16 pages • 32 minutes read
Telephone Conversation
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Poem Analysis
Analysis: “Telephone Conversation”
Soyinka’s one-stanza, free-verse poem begins with the speaker reflecting on the price and location in the first line. Only in the second line does the speaker refer to the landlady, implying that the speaker is seeking an apartment. Once he knows that she does not live in the building, the speaker feels that everything he wants is in place. There is only one issue left he feels the need to confess, something that typically would not be labeled a confession. Line 4 is when Soyinka introduces dialogue, which brings to life the title and situation of the poem: a telephone conversation. In Line 5, the speaker clearly states his confession, “I am African” (Line 5), which places him in a vulnerable state with the other caller. The next line allows for the landlady’s silent reaction with the repetition of the word “silence” (Line 6). Lines 7 and 8 bring the speaker’s perceptions of the landlady into focus, particularly her voice, which he imagines to be “lipstick coated” (Line 7) and encompassing a “gold-rolled” (Line 8) cigarette holder, implying her high status.
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By Wole Soyinka
