Telephone Conversation by Wole Soyinka

Introduction

• Presenter: Sudhir from "Study with Sudhir"
• Subject: Analysis of the poem "Telephone Conversation" by Wole Soyinka
• Importance: Addresses racism in modern society, an offshoot of colonialism

About the Poet

• Wole Soyinka
  • Well-known Nigerian poet, playwright, and essayist
  • Born in 1934
  • Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986
  • First African Nobel Laureate
  • Themes: Oppression, resistance, and political injustice
  • Influences from Yoruba mythology and Western literary forms

Themes of the Poem

• Racism and Discrimination
  • Focuses on racial prejudice experienced by people of color
  • Uses satire and irony to highlight absurdity of racism
• Struggle for Equality
  • Speaker wants to be treated equally
• Clash of Cultures and Identities
  • Highlights cultural and identity conflicts resulting from racism

Setting and Symbolism

• Telephone Booth: Physical and emotional confinement, symbolizes isolation
• Red Color: Symbolizes domination of white people over people of color
• Confinement and Isolation: Physical space enhancing emotional feelings

Structure and Style

• Conversational Tone: Captures essence of a telephone conversation
• Flow of Lines: Use of enjambment for natural flow
• Imagery: Visual and sound imagery to create vivid scenes
• Irony and Satire: Used to mock racism

Analysis of the Poem

Lines 1-5

• Content: Speaker finds the apartment price reasonable, location indifferent; Landlady lives off-premises
• Self-confession: Indicates revealing his African identity to avoid a wasted journey
• Language: "Reasonable," "indifferent," "off-premises"

Lines 6-9

• Silence: Landlady's reaction to the speaker's confession
• Imagery: Lipstick-coated, gold-rolled cigarette holder
• Speaker’s Feelings: Caught off-guard by her silence

Lines 10-20

• Question: Landlady inquires about the exact skin shade
• Public Booth Imagery: Button B (black) and Button A (possibly white)
• Discrimination: Highlights racial categorization
• Squelching Tar: Sound imagery, metaphor for friction between cultures

Lines 21-26

• Speaker’s Response: Uses metaphor "West African sepia"
• Pride in Identity: Assertion of African heritage

Lines 27-36

• Landlady’s Ignorance: Does not understand "West African sepia"
• Silence: Indicates the landlady's processing of this term
• Asks for Clarification: Inquires further, shows cross-cultural communication difficulty

Lines 37-45

• Rowing Tone: Landlady's questions about the speaker's skin tone
• Speaker’s Clarification: Describes further details about his complexion
• Humor and Sarcasm: Adds a layer to the narrative, challenges landlady’s prejudices

Conclusion

• Challenge: Speaker suggests meeting in person
• Tone and Capitalization: Indicates frustration and intensifies the conversation

Literary Devices

• Alliteration: Button B, Button A
• Imagery: Both visual and sound (e.g., red color, squelching tar)
• Metaphor: Red bus (domination of whites over blacks)
• Irony: Polite inquiries masking racial prejudice
• Enjambment: Sentences flow from one line to the next seamlessly

Conclusion

• Understanding: Provides a detailed explanation of the poem's themes and structure
• Usage in Exam: Important for long-format answers (10 marks)

Thank you for watching. Tata bye-bye. God bless you.