Cosmos and History in Wole Soyinka's Death and the King's Horseman.

This article examines the central interpretative tension within Wole Soyinka’s play *Death and the King’s Horseman* between metaphysical and cultural-historical readings, arguing that this conflict is not only external to the play but also structurally embedded within it. The play contrasts the Yoruba cosmological order, characterized by cyclical time and metaphysical significance, with the linear, fragmented, and power-driven historical experience represented by British colonialism. While Soyinka’s Author’s Note emphasizes the colonial factor as incidental and the play’s core conflict as metaphysical, the text itself stages a tragic “fall from cosmology to history,” culminating in a conclusion that leaves the audience suspended in an indeterminate space between these orders. This dual framing highlights differing conceptions of authority, ritual, and cultural encounter without resolving the tension, thus inviting reflection on the complexities of colonial impact and indigenous tradition.