A Critical Discourse Analysis of Denja Abdullahi’s Death and the King’s Grey Hair

Student: Esther Olamide Oyedele (Project, 2025)
Department of English and Literary Studies
University of Ilorin, Kwara State

Abstract

ABSTRACT
This critical discourse analysis employs Norman Fairclough’s cultural approach to investigate the interplay of language, power, and ideology in Denja Abdullahi’s Death and the King’s Grey Hair. The study examines how the text constructs and critiques traditional authority, generational transition, and cultural ideologies within an African sociopolitical context. Fairclough’s three-dimensional model—encompassing textual analysis, discursive practice, and social practice—is used to analyse nine selected excerpts from the play, focusing on how linguistic choices, narrative structures, and symbolic references convey and contest power relations. The analysis highlights how Abdullahi's play interrogates the cultural significance of leadership and resistance, using discourse to challenge entrenched hierarchies and advocate for societal reform. By situating the text within broader ideological and cultural frameworks, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of how literature reflects and reshapes perceptions of authority, tradition, and change in contemporary African societies.

Keywords
analysis cultural discourse abdullahi critical denja death fairclough power authority
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