Wole Soyinka Essay | Essay

This student essay consists of approximately 2 pages of analysis of The Use of Irony in "The Telephone Conversation".

Wole Soyinka Essay | Essay

This student essay consists of approximately 2 pages of analysis of The Use of Irony in "The Telephone Conversation".
This section contains 473 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page)
Buy the Student Essay on The Use of Irony in "The Telephone Conversation"

The Use of Irony in "The Telephone Conversation"

Summary: The poem "The Telephone Conversation", written by the African poet Wole Soyinka, depicts a West African man's attempt to rent an apartment from a white landlady and the landlady's refusal to grant his request based on his skin color. Three instances -- the speaker's "self-confession" about his skin color, the description of the landlady, and the speaker's use of high diction in making the landlady appear foolish -- exemplify Soyinka's use of irony to depict the absurdity of racism and create comical effects.
The poet uses irony to depict the absurdity of racism and create comical effects in the poem.

In the beginning of the poem, the speaker starts his "self-confession" when he reveals his skin color to the lady. It is ironic that this is called a self-confession since the poet has done nothing wrong to confess his wrongdoing. It sounds like the speaker is genuinely apologetic and regretful, for he has committed a "sin" of being a dark West African, which is something he was born with and has no control over. Also, after listening to the silence the landlady has responded with, the speaker says "Caught I was, foully." Again, the expression connotes that something wrong has been done by the speaker and he is now being caught committing his crime. By making the speaker feeling guilty and sorry for his skin color, the poet illustrates the silly...

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This section contains 473 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page)
Buy the Student Essay on The Use of Irony in "The Telephone Conversation"
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