. doi: 10.21608/opde.2019.132686
Myth as Collective Memory in Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman
Drawing on Memory Studies, the present paper investigates how the Nigerian poet, playwright and critic Wole Soyinka utilises myth as a type of collective memory in post-colonial Nigeria to call for a sense of national identity. Since the sixties of the last century, Memory Studies has become a solid approach, especially when linked to Post-Colonial Theory and Soyinka’s theory of transition. ‘Memory studies’ allows history to be revealed from a diverse viewpoint apart from official history, while Soyinka’s theory highlights change as the social role of theatre. This paper attempts to answer the following questions: What is collective memory? What is the relevance of collective memory in post-colonial societies? How can myth be considered a form of collective memory? How and why does Soyinka adhere to myth and its function as collective memory in Nigeria