Speaker and characters

The poem “London Taxi Driver” by David Dabydeen includes two characters, the taxi driver and the lyrical I, or speaker, who is a passenger in the cab.

The speaker

The speaker does not reveal much about his identity. We only know that he needs to get from Tooting (a place in south London) to Waterloo (a major London station) (p. 126, l. 1). However, the tone of the speaker who conveys the taxi driver’s experience suggests that he is both critical of and saddened by the driver’s attitude and his personal story:

“From Tooting, where I picked him up, to Waterloo,
He honked, swerved and swore,” (p. 126, ll. 1-2)

“Now he knows more drama of amber red and green,
Mutinies against double-yellow lines,
His aggression is horned like ancient clarions” (p. 127, ll. 8-10)

The speaker’s language is more metaphorical and figurative than when he conveys what the driver says, which suggests that the speaker is educated.

The taxi driver

The taxi driver is not named as he r...