Composition

In this part of the study guide, we will look at the outer composition and inner composition of “London Taxi Driver” by David Dabydeen, which will give you an overview of the lyrical text.

Outer composition

“London Taxi Driver” is a three-stanza poem, written in free verse (there is no external rhyme). Each stanza is longer than the previous one. The first stanza is 6 lines long, the second 9, and the third 16. This structure helps convey the rhythm of the poem, which slows as it goes on:

He honked, swerved and swore,
Paused at the twin-tubbed buttocks of High Street Wives
Jerked forward again,
Unwound the window as we sped along,
Hawked and spat. (p. 126, ll. 2-6)

The lines are of different lengths and the rhythm is fast in the first two stanzas, and slower in the third. This echoes the taxi journey itself, speeding away at the beginning and slowing down as it reache...