This is the poem.
The price seemed reasonable, location
Indifferent. The landlady swore she lived
Off premises. Nothing remained
But self-confession. “Madam,” I warned,
5 “I hate a wasted journey—I am African.”
Silence. Silenced transmission of
Pressurized good-breeding. Voice, when it came,
Lipstick coated, long gold-rolled
Cigarette-holder pipped. Caught I was, foully.
10 “HOW DARK?” . . . I had not misheard . . . “ARE YOU LIGHT
OR VERY DARK?” Button B. Button A. Stench
Of rancid breath of public hide-and-speak.
Red booth. Red pillar-box. Red double-tiered
Omnibus squelching tar. It was real! Shamed
15 By ill-mannered silence, surrender
Pushed dumbfoundment to beg simplification.
Considerate she was, varying the emphasis—
“ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT?” Revelation came.
“You mean—like plain or milk chocolate?”
20 Her assent was clinical, crushing in its light
Impersonality. Rapidly, wavelength adjusted,
I chose. “West African sepia”—and as an afterthought,
“Down in my passport.” Silence for spectroscopic
Flight of fancy, till truthfulness clanged her accent
25 Hard on the mouthpiece. “WHAT’S THAT?” conceding,
“DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT IS.” “Like brunette.”
“THAT’S DARK, ISN’T IT?” “Not altogether.
Facially, I am brunette, but madam, you should see
The rest of me. Palm of my hand, soles of my feet
30 Are a peroxide blonde. Friction, caused—
Foolishly, madam—by sitting down, has turned
My bottom raven black—One moment madam!”—sensing
Her receiver rearing on the thunderclap
About my ears—“Madam,” I pleaded, “wouldn’t you rather
35 See for yourself?”
Introduction
Written in the first person narrative point of view, the poem “Telephone Conversation” by Wole Soyinka is a poetic satire against the widely-spread racism in the modern Western society. The poem is about a telephone conversation in England between the poetic persona seeking to rent a house and an English landlady who completely changes her attitude towards him after he reveals his identity as a black African. The motif of a microcosmic telephone conversation, therefore, is employed by the poet to apply to a much broader, macrocosmic level where racial bigotry is ridiculed in a contest of human intelligence, showcasing the poet’s witticism as well as his ingenious sense of humour.
Q1. This poem is full of colours not just that of skin, what you think these colours signify?
Ans:
This poem used many colours to signify different things in the passage. Firstly, dark and light was used and the metaphor " plain or milk chocolate" further creates a visual image for the reader to imagine the colour of the author. Dark and light was used most often and this may be because the author wanted to show the contrast between the author and the landlady. Next, the colours signify the discrimination of dark-skinned African-American as the landlady was very reluctant to rent the flat to the speaker. Lastly, the colours also shows that the speaker is a black and that he did not like being discriminated by others. This can be seen from the incident where the speaker keep explaining that he is not really that dark-skinned/black. In conclusion, the dark-skinned African-American were discriminated during the past and the colours used in the passage further enhance the dark-skin the speaker has. The conversation shows how unwilling the landlady wanted to rent the flat to him, showing the discrimination of dark-skinned African-American in the past.
Q2. What does their dialogue reveal about these two characters?
Ans:
The dialogue in this poem reveals the different origins of the two characters. In stanza 1, which is the start of the conversation, the speaker was already asked about his skin colour and his origin. The landlady immediately felt the pressure as she was unwilling to take a dark-skinned African-American in. This poem shows that the two characters, the landlady and the speaker are white and black respectively. Many colours were then used to describe the different parts of the speaker. This may be because the author wanted to show the deep contrast between the two characters. The landlady may be convicted for renting her flat to a black because she was not really that reluctant to rent the flat to the speaker. There may be a rule then that a white could not help the black or something like that as the passage revealed that she was not really that reluctant from the "..." used. In conclusion, the two characters in the poem showed the deep "grudge" or different between a white and a black. This may be due to the discrimination of African-American in the past.
Q3. The poet dramatises a battle, who wins finally and why?
Ans:
In this poem Telephone conversation by Wole Soyinka, a "battle" was happening with the winner being the speaker.This is because the speaker was insistent on renting the flat. The white lady was rather to rent her flat to the speaker and kept asking him questions. The speaker showed that he must rent the flat regardless of anything as he said, " I hate a wasted journey." The speaker seemed to know that he is being discriminated as he states, " I am African". He seems prepared for the battle as he had already told the landlady his origin. Then, as the whitelady tried to insult or humiliate him with the different metaphors like "plain or milk chocolate" and insisting that he is a black. He eventually won when he showed his anger. We could see that he is kind of angry from the different "Red" used in the passage to describe the surroundings, more for describing the atmosphere. He eventually said, " wouldn't you rather see for yourself?" in the last line of the last stanza. He seemed to be furious when the landlady kept asking the colour of his different body parts. In conclusion, the poet won the battle dramatised in the poem most probably because he was more well-spoken and because he was very insistent on renting the flat.
