Quick facts

What the poem is about

The speaker is a father talking to his son. He remembers a time when people were sincere: they laughed from their hearts and meant it when they shook hands or welcomed a visitor. Today, he says, people laugh with only their teeth, shake hands while checking what they can gain, and invite you to come again but shut the door when you do.

The painful part is his confession: he has become like them. He has learned to change his face for every situation, the way a person changes clothes, and to say polite words he does not mean. When he looks in the mirror, even his smile looks dangerous. In the last stanzas he begs his son, who is still innocent, to teach him how to laugh sincerely again.

Stanza-by-stanza outline

Stanza 1. The father tells his son that people once laughed with their hearts and their eyes. Now they laugh with their teeth alone, while their cold eyes look past him, searching for something to gain.

Stanza 2. Handshakes used to be warm and sincere. Now people shake hands without feeling, and the other hand feels for what is in his pockets. Friendship has become a transaction.

Stanza 3. People tell him to feel at home and to come again. He takes them at their word, but after a visit or two he finds the door closed to him. Hospitality has become empty talk.

Stanza 4. The confession begins. He admits he has learned to change his face to suit each place, as easily as changing clothes, and to wear a fixed smile that shows no real feeling.

Stanza 5. He has also learned to laugh without meaning it, to shake hands without warmth, and to use polite phrases that say the opposite of what he feels, such as a goodbye that really means he is glad to see the person go.

Stanza 6. He wants to become again the person he was when he was a child. He wants to unlearn these false habits and, above all, relearn how to laugh, because his smile in the mirror now looks like a snake baring its fangs.

Stanza 7. He ends with a plea: he asks his son to show him how to laugh the way he did long ago, when he was as innocent as the boy.

For a deeper line-by-line explanation, see: Once Upon a Time summary, stanza by stanza.

Main themes

Hypocrisy and pretence. Adults hide their true feelings behind polite smiles, handshakes and greetings.

Loss of innocence. The child is sincere; the adult has lost that sincerity through experience.

The effect of Western and urban culture on African values. The warm, communal way of life has given way to the cold, self-seeking manners of the modern city.

Nostalgia. The speaker longs for the past, as the fairy-tale title suggests.

Desire for change and renewal. He wants to unlearn his false ways and relearn honesty from his son.

Each theme is explained with evidence from the poem here: Themes in Once Upon a Time by Gabriel Okara.

Poetic devices

Apostrophe. The whole poem is addressed directly to the son.

Simile. The speaker compares changing faces to changing clothes, and his mirror smile to a snake’s bared fangs.

Metaphor and imagery. Cold, searching eyes and hands that search pockets paint a picture of selfishness.

Contrast. Past against present, child against adult, heart against teeth.

Repetition. Phrases about laughing and learning are repeated to stress the speaker’s regret.

Irony. Polite words such as goodbye and welcome carry the opposite meaning.

Coinage (compound words). Okara joins words to create new ones, such as homeface and officeface.

See every device with examples and explanations: Poetic devices in Once Upon a Time.

Tone, mood and structure

Tone. The tone moves from nostalgic and regretful in the first three stanzas, to confessional and self-critical in the middle, and finally to pleading and hopeful at the end.

Mood. The poem leaves the reader thoughtful and a little sad, but it ends with the possibility of change rather than despair.

Structure. The poem falls into three movements. Stanzas 1 to 3 describe how society has changed. Also Stanzas 4 and 5 are the speaker’s confession that he has changed too. In Stanzas 6 and 7 express his desire to return to sincerity. It is written in free verse with a simple, conversational style, which makes it feel like a real father talking to his child.

About the poet

Gabriel Okara was born in 1921 in Bumoundi, in present-day Bayelsa State, and was of Ijaw origin.  is regarded as one of the first modernist poets of English-speaking Africa. He is known for poems such as Piano and Drums and The Mystic Drum, the novel The Voice, and the poetry collection The Fisherman’s Invocation. He died in 2019. His poems often explore the clash between African tradition and Western influence, which is exactly the tension in Once Upon a Time.

Sample exam question

Practise with more questions and full model answers: Once Upon a Time questions and answers.

How to answer questions on this poem

Always mention the poet and the title in your first sentence, and state your main point clearly. Support every point with a reference to a specific stanza or image, such as the changing faces or the snake-like smile. Explain what the evidence shows instead of retelling the poem. Where a question asks about devices, name the device, give the example, and say what effect it has on the meaning. Finish with a short conclusion that links back to the question.

Frequently asked questions

Who wrote Once Upon a Time?

Gabriel Okara, a Nigerian poet and novelist of Ijaw origin (1921–2019).

Who is the speaker in the poem?

A father speaking to his young son about how he has lost his sincerity.

What is the main theme of Once Upon a Time?

Hypocrisy and the loss of sincerity in adult and modern life, set against the innocence of childhood.

Why is the poem titled Once Upon a Time?

The phrase opens fairy tales, so it points to a past that now feels distant and almost unreal, the time when people were sincere.

Is Once Upon a Time on the WAEC syllabus?

Yes. It is one of the African poems prescribed for WAEC and NECO Literature-in-English from 2026 to 2030.