“Telephone Conversation,” written by Nigerian poet Wole Soyinka, satirizes racism. As the title suggests, the poem depicts a telephone conversation between a West African man and a British landlady, who shockingly changes her attitude toward him soon after he reveals his racial identity. The speaker, who is Black, is refused accommodation by the white landlady after he inquires about renting a space. The poem, rooted in Soyinka’s experience as a student at Leeds University, portrays a time when anti-discrimination laws existed, but racism was still widespread.
Satire is a literary genre that uses humour, irony, and exaggeration to expose and criticise society’s flaws. Soyinka masterfully employs these techniques to critique racial prejudice, focusing on the absurdity of judging someone based on skin colour. In the poem, the Black man calls from a public phone booth to discuss renting an apartment. The price, location, and privacy are all satisfactory. He is ready to agree to the deal, but decides to be honest and tells the landlady that he is African. This is when things take a turn. A long silence follows after he reveals his ethnicity. Then the lady asks him, in capital letters, whether he is “light” or “very dark.” She repeats the question, making it clear that she needs to know exactly how Black he is before offering the apartment.
This absurd question, reducing a person to their skin tone, satirises the irrationality of racism. The speaker feels disgusted by the question and imagines himself as a machine—like the phone he’s using—reduced to just buttons. He imagines a stench or unpleasant smell coming from her words, showing how her prejudice feels toxic to him. He sees “red” everywhere—possibly from the phone booth, but also as a symbol of his rising anger. Despite the pain, he fights back with humour, sarcastically describing his skin as “West African sepia” or “plain milk chocolate.” This witty comeback mocks her ridiculous question, making her seem foolish while he maintains his dignity.
Soyinka uses satire to expose the absurdity of racism. The landlady’s polite tone hides her rude, racist question, revealing her hypocrisy. The speaker’s responses are laced with wit and sarcasm, serving both as a coping mechanism and a sharp critique. The opening lines highlight the hypocritical presence in the poem. The landlady tells him that the location is “indifferent,” suggesting impartiality and implying that the place is free from prejudice. However, this expectation is quickly subverted when the landlady’s racist reaction reveals that her mindset is full of prejudice.
Following this, the speaker’s “self-confession” about his African identity is full of irony. Describing his identity as a confession implies guilt, as if being African is a fault that requires an apology. This satirical framing exposes the absurd societal expectation that a Black man must apologize for his identity, making it seem almost laughable. In contrast, the landlady is portrayed as a refined, wealthy woman, described with terms like “good breeding” and “lipstick-coated.” These phrases paint her as respectable and well-mannered. However, this image is deeply ironic, as her racist question reveals her shallow and judgmental nature. Her polished manners mask her prejudice.
Soyinka uses this irony to critique how society often allows privilege, wealth, and politeness to conceal deep-rooted bigotry, making the landlady’s hypocrisy a central element of the satire. The speaker humorously describes how the palms of his hands and soles of his feet are white, and claims his bottom is black only due to “friction” from sitting. Through this mock-scientific explanation, he mocks the landlady’s obsession with skin tone, highlighting the ridiculousness of her question. Aware that she is unlikely to accept him, he makes a final plea, asking her to come and see for herself whether he is human.
Despite his wit and reason, the landlady abruptly ends the call by slamming down the receiver. This moment marks the poem’s sobering truth: no matter how clever or composed the speaker is, the white landlady holds the power. By cutting him off, she silences and rejects him directly. The speaker’s sophisticated language sharply contrasts with the landlady’s stereotypical assumptions of Africans as primitive or inferior. This use of high diction satirizes her prejudice by proving his intelligence and humanity.
The power of Soyinka’s satire lies in its ability to entertain while delivering a serious critique. The speaker’s humour makes the landlady’s racism appear absurd, inviting readers to laugh at her ignorance. Yet the poem ends not in victory, but in silence—revealing the harsh reality that, in a racist society, power and privilege often speak last.