Perspectives

Current issues, literary period, and similar works are important perspectives that you can explore in your analysis of the poem “London Taxi Driver” by David Dabydeen.

Current issues

The poem deals with immigration to the UK from a former British colony, Guyana. Guyana became a British colony in the late 18th century but the colony was officially consolidated in 1831. Following popular riots in the 1960s, Guyana became an independent country in 1966 and is currently part of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Immigration from former colonies to the UK mostly took place after WWII and up the 1990s. Today, many immigrants from former colonies still feel like second-class citizens and discriminated against in the UK. Consequently, the poem is relevant today because it explores the disadvantageous position of many immigrants —running away from poverty in their own country, they oft...