Wole Soyinka is a Yoruba playwright, poet, essayist and activist, and the first African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. His work draws deeply on Yoruba myth, language and the orisha tradition. This guide covers his life, major works and legacy.
Early Life
Wole Soyinka was born on 13 July 1934 in Abeokuta, in what is now Ogun State, and spent his childhood in the town of Aké, which he later described in his memoir Aké: The Years of Childhood. His early life was shaped by both Christian and Yoruba traditions. Learn about Abeokuta’s role in Yoruba history in the Yoruba wars guide.
Major Works
- The Lion and the Jewel (1959): a comic play about tradition and change in a Yoruba village.
- A Dance of the Forests (1960): written for Nigeria’s independence celebrations.
- Death and the King’s Horseman (1975): based on events in Oyo, a tragedy about duty and ritual. See the Oyo Empire background.
- The Man Died (1972): prison notes written after his detention during the Nigerian civil war.
- Aké (1981): his childhood memoir.
Yoruba Roots in His Art
Soyinka draws on Yoruba mythology, especially the orisha Ògún, and on proverbs and ritual. His writing makes use of the ideas explained in our guides to Yoruba gods and goddesses and Yoruba religion.
Nobel Prize and Activism
Soyinka was imprisoned in the late 1960s for speaking out against the civil war, and later became a lifelong critic of dictatorship. In 1986 he won the Nobel Prize in Literature, the first African writer to do so. See the official Nobel Prize page.
Read More
Explore other great Yoruba figures in famous Yoruba people and the stories that inspired him in Yoruba folktales and literature.
Wole Soyinka FAQs
When did Wole Soyinka win the Nobel Prize?
He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986.
What is Wole Soyinka’s most famous play?
Death and the King’s Horseman and The Lion and the Jewel are among his best-known plays.
Is Wole Soyinka Yoruba?
Yes. He is a Yoruba writer from Abeokuta.
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