How Do the Writers Benjamin Zephaniah and Wole Soyinka Challenge Racism in Their Respective Poems 'Neighbours' and 'Telephone Conversation'?
Callum Fisher
How do the writers Benjamin Zephaniah and Wole Soyinka challenge racism in their poems ‘Neighbours’ and ‘ Telephone Conversation’?
In times of great stress or trauma, poetry has always proved as a perfect medium for people to voice their views and opinions, and to get them heard. Two prime examples of this are Benjamin Zephaniah and Wole Soyinka’s respective ‘Neighbours’ and ‘Telephone Conversation’. Both poems address the subject of racism and attempt to tackle racial stereotypes and prejudices. They do so in a variety of ways, and differ greatly in their style of writing, whilst many devices run throughout them both. The poets’ choices within their poems affect the reader greatly and with varying effect.
Whilst both poems attempt to tackle racism, they do so in different ways, both targeting different aspects. ‘Telephone Conversation’ subtly attempts to convey the irrationality of racism, using irony as a device to convey the idea with subtlety and almost to the point of humour. The common racial stereotype people had of black people in 1962- the time of writing- is entirely repudiated as the audience read the poem and begin to gain some insight into the personality of the narrator; he was erudite, polite and educated: the complete antithesis of the widespread preconceptions people had at the time. Words like "pipped," "rancid," and "spectroscopic" are not words that a savage brute would have in his vocabulary. His intelligence is further proven through his use of sarcasm and wit in response to the lady’s questions. Soyinka ridicules the social and cultural beliefs that accompanied racism in the 60s. The fact that a black, supposedly savage man had the mental capacity to outwit a white, well bred woman of high social stature- “Pressurized good-breeding. Voice, when it came/ Lipstick coated, long gold rolled Cigarette-holder pipped.” -, without her even realising he is doing so, and do so with grace and eloquence, brings to light the
How do the writers Benjamin Zephaniah and Wole Soyinka challenge racism in their poems ‘Neighbours’ and ‘ Telephone Conversation’?
In times of great stress or trauma, poetry has always proved as a perfect medium for people to voice their views and opinions, and to get them heard. Two prime examples of this are Benjamin Zephaniah and Wole Soyinka’s respective ‘Neighbours’ and ‘Telephone Conversation’. Both poems address the subject of racism and attempt to tackle racial stereotypes and prejudices. They do so in a variety of ways, and differ greatly in their style of writing, whilst many devices run throughout them both. The poets’ choices within their poems affect the reader greatly and with varying effect.
Whilst both poems attempt to tackle racism, they do so in different ways, both targeting different aspects. ‘Telephone Conversation’ subtly attempts to convey the irrationality of racism, using irony as a device to convey the idea with subtlety and almost to the point of humour. The common racial stereotype people had of black people in 1962- the time of writing- is entirely repudiated as the audience read the poem and begin to gain some insight into the personality of the narrator; he was erudite, polite and educated: the complete antithesis of the widespread preconceptions people had at the time. Words like "pipped," "rancid," and "spectroscopic" are not words that a savage brute would have in his vocabulary. His intelligence is further proven through his use of sarcasm and wit in response to the lady’s questions. Soyinka ridicules the social and cultural beliefs that accompanied racism in the 60s. The fact that a black, supposedly savage man had the mental capacity to outwit a white, well bred woman of high social stature- “Pressurized good-breeding. Voice, when it came/ Lipstick coated, long gold rolled Cigarette-holder pipped.” -, without her even realising he is doing so, and do so with grace and eloquence, brings to light the