Telephone Conversation

Soyinka uses wordplay throughout the poem, most predominantly verbal irony, saying the opposite of what is actually meant. He comments on the landlady’s questioning of his race with sarcasm, a way to point out the ridiculousness of her questions. The prime example is at the end of the poem when the landlady does not seem to get it and the speaker has built up time through silences and back- and-forth dialogue to craft a reply. He mentions that his face is brunette but the underside of his hands and feet are peroxide blond, utilizing hair dye colors with which the landlady is likely to be familiar. He takes the bit one step further when he mentions, “Friction, caused—[…] / by sitting down, has turned / My bottom raven black” (Lines 30-32). He uses advanced vocabulary and scientific jargon, such as “raven” and “friction,” to put his color in a sophisticated light, but deep down he is talking about the color of a private area of his body. If that does not seem like enough humor, he asks the woman to view it for herself in person. The vagueness of what he offers her to see suggests that he is likely referring to his bottom.

Irony comes in smaller doses throughout the poem through the uses of particular word choices. For instance, at the start of the poem, he uses the word “self-confession” (Line 4) to dramatically prepare the reader and the landlady for what he is about to say. When he speaks, he simply notes he is “African” (Line 5). Normally, people confess their sins or love to another but not their race or ethnicity.