How Do the Writers Benjamin Zephaniah and Wole Soyinka Essays

How Do the Writers Benjamin Zephaniah and Wole Soyinka Essays How Do the Writers Benjamin Zephaniah and Wole Soyinka Essay How Do the Writers Benjamin Zephaniah and Wole Soyinka Essay 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 humor. 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 piped, 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 questions. Saying ridicules the social and cultural beliefs that accompanied schism In the ass. 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 piped. without her even releasing he is doing so, and do so with grace and eloquence, brings to light the absurdity that a person can be based on the color of their skin. The landlady speaks impolitely, almost unintelligibly, enhancing the narrators educated background, creating a strong contrast between the two, showing hat the white, well-bred woman is more similar to the stereotypical character of a black person, than the narrator- a black man, himself- Is. This again highlights the stupidity of racism In contemporary settings through the use of irony, as the audience are well aware that the narrator Is of greater mental capacity than the lady, showing that the preconceived Ideas many people possess have no grounds In fact and are based purely In speculation and hearsay. The devices used In Monologues are coronal to ten development AT ten poem, Walt ten mall polls AT interest being the devices themselves. The 1st and 2nd stanza, and the 5th and 6th correspond directly. In the first pair of stanzas the poet outlines a number of negative stereotypes people have of black people. It is clear from the first line that the poem is going to outline stereotypes in particular l am the type you are supposed to fear. The word Supposed indicates to the reader that prejudices are to be the focal point of the poem. Stereotypes in themselves are but ideas that one feels they are supposed to believe. Cephalic also makes clear the fact that the ensuing stanzas are to expand upon negative stereotype, through the use of the rod fear. The lack of punctuation at the end of the line leads one to believe that the point is to be expanded upon, which indeed it is. The 5th stanza begins in an almost identical manner : l am the type you are supposed to love. This creates the same effect of anticipation, but of positive stereotypes, as opposed to negative ones. The succeeding lines go on to introduce a number of negative statements about black people. It is interesting to note that they are stated in the 1st person, and as fact. The poet leaves no room for doubt when stating the prejudices people have. As opposed to the speculative approach Cephalic may have chosen, he specifically chose to use definitive statements -l talk in tongues. He avoided any ambiguity and stated the facts as they are, or rather, as is widely believed to be so due to the racial prejudices people had, and still have now. The same is applied to the 5th and 6th stanzas, but they contrast prodigiously with the 1st and 2nd as they state positive stereotypes that may be applicable to black people, too. These are stated as fact, as the negative stereotypes were. As with the opening lines of the first and fifth stanza, l am the type you are supposed to fear and l am the type you are supposed to love, the lines correspond almost exactly. The succeeding lines of both stanzas Black and foreign and and mysterious appear on first glace to be antonymous in meaning, with the latter pair of words being a positive stereotype. Whilst the words Black and Foreign appear neutral when used alone, but when utilized in conjunction with each other, and in such a forthright manner, that the audience perceive it as a negative stereotype. The contrasting Dark and mysterious is used in a positive manner, used to express an optimistic view, highlighting the appeal some people find in mysterious people- those with hidden depth of character. Whilst at first this statement may appear to be almost directly opposing to the aforementioned Black and foreign, on careful inspection one notices they appear to be synonymous. Black and Dark have the same meaning, as too do foreign and Mysterious. When placed together however, in the forms Cephalic uses in the poem- Black and foreign and Dark and mysterious- the meanings alter entirely. The statement requires but a different point of view for the meaning to differ ridiculously. Cephalic was intending to highlight the effects of the prejudiced views and opinions on the people they are directed towards. He is attempting to inform the audience that the people they believe to be Uneducated and frightening may in fact be quite the contrary, it Just requires a different point of view. The structure plays a strong part in this, too. With the first two stanzas offering negative stereotypes, and the latter two negative, Cephalic offers the audience the opportunity to decide for themselves on which viewpoint they choose to take; he lets men make ten sconce winner to Judge, Ana In along so De racist, or to KICK at Alack people for what they really are: human beings. Our ball will be in your court. / How will you feel? Cephalic is asking the readers to make a decision. In stating that Our ball will be in your court he states that their life will be in their hands. The metaphor tells that it is their turn to Take a shot. This statements does, however create a large divide between the black people, and the poet himself, and those who discriminate against them. The poem insinuates that it is up to them to make a session; they can choose to break the divide and end the separation and prejudice- supporting the latter stanzas and taking the opportunity to give the unknown a chance- not to Judge. It is quite actively involving the audience, asking a question and requiring them to think. The word you, a 2nd person pronoun, makes the poem so much more personal and thought provoking. The poet wants to get the readers involved in keenly deciding on the future of racism. He is attempting to involve each individual, to show that it depends on each person to determine whether or not racism is ostracizes from todays society. The separation into stanzas is vital to each of the poems. Neighbors very significant, very structured stanzas, contrast strongly with Telephone Conversations unpredictable and spontaneous structure, that reflects the impulsive, unrestrained nature of its content, and of its title, Telephone conversation. The poem is structured in a single stanza, with lines varying in length. The only major recognized structural form used is that of a conversation. The dialogue exchanged between the two characters in the poem clearly fits the parameters of an A B conversation, w ith speech being exchanged between the two harassers in succession. This is easily recognized whilst reading the poem. The structure and a variety of other features are used to reinforce the significance and relevance of the title. The poet has intentionally included these subtle reminders of the content to intimate the theme of a telephone conversation through the specific lack of structure, subtly reminding the reader that the telephone conversation is the focal point of the text. Another structural feature the poets use to tackle racism, is the manner in which the poems are written in 1st person. SST person, whilst often Ewing very restrictive, serves in both of the poems to personalize them, allowing readers to empathic easier, as it seems as if the poems are actual thoughts and feelings of an individual. Telephone Conversation uses the narrative viewpoint to make the event that the poem narrates seem more realistic. Had not misheard ARE YOU LIGHT/ OR VERY DARK To the reader, the poem becomes more lifelike, more personal, simply through the use o f the pronoun l. Having it recounted by a witness, and hearing their thoughts and feelings on the situation make the reader feel more involved. Where 3rd person can distance the reader, 1st errors draws them closer to the content of the poem. In Neighbors, Cephalic begins the poem with the word l. This makes the reader realism, almost instantaneously, that the poem is about an individual. The poem continues to inform of the many negative stereotypes surrounding the darker skinned. Later in the poem he does the same, but with positive preconceptions instead. Placing these beside the word l has the same effect as in Telephone Conversation- to involve the reader, drawing them in. It helps the audience to realism that Judgments made in the poem are commonly made. The 1st person pronoun helps to ground the poem, enhancing Its realms Ana Delegable let, snacking ten reader In I TTS stark accelerations- l am ten type you are supposed to fear. The reader realizes that these things are indeed happening today. Cephalic was hoping to achieve Just this effect. The poems also share many similarities in their titles, the most noticeable of which being the everyday, commonplace nature of their titles Neighbors and Telephone Conversation. Both cover such a broad spectrum of subjects, encompassing much into their semantic field, that from reading the title it is impossible to guess the intent of the poems. The mediocrity of the titles, in comparison with the nature of them highlights the fact that racism is indeed a common occurrence. Both Neighbors and Telephone conversations are found commonly in everyday life, and the titles are used as a device to highlight the prevalence racism has in societies today. This is a trait both poems share. The simplicity of both titles contrast strongly with the content. A straightforward title lowers ones expectations of the poem, so that when it is read the content is all the more shocking and hard hitting. Whilst both titles share this, the differ too; If you compare Telephone Conversation with Neighbors you notice that Neighbors seems to be rather more personal than Telephone Conversation. Neighbors live in close contact, seeing each other on a regular basis. The use of this rather more personal term helps one familiarize themselves with the poem. Cephalic wants the audience to personalize themselves with the poem. The nature of the poem in itself is more personal, making use of more 2nd person pronouns and actively involving the reader. The much more intimate title as the effect of involving the reader, preparing them for the content. In contrast to this, Telephone Conversation seems altogether more sterile, less affable than Neighbors. Saying wants the reader to distance themselves from the situation, taking a wider view on the situation. He is using the title as a device to show that impersonality can be vital when viewing racism. On reading the poem itself you realism it is often necessary to take a step back from situations such as those narrated in the poem, to realism the Judgments many make of individuals are inequitable and unjustified and should be abolished. The two titles do the opposite; one serves to distance the audience from the content, whilst the others purpose is to close the gap between the reader and the poem. Perhaps less obviously than the devices, the content is used to tackle racism too. As well as the previously mentioned subtexts, Saying Cephalic address a number of issues in their poems. Whilst Telephone Conversation is a poem of inequalities, Neighbors comes across much more balanced. Telephone conversation raises a number of issues, only one of which being the substandard treatment of black people. It highlights a hierarchical scale, at he bottom of which black people resided. It does however bring sexism to light, too. It is fairly significant that the antagonistic persona in the poem is female. In asses England, sexism was as common as racism, and women were treated unfairly. Whilst this is not explicitly cited within the poem, it is interesting to note. Taking this, and the manner in which the narrator treats the landlady with respect and as someone with higher social standing than himself - Madam, I warned- one notices that a social hierarchy is formed, at the bottom of which the narrator lies, despite his level f education, or wealth. The poem clearly places the landlady above the narrator. The author intended to subtly remind the audience of the treatment of women. The Implicit suggestion, serves to annulling ten poor treatment AT Dalai people: teeny were considered lower than women. In stark contrast to this, Neighbors revolves around the idea of balance and equality. The structure reflects this clearly, as do the devices. It more actively appeals to the audience for racial equality, and does so subtly. The peaceful manner in which Cephalic appeals for equality strongly opposes the approach Saying takes. In Neighbors, the poets focus on fairness makes the audience believe that racism is a set of scales, and their take on the situation could tip the scales either way. Its highly effective in stirring the hearts and minds of the readers. Poetry can affect the reader in such a wide variety of ways that it seems a perfect manner in which to voice ones thoughts and opinions. Both Cephalic and Saying prove in their poetry that it is an efficient way to tackle racism, and after reading both Neighbors and Telephone Conversation, it is made clear that poetry is exceptionally effective in doing so.