The Telephone Call by Fleur Adcock

​'The Telephone Call'

A poem by Fleur Adcock​

​Poem: 'The Telephone Call'​

​This lesson is focused on 'The Telephone

Call' by Fleur Adcock.

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The next few slides will focus on

the poem (there are 6 stanzas)

and then you will complete some

activities to prompt

your analysis of the poem. ​

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As you work through this lesson,

annotate your personal copy of

the poem. ​This is a homework task. I will

check that you have completed the work

in our lesson on the due date. ​

​I have included the six different stanzas of the poem on the following slides. Read each stanza aloud to yourself. Pay attention to the use of caesura, punctuation, enjambement and tone (which is the poet's way of indicating how the poem should be read).

"The Telephone Call" appears in Fleur Adcock's collection The Incident Book (1986). It describes a mysterious phone call from "Universal Lotteries," an organization claiming that the speaker has won their grand prize. When the callers finally admit the speaker hasn't won any money, they claim the true "prize" was the memorable "experience" of the call itself. The poem can be read as a miniature fable about ordinary disappointment, suggesting that human experience always falls short of our wildest hopes. Metaphorically speaking, we never win the lottery; at best, we get to entertain the fantasy for a while.

Source: LitCharts​

​Stanza 1 - the call

​The opening stanza grabs the reader's attention by jumping right into a dialogue. All but the last words of the poem consist of a conversation between the callers, who identify themselves as "Universal Lotteries," and an unidentified speaker. The dialogue in this narrative poem serves multiple purposes: it propels the story forward, provides exposition, and illustrates the personalities of the characters speaking.

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​How does the poet characterise the callers as obscure and mysterious? In the fourth line, how is hyperbole use and how does this mirror the exaggerated nature of telemarketers` speech? How does the name 'Universal Lotteries' allude to universal human experiences? In the fifth line, why does it feel like the caller is speaking to us readers? Record your ideas in your English workbook.

Source: LitCharts​

​Stanza 2 - skepticism and hope

​On hearing that they've won "the top prize" in the lottery, the speaker's first response is, "I just… I can’t believe it!" The stammering exclamation suggests they're already feeling happy, even if skepticism prevents them from being overjoyed.

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The poem casts this cycle of guarded hope and predictable disappointment as universal: part of the "experience" all humans share. When the

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​speaker's initial reaction is "I can't believe it!" the callers reply, "That's what they all say." This might suggest that it's common to distrust amazing news, since most people know firsthand that such news is often false. But "I can't believe it!" is also a joyous exclamation that betrays some desire to believe—and this, too, is part of human nature.

Source: LitCharts​

​Stanza 2 - illusions

Although the speaker never quite falls for the illusory lottery news, even their cautious hope clearly improves their mood. When asked to describe their emotions, the speaker feels as if their head has flown off "like a flying saucer". The news makes the speaker feel something remarkable, even if it's not full-blown euphoria. "That's what they all say" suggests that these callers, who turn out to be pulling the speaker's leg, repeatedly make misleading phone calls.

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Source: LitCharts​

How do the final three lines use imagery, and what is the effect? Why has the author chosen to use enjambment with the final three lines of this stanza? Are the callers pranksters playing cruel tricks or are they symbols of cosmic fate? How does the repetition of 'tell us' and 'go on' characterise the callers? Record your ideas in your English workbook.

​Stanza 3 - increased emotion

Source: LitCharts​

How do the callers fall short of actually stating that the speaker has won a million pounds? How is the language slippery? And why do you think the callers are so eager to hear the speaker's emotions? Record your ideas in your English workbook.

After being egged on by the callers, the speaker's emotions seem to intensify. They get choked up ("I'm finding it hard to talk"), feel their nose "tingling," and think they might be about to "cry." Though they may still feel some nagging internal doubts, they're certainly starting to act like someone who's won the lottery. They're in a state of semi-shock, and they're almost ready to weep for joy.​ The callers sympathise—or pretend to sympathize—with the speaker's "emotions." In light of the ending, of course, their words are cruelly ironic.

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​Stanza 4 - doubt returns

Source: LitCharts​

What approach do the callers take to pacify the speaker's doubts?​ What can you infer about the receiver of the call based on the dialogue from lines two to five? In your opinion, what is a retrospective chances module? And how does the poem illustrate how easy it is to have irrational hope? Record your ideas in your workbook.

One last time, the callers urge the speaker to give in to their emotions: "Relax, now, have a little cry; / we'll give you a moment…" Notice the patronising tone here; after all, they're pranksters treating the speaker as a sucker. They seem to want the speaker "Relax[ed]" and off their guard, as opposed to suspicious and thinking critically. But as the following lines show, the speaker hasn't abandoned their skepticism just yet.

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​Stanza 5 - mixed feelings

Source: LitCharts​

​How do the pranksters reel the speaker back in? How is it clear that the speaker is conflicted and wrestles with both disbelief and excitement? What is the effect of the ellipsis after 'I still can't quite...'? Record your ideas in your workbook.

"Nearly everyon[e]" might be an exaggeration, but, in a metaphorical sense, everyone hopes to win the lottery—that is, hopes their wildest dreams will come true. For a moment longer, the speaker wrestles with hope and doubt: their lottery win seems "incredible" and "marvelous," but they "still can't quite" believe it's real. They conclude, "I'll believe it when I see the cheque," meaning the prize money.

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​Stanza 6 - an anti-climax

Source: LitCharts​

While most of the questions in the poem are genuine questions seeking information, how do the rhetorical questions in this final stanza land differently? How is caesura used in this stanza and what is the effect? Also consider both the tone and the metaphorical significance of the final line.

Note the casual way that the callers deliver the anti-climactic blow. And consider the overall symbolism of the poem. Lotteries are games of chance, so they're often symbols of chance, luck, and fate in general. Figuratively speaking, fate disappoints most people in similar fashion—only without informing them by phone. To put it another way: mere "experience," as opposed to blissful happiness, is all that most of us ever win from the "lottery" of life.

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Open Ended

Consider the different ideas explored in the poem: fate, illusions, manipulating emotions, greed, cruelty, luck... which of these ideas are most interesting to you? Which of these ideas does the poem explore with most success?

Identify these varied examples of tone on your copy of the poem​

​The tone is down-to-earth, whimsical and satirical. Adcock plays on the ‘universal’ wish that people must win the top lottery prize, or to get something for nothing. Perhaps she is laughing at human nature and the inherent greed of most people.​

There are several tones in this short dialogue, including an upbeat tone from the company representative, and the excited, emotion-filled ‘lottery winner’. The transition to a skeptical tone ‘I’ll believe it when I see the cheque’ is a very real emotion to include here.​

An unsolicited call would be mundane and yet it contrasts with the extraordinary news of lottery winnings. Adcock is whimsical in the pleasant tone from the company representative, touching on the American phrase ‘Have a nice day!’ as a cheerful conversation ending. Perhaps Adcock wants the reader to see, through her satirical use of the phrase, the insincerity of the platitude as used by the company representative.

Open Ended

Identify one tone shift in the poem and explain how the poet achieves this tone shift and the way that this tone shift impacts the mood of the poem.

‘The Telephone Call’ as a postmodern poem

​‘The Telephone Call’ is a postmodern poem that depicts how a phone call plays with human emotions – emotions that can sometimes be illogical or irrational. The person from the lottery company was just a catalyst, but some argue that what the poem is really about is the greed in the poet’s heart playing with her senses. Moreover, through this poem, Adcock presents human fascination with luck; we buy lottery tickets and waste money with a dream that we will win the prize someday.

Postmodern poetry is a type of poetry that has been explored since about the 1960s and is often noted for a few stylistic and thematic aspects. This poetry is often written in a way that is quite free form and meant to reflect the process of thought or organic speaking through a stream of consciousness style. Postmodern poetry often deals with themes of meaninglessness or lack of reality, and frequently demonstrates an existential point of view.

Open Ended

Note that postmodern poetry is often written in a way that is quite free form and meant to reflect the process of thought or organic speaking through a stream of consciousness style. Postmodern poetry also often deals with themes of meaninglessness or lack of reality, and frequently demonstrates an existential point of view. Explain one way that 'The Telephone Call' is an example of postmodern poetry in your own words.

You have finished this homework task. Take your notes to class with you on the due date so that you can share your ideas with your classmates.

Well done!