E L E P H O N E

T T IO N
C O N V E R S A
Wo l e S oy i n k a
By:
The price seemed reasonable, location
Indifferent. The landlady swore she lived
Off premises. Nothing remained
But self-confession. 'Madam' , I warned,
'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.
'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
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?'
Her accent was clinical, crushing in its light
Impersonality. Rapidly, wave-length adjusted
I chose. 'West African sepia'_ and as afterthought.
'Down in my passport.' Silence for spectroscopic
Flight of fancy, till truthfulness chaged her accent
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.
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

See for yourself?'

 SPEAKER

The african man is the speaker

of the poem
 FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
two SIMILE stand out in the poem.
• the speaker compare his skin colour of the chocolate " you mean like plain or
milk chocolate?"

• and the land lady ask what shade the west african sepia is he said " like
brunette"

the metaphor " pressurized and good breeding" is supposed to say Ironic
expressions of the courteous manners that the landlady was meant to have for the
business of renting out space.
 IMAGERY LANGUAGE
IMAGERY
• The speaker depicts himself regarding colour.
• He depicts the way he imagines the landlady looks like

IFacially, I am brunette, but madam, you should see The rest of me.
Palm of my hand, soles of my feet Are a peroxide blonde. Friction,
caused— Foolishly, madam—by sitting down, has turned My bottom
raven black

Red booth. Red pillar-box. Red double-tiered

… Silenced transmission of Pressurized good-breeding. Voice, when

it came, Lipstick coated, long gold-rolled Cigarette-holder pipped.
 THE THEME OF THE
POEM

the theme of wole soyinka's telephone

conversation is the absurdity of racial
prejudice particularly it is base on skin tone.
 HOW
Telephone Conversation” is written in a M ANY
single, 35-line stanza of free verse.
STANZA
 L ESSON OF THE POEM

BE AWARE &
WE MUST STOP DISCRIMINATING OTHERS , WE ALL
HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE TREATED EQUALLY,
REGARDLESS OF OUR RACE, ETHNICITY, NATIONALITY,
BELIEF , AND OTHER STATUS
 WOLE SOYINKA
• Akinwande Oluwole Babtunde Soyinka, better known as Wole
Soyinka, is a Nigerian poet, playwright and novelist
• He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature and he was
the first sub SaharanA African to receive that honour.
• Born into Yorubo Family, he was educated in Nigeria and London.
• Soyinka used his poetry and drama as a mouthpiece for his
political critism and the conflicts between tradition and modernity
• Plays - The Lion and The Jewel, A Dance of the Forests, The Strong
Breed, Death and the King's Horsemen
• Poetry collections - A Shuttle in the Crypt, Mandela's Earth and
Other Poems
• "Telephone Conversatio" appeared in Modern Poetry from Africa.
 Thank
You
KLIM HAZEL R. LUMANSOC CARLA INVENTOR

Presented By