essay on theme for english b

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Theme for English B Summary & Analysis by Langston Hughes

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis
• Poetic Devices
• Vocabulary & References
• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme
• Line-by-Line Explanations

“Theme for English B” was published the American poet Langston Hughes in 1951, toward the end of Hughes’s career. The poem is a dramatic monologue written in the voice of a twenty-two-year-old black college student at Columbia University in New York City. His professor gives an apparently simple assignment: to write one page that is “true” to himself. But for the speaker, this assignment raises complicated questions about race, identity, and belonging. As he puzzles through these difficult questions, the speaker arrives at a powerful argument against American racism: white people and black people are not (and should not be) separate or distinct. Instead, they are “part” of each other.

• Read the full text of “Theme for English B”

The Full Text of “Theme for English B”

“theme for english b” summary, “theme for english b” themes.

Race, Identity, and Belonging

Line-by-line explanation & analysis of “theme for english b”.

The instructor said, ... ... will be true.

I wonder if ... ... in my class.

Lines 11-15

The steps from ... ... write this page:

Lines 16-20

It’s not easy ... ... York, too.) Me—who?

Lines 21-26

Well, I like ... ... are other races.   

Lines 27-30

So will my ... ... of you, instructor.

Lines 31-33

You are white— ... ... That’s American.

Lines 34-36

Sometimes perhaps you ... ... are, that’s true!

Lines 37-41

As I learn ... ... for English B.

“Theme for English B” Symbols

• Line 9: “hill”
• Line 11: “hil”

“Theme for English B” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

End-stopped line.

• Line 1: “said,”
• Line 3: “tonight.”
• Line 4: “you—”
• Line 5: “true.”
• Line 6: “simple?”
• Line 7: “Winston-Salem.”
• Line 9: “Harlem.”
• Line 10: “class.”
• Line 11: “Harlem,”
• Line 12: “Nicholas,”
• Line 13: “Y,”
• Line 15: “page:”
• Line 18: “you:”
• Line 19: “page.”
• Line 20: “who?”
• Line 21: “love.”
• Line 22: “life.”
• Line 24: “Bach.”
• Line 26: “races.”
• Line 27: “write?”
• Line 28: “white.”
• Line 30: “instructor.”
• Line 31: “white—”
• Line 32: “you.”
• Line 33: “American.”
• Line 34: “me.”
• Line 35: “you.”
• Line 36: “true!”
• Line 37: “you,”
• Line 38: “me—”
• Line 39: “white—”
• Line 40: “free.”
• Line 41: “B.”
• Lines 2-3: “write /       a ”
• Lines 8-9: “here    / to”
• Lines 14-15: “elevator    / up”
• Lines 16-17: “me    / at”
• Lines 17-18: “what / I”
• Lines 25-26: “like / the”
• Lines 29-30: “be / a”
• Line 5: “Then, it”
• Line 7: “twenty-two, colored, born”
• Line 8: “there, then Durham, then”
• Line 12: “park, then”
• Line 13: “Avenue, Seventh, and”
• Line 14: “Y, where”
• Line 15: “room, sit down, and”
• Line 17: “twenty-two, my age. But”
• Line 18: “hear, Harlem, I”
• Line 19: “you, hear me—we two—you, me, talk”
• Line 20: “York, too.) Me—who”
• Line 21: “Well, I,” “eat, sleep, drink, and”
• Line 22: “work, read, learn, and”
• Line 24: “records—Bessie, bop, or”
• Line 28: “me, it”
• Line 30: “you, instructor”
• Line 32: “me, as”
• Line 36: “are, that’s”
• Line 39: “older—and”

Alliteration

• Line 6: “i,” “i”
• Line 7: “t,” “t”
• Line 8: “th,” “th,” “th”
• Line 9: “th,” “th,” “h,” “H”
• Line 10: “c,” “st,” “c”
• Line 11: “st,” “h,” “H”
• Line 15: “r,” “wr”
• Line 16: “n,” “kn”
• Line 17: “tw,” “t,” “w,” “I,” “I”
• Line 18: “I,” “h,” “H,” “h,” “y”
• Line 19: “h,” “y,” “h,” “m,” “t,” “y,” “m,” “t”
• Line 20: “h,” “Y,” “t,” “M”
• Line 21: “l,” “l”
• Line 22: “l,” “l,” “l”
• Line 23: “l,” “p,” “p”
• Line 24: “B,” “b,” “B”
• Line 25: “b,” “m,” “m”
• Line 26: “o,” “o”
• Line 28: “B,” “b”
• Line 29: “B,” “b”
• Line 32: “p,” “p”
• Line 34: “p,” “w,” “p”
• Line 35: “w,” “p”
• Line 36: “w”
• Line 37: “fr”
• Line 38: “l,” “fr”
• Line 40: “f”
• Line 2: “o,” “o,” “i”
• Line 3: “a,” “i”
• Line 4: “a,” “ou”
• Line 5: “i,” “i,” “ue”
• Line 6: “I,” “i,” “i,” “i”
• Line 7: “I,” “i,” “i”
• Line 8: “I,” “o,” “oo,” “e,” “e,” “e”
• Line 10: “I,” “e,” “y,” “a”
• Line 11: “i,” “i”
• Line 12: “a”
• Line 13: “I,” “Y”
• Line 14: “ Y,” “I,” “a,” “a”
• Line 15: “o,” “oo,” “i,” “i,” “a”
• Line 16: “ea,” “y,” “o,” “ue,” “ou,” “e”
• Line 17: “y,” “o,” “y,” “I,” “I”
• Line 18: “I,” “ee,” “ee,” “ea,” “ea,” “ou”
• Line 19: “ea,” “ou,” “ea,” “e,” “e,” “o,” “ou,” “e,” “a,” “o”
• Line 20: “ea,” “oo,” “e,” “o”
• Line 21: “I,” “i,” “ea,” “ee,” “e”
• Line 22: “I,” “i,” “o,” “ea,” “a,” “a,” “i”
• Line 23: “I,” “i,” “i,” “e,” “e”
• Line 24: “e,” “e,” “ie,” “o,” “a”
• Line 25: “ei,” “e”
• Line 27: “y,” “I,” “i”
• Line 28: “e,” “i,” “e,” “i,” “i,” “e,” “i”
• Line 29: “i,” “i,” “e”
• Line 30: “ou”
• Line 31: “ou”
• Line 32: “a,” “o,” “a,” “o”
• Line 34: “ou,” “o,” “e,” “e”
• Line 35: “o,” “a,” “o,” “e,” “ou”
• Line 36: “e,” “ue”
• Line 37: “I,” “ea,” “o,” “ou”
• Line 38: “I,” “ou,” “ea,” “o,” “e”
• Line 39: “ou,” “o”
• Line 40: “ee”
• Line 41: “i,” “i,” “i,” “B”
• Line 1: “tr,” “t,” “r”
• Line 2: “m,” “t”
• Line 3: “p,” “t,” “t”
• Line 4: “t,” “p,” “m,” “t”
• Line 5: “t,” “t”
• Line 6: “w,” “t,” “t”
• Line 7: “t,” “w,” “t,” “t,” “r,” “r,” “n,” “n,” “W,” “n,” “s,” “t,” “n,” “S,” “m”
• Line 8: “n,” “t,” “t,” “th,” “th,” “n,” “m,” “th,” “n”
• Line 9: “th,” “ll,” “th,” “h,” “ll,” “H,” “l,” “m”
• Line 10: “m,” “l,” “c,” “l,” “t,” “m,” “c,” “l,” “ss”
• Line 11: “st,” “s,” “m,” “h,” “ll,” “l,” “d,” “d,” “H,” “rl,” “m”
• Line 12: “r,” “r,” “k,” “c,” “r,” “ss,” “S,” “ch,” “s”
• Line 13: “th,” “v,” “v,” “th,” “m”
• Line 14: “r,” “m,” “r,” “r,” “r”
• Line 15: “m,” “m,” “t,” “wr,” “t”
• Line 16: “n,” “t,” “t,” “kn,” “w,” “wh,” “tr”
• Line 17: “t,” “tw,” “t,” “t,” “m,” “t,” “m,” “wh,” “t”
• Line 18: “h,” “r,” “H,” “r,” “m,” “h,” “r”
• Line 19: “h,” “r,” “h,” “r,” “m,” “t,” “m,” “t”
• Line 20: “h,” “M,” “wh”
• Line 21: “ll,” “l,” “k,” “l,” “k,” “l”
• Line 22: “l,” “k,” “rk,” “r,” “d,” “l,” “r,” “d,” “r,” “d,” “l”
• Line 23: “l,” “k,” “r,” “r,” “s,” “s,” “r,” “s”
• Line 25: “b,” “c,” “d,” “d,” “n,” “t,” “m,” “k,” “m,” “n,” “t,” “k”
• Line 26: “k,” “k,” “r,” “r,” “r”
• Line 27: “r,” “t,” “w,” “r,” “t”
• Line 28: “B,” “t,” “t,” “b,” “t”
• Line 29: “B,” “t,” “t,” “b”
• Line 30: “rt,” “tr,” “t,” “r”
• Line 31: “r,” “t”
• Line 32: “t,” “p,” “rt,” “m,” “m,” “p,” “rt”
• Line 33: “m”
• Line 34: “m,” “m,” “p,” “r,” “p,” “n,” “t,” “n,” “t,” “t,” “p,” “rt,” “m”
• Line 35: “N,” “r,” “f,” “t,” “n,” “nt,” “t,” “rt,” “f”
• Line 36: “t,” “r,” “t,” “tr”
• Line 37: “l,” “r,” “fr,” “m”
• Line 38: “l,” “r,” “n,” “fr,” “m,” “m”
• Line 39: “l,” “r,” “l,” “r,” “wh,” “t”
• Line 40: “m,” “wh,” “t,” “m,” “r”
• Line 41: “s,” “s”
• Line 4: “And let that page come out of you”
• Line 18: “Harlem, I hear you”
• Line 20: “(I hear New York, too.)”
• Line 27: “So will my page be colored that I write? ”
• Line 28: “Being me, it will not be white.”
• Lines 29-30: “But it will be / a part of you, instructor.”
• Lines 31-32: “You are white— / yet a part of me, as I am a part of you.”
• Lines 34-35: “Sometimes perhaps you don’t want to be a part of me.    / Nor do I often want to be a part of you.”
• Line 6: “I”
• Line 7: “I”
• Line 8: “I”
• Line 10: “I”
• Line 21: “I like”
• Line 22: “I like”
• Line 23: “I like”
• Line 8: “then Durham, then here  ”
• Lines 17-19: “But I guess I’m what / I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you: / hear you, hear me—we two—you, me, talk on this page.”
• Lines 25-26: “I guess being colored doesn’t make me  / not /   / the same things other folks like who are other races.”
• Line 25: “like”
• Line 30: “a part of you”
• Line 34: “a part of me”
• Line 35: “a part of you”
• Lines 37-38: “As I learn from you, / I guess you learn from me—”

“Theme for English B” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Winston-Salem
• This College
• St. Nicholas
• Eighth Avenue
• (Location in poem: Line 3: “page”; Line 4: “page”; Line 41: “page”)

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Theme for English B”

Rhyme scheme, “theme for english b” speaker, “theme for english b” setting, literary and historical context of “theme for english b”, more “theme for english b” resources, external resources.

"Theme for English B" Read Aloud — The playwright Jermaine Ross reads "Theme for English B" aloud.

Hughes's Life Story — A detailed biography of Langston Hughes from the Poetry Foundation.

Poetry and the Civil Rights Movement — A collection of poems and resources from the Poetry Foundation focused on the poetry of the Civil Rights Movement.

An Introduction to the Harlem Renaissance — A detailed introduction to the African American literary movement, with links to important poems and poets.

Early Black Students at Columbia University — An article by Paulina Fein on the way tha first black students to attend Columbia University were treated.

LitCharts on Other Poems by Langston Hughes

As I Grew Older

Aunt Sue's Stories

Daybreak in Alabama

Dream Variations

I Look at the World

Let America Be America Again

Mother to Son

Night Funeral in Harlem

The Ballad of the Landlord

The Negro Speaks of Rivers

The Weary Blues

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Poems & Poets

Theme for English B

Langston Hughes, "Theme for English B" from The Collected Works of Langston Hughes . Copyright © 2002 by Langston Hughes. Reprinted by permission of Harold Ober Associates, Inc.

Theme for English B

By Langston Hughes

‘Theme for English B’ is one of Langston Hughes’ best-known poems. It explores themes of identity and race, framed within a black student’s college writing assignment.”

Langston Hughes

Nationality: American

Langston Hughes had a five-decade career.

Key Poem Information

Unlock more with Poetry +

Central Message: Despite societal divisions based on race, individuals share common experiences.

Themes: Identity , Journey

Speaker: A student

Emotions Evoked: Frustration , Hope

Poetic Form: Narrative

Time Period: 20th Century

This is a wonderful piece of poetry that challenges the ideas of racial segregation and highlights how important it is to recognize humanity's shared experiences.

Poem Analyzed by Emma Baldwin

B.A. English (Minor: Creative Writing), B.F.A. Fine Art, B.A. Art Histories

Within ‘Theme for English B,’ Hughes creates a young, twenty-two-year-old narrator who speaks about his own experience as a black man in a primarily white community.  Despite having been written decades ago, this poem, like many others Hughes wrote, is still applicable to today’s society. 

To better understand this poem, it's helpful to know that the premise is based on a young speaker 's understanding of an assignment. He considers it and expresses his opinion that the assignment is not quite as simple as it seemed. As the poem progresses, he reflects on his identity and experiences.

Explore Theme for English B

• 2 Structure
• 3 Poetic Techniques
• 4 Detailed Analysis

‘ Theme for English B ’ by Langston Hughes explores the mind of a young black man, setting out to write an assignment for his English class. 

The poem describes the assignment, one page of writing, and the speaker’s apprehension about completing it. He isn’t sure that he’s going to be able to simply sit down and write. He is sure that it’s more complicated than that. His apprehension turns into success as he mulls over his feelings and explores his personality and heritage. He speaks on his similarities to his classmates and his differences, as well as his relationship with the white instructor.  

The Poem Analysis Take

Expert Insights by Emma Baldwin

This is a powerful piece of poetry that explores race, social dynamics, change, and transformation. The poem begins as a contemplation of a school assignment and transforms into something much more meaningful. It ends with the speaker suggesting that humanity would be better off if we could just appreciate one another as individuals.

‘Theme for English B’ by Langston Hughes is a thirty-six line poem that is divided into stanzas of varying lengths. The shortest is only one line long and the longest is twenty lines. There is not a single pattern of rhyme that Hughes used to structure the entire poem, although the poem does contain rhyme. For example, the second stanza rhymes AABB . Other examples include “me,” “free,” and “B” at the end of the poem and “you” and “who” at the end of lines thirteen and fifteen.  

Poetic Techniques

Hughes makes use of several poetic techniques in ‘Theme for English B’. These include but are not limited to personification , anaphora , and alliteration . The latter, alliteration, occurs when words are used in succession, or at least appear close together, and begin with the same sound. For example, “Bessie, bop, or Bach” in line twenty-six and “hear, Harlem, I hear” in line thirteen.

Hughes also makes use of anaphora, or the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of multiple lines, usually in succession. This technique is often used to create emphasis. A list of phrases, items, or actions may be created through its implementation. For example, “I like” at the beginning of line sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen.

Personification occurs when a poet imbues a non-human creature or object with human characteristics. It can be seen in the third line with “let that page come out of you,” as if the page has agency and the ability to make its own choices. It is described as crafting its own destiny.  

Detailed Analysis

Lines 1-5  .

The instructor said, Go home and write a page tonight. And let that page come out of you— Then, it will be true.

In the first lines of ‘Theme for English B,’ the speaker begins by laying out the assignment he was given. The speaker, who is a young boy, explains in simple terms that he was told to “God home and write / a page tonight”. It could be anything, it just needs to ‘come out of you”. This use of personification makes it feel as if the page is acting on its own, making its own choices. It should be a natural process the teacher suggests.  

I wonder if it’s that simple? I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem. I went to school there, then Durham, then here (…) Eighth Avenue, Seventh, and I come to the Y, the Harlem Branch Y, where I take the elevator

The third stanza is ten lines long and contains the young speaker’s thoughts about the possibility of writing. He wonders if it’s likely that it’s “that simple” to write. He gives the reader bit of his background. The speaker is a young man, twenty-two years old, black, born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He’s the only coloured student in his class. These facts set him apart from those around him. They make him wonder if he will be able to write.  

Lines 15-19

up to my room, sit down, and write this page: (…) hear you, hear me—we two—you, me, talk on this page.

The next stanza of ‘Theme for English B’ is shorter, only five lines long. It expresses his uncertainly about where he is in life and how that position relates to those around him. It’s hard to know when you’re young what’s true and what isn’t. But, he knows the basic facts. He’s there and he can “feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you”. This place calls to him and jumbles the language making it hard to tell who is speaking and what they are referring to. He is at a place in his life where he is just starting to understand who he is and what role he has to play.

Lines 20-27

(I hear New York, too.) Me—who? Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love. (…) the same things other folks like who are other races. So will my page be colored that I write?

In the next set of lines, the speaker compares the life he lives with that of his classmates. They are similar in a number of different ways, the primary ones being reading, learning and understanding life. He is not that different where he doesn’t like “the same things other folks like who are other races”. But, he adds, he is different in an important way. The page that he writes will “not be white”.  

Lines 28-40

Being me, it will not be white. But it will be a part of you, instructor. (…) I guess you learn from me— although you’re older—and white— and somewhat more free.

The speaker comes to understand in the last lines of ‘Theme for English B’ that there are different parts of himself that are all important in their own way. The page he writes, a metaphor for the life he is going to live, will be influenced by “you, instructor”. This person is white, so it will have their influence as well as that of New York and Harlem.  

He thinks over his relationship to “you,” the instructor, and wonders about how much a part of one another they are. Sometimes they don’t want to be part of one another’s lives or stories, but they are “that’s true!” He learns from his white instructor and suggests that maybe they learn from him as well. This might be the case even though they are “older—and white— / and somewhat more free”.  

This is my page for English B.

The poem ends with the line “This is my page for English B”. He set out to write and let land on the page what was “true,” as the instructor suggested. The assignment completed itself.  

Poetry + Review Corner

20th century, frustration.

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Baldwin, Emma. "Theme for English B by Langston Hughes". Poem Analysis , https://poemanalysis.com/langston-hughes/theme-for-english-b/ . Accessed 18 August 2024.

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Theme for English B

The instructor said,       Go home and write a page tonight. And let that page come out of you— Then, it will be true. I wonder if it’s that simple? I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem. I went to school there, then Durham, then here to this college on the hill above Harlem . I am the only colored student in my class. The steps from the hill lead down into Harlem, through a park, then I cross St. Nicholas, Eighth Avenue, Seventh, and I come to the Y, the Harlem Branch Y, where I take the elevator up to my room, sit down, and write this page: It’s not easy to know what is true for you or me at twenty-two, my age. But I guess I’m what I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you. hear you, hear me—we two—you, me, talk on this page. (I hear New York, too.) Me—who? Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love. I like to work, read, learn, and understand life. I like a pipe for a Christmas present, or records—Bessie, bop, or Bach. I guess being colored doesn’t make me  not  like the same things other folks like who are other races. So will my page be colored that I write? Being me, it will not be white. But it will be a part of you, instructor. You are white— yet a part of me, as I am a part of you. That’s American. Sometimes perhaps you don’t want to be a part of me. Nor do I often want to be a part of you. But we are, that’s true! As I learn from you, I guess you learn from me— although you’re older—and white— and somewhat more free. This is my page for English B.

Summary of Theme for English B

Analysis of literary devices used in “theme for english b”.

“Yet a part of me, as I am a part of you. That’s American. Sometimes perhaps you don’t want to be a part of me. Nor do I often want to be a part of you.”

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Theme for English B”

Quotes to be used.

“ I guess being colored doesn’t make me  not  like the same things other folks like who are other races.”

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Langston Hughes: Poems

By langston hughes, langston hughes: poems summary and analysis of "theme for english b".

The teacher tells the speaker to go home and write a page tonight; this page should come from himself and be true. The speaker wonders if it is that simple. He begins by writing that he is twenty-two, "colored," and born and schooled in Winston-Salem, Durham, and at college in Harlem. He writes that he is the only "colored" student in his class. He walks down a hill into Harlem, crossing streets before arriving at the Harlem branch of the Y. He takes the elevator up to his room, which is where he is writing this page.

The speaker writes that at his young age, it is hard to know what is true for "you or me." He believes that the truth is what he hears, feels and sees in Harlem – "hear you, hear me – we two – you, me, talk on this page." He hears New York. He likes to eat, drink, sleep, be in love, work, read, learn, and "understand life." He likes receiving pipes and records (Bessie Smith, Bach or bop) as Christmas presents. Just because he is "colored" does not mean he does not like the same things that people of other races like. He wonders if his page will be "colored" because it is his and he is not white.

The speaker writes that his page will be a part of his white instructor and a part of himself, since he is a part of the instructor – "That's American." Sometimes the instructor does not want to be a part of the speaker and sometimes he does not want to be a part of the instructor, but they are a part of one another, and that is the truth. They learn from each other, even though the instructor is older, white, and "somewhat more free."

He concludes, "This is my page for English B."

“Theme for English B” is without a doubt one of Langston Hughes ’s most famous, beloved, and anthologized poems. He wrote it in 1951, the evening of his career, and it addresses one of his most ubiquitous themes – the American Dream. Thematically, "Theme for English B" resembles “American Heartbreak” and “Let America Be America Again.” The poem is written in free verse and lacks a systematic form or meter; its language is simple and casual, and it flows in a stream-of-consciousness style.

The narrative centers on a young student whose instructor has asked him to write a page about himself with the caveat that the page ought to be “true.” The speaker reflects on himself, noting that he is twenty-two years old, "colored," and born in Winston-Salem, N.C. He lists the schools he has gone to and explains that he is currently a student in New York (he probably attends Columbia University or City College of New York). As he walks home, he realizes that he is the only "colored" student in his class. This was a common occurrence during the Jim Crow era, because African Americans had more difficulty gaining entrance into elite schools than their white peers.

On his page, the speaker begins by expressing the his belief that it is hard to know what is true at such a young age. He identifies himself with Harlem, evoking the sounds and sights of the city, claiming to hear Harlem, and, in fact - all of New York. While he feels like an anomaly at school, he fits in within Harlem, which is where he is most content. He lists some of the commonplace but meaningful things he likes to do – eat, sleep, “understand life,” listen to music – and points out that being "colored" does preclude him from liking the same things that white people like.

The speaker's musings become more philosophical as he wonders, “So will my page be colored that I write?” He knows that his perspective is not the same as his white instructor's, but observes that he and his instructor are linked, whether they like it or not - through his writing and in the fact that they are both Americans. He recognizes that they can both learn from each other even though the instructor has the superficial advantages of being older, white, and “more free.”

Through this poem, Langston Hughes asserts that there are multiple types of Americans, and there is no singular defining "American" experience. Black, white, young, old, oppressed, free – all can strive for a piece of the American Dream. This poem is thus much more optimistic than some of Hughes's other writings on this subject; however, it also is a bit more ambiguous than it initially might appear. Critic Tanfer Emin Tunc writes that there are “other aspects of [the speaker’s] life that can only be inferred."

Tunc points out that the speaker writes about attending different schools in North Carolina before moving to New York, a pattern that traces the Great Migration of African Americans from their homes in the South to urban centers in the North like New York and Chicago. The lack of more specific facts makes the speaker’s experiences more universal, and his claim that he and his teacher are a part of each other “simultaneously affirms a common experience with white America while also resisting the impulse to justify his life to that culture and reshape himself in that image.” Overall, the young speaker is trying to figure himself out, as well as grasp the holistic identity of his multifaceted and complicated country.

Langston Hughes: Poems Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Langston Hughes: Poems is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Because “I, Too, Sing America” is written in free verse, Hughes is able to vary his structure to suit his purpose. Which of the following BEST describes how Hughes uses structure to reinforce his theme in this section of the poem?

1) D. Alliteration

2) C. When company comes.

Mother to Son

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Study Guide for Langston Hughes: Poems

Langston Hughes: Poems study guide contains a biography of Langston Hughes, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis of select poems.

• About Langston Hughes: Poems
• Langston Hughes: Poems Summary
• "Harlem" Video
• Character List

Essays for Langston Hughes: Poems

Langston Hughes: Poems essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of poetry by Langston Hughes.

• Langston Hughes and the Double Consciousness
• The Black Modern
• Intimacy Through Point of View in "On the Road"
• A Look at Point-of-View and Reader Placement in “I, too” and “Douglass”
• Langston Hughes’s “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain”

Lesson Plan for Langston Hughes: Poems

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Langston Hughes: Poems
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
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Wikipedia Entries for Langston Hughes: Poems

• Introduction

Theme for English B

18 pages • 36 minutes read

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Analysis: “Theme for English B”

This first-person, free-verse poem has five stanzas of widely varying length, and, while some of its lines rhyme , there is no set rhyme pattern. Such a spontaneous, intuitive formal quality characterizes jazz poetry, and this genre has special consequence within the dramatic situation: Jazz poetry’s cultural mythos informs the spirit of the poem, yielding a distinctly Black voice whose Blackness is the occasion for the poetic utterance. The speaker is a Black college student who lives in Harlem but is from the South—an identity that carries complexities and complications unappreciated by his white peers.

Four of the five stanzas concern the process of writing an assignment. The longest stanza, the fourth stanza, is the assignment itself. The first and last stanzas are the shortest—only one line each.

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Theme for English B

Theme for english b lyrics.

How to Format Lyrics:

• Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
• Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
• Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
• Use italics ( <i>lyric</i> ) and bold ( <b>lyric</b> ) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
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A late poem in Hughes’s career, first published in Montage of a Dream 1951, 25 years after Hughes debuted with The Weary Blues at age twenty-four.

The dream relates to black liberation and reflects Hughes’s experiences at Columbia University in New York City.

The speaker is asked by his teacher to write for his introductory English course a piece of “true” personal writing. This prompts him to explore his own idea of “truth”, his identity as a mixed race male and the only “colored” student in the class. He relates this to his temporary home in Harlem YMCA. While being part of the black community he is also influenced by white culture, as reflected in his wide-ranging musical tastes.

His essay prompts a dialogue between student and teacher and challenges the idea that Black and White students are different. The interweaving relationship with his teacher, as expressed in his writing, reflects issues of color, race, youth and age.

Structure The poem comprises six stanzas of uneven length, the first and last being single lines. There is no rhyme scheme or regular metrical rhythhm. The reader is taken by the speaker through the stages of the essay. His introductory thoughts establish his external identity, followed by stanza four that expresses his inner feelings about his race, as reflected in the music he likes. Stanza five deals with the interraction between student and teacher, and how they relate to each other as Americans. The final one-lined stanza brings the reader back to reality.

Language and Imagery The voice is that of the speaker who is also the poet. The language is colloquial, close to everyday speech. Sentences vary in length. Exclamation marks and question marks, short phrases and everyday concerns, like eating and drinking and sleeping, suggest that we are following the student’s ideas as they spring to his mind.

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

• 1. Anne Bradstreet’s “The Prologue” (2)
• 2. The Author to her Book
• 3. A Letter to Her Husband Absent upon Public Employment
• 4. To my Dear and Loving Husband
• 6. Prologue to Preparatory Meditations
• 7. Upon Wedlock, and the Death of Children
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• 10. Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson (Chapter 3)
• 11. Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson (Chapter 2)
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• 14. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
• 15. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (Chap. 1)
• 16. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (Chap. 2)
• 17. On Being Brought from Africa to America
• 18. To the Right Hon. William, Earl of Dartmouth
• 19. To the University of Cambridge, in New England
• 20. On The Death Of The Rev. Mr. George Whitefield. 1770
• 21. To S. M. a young African Painter, on seeing his Works
• 23. Young Goodman Brown
• 24. Twice Told Tales (The Minister’s Black Veil)
• 26. Economy
• 27. Where I Lived, and What I Lived For
• 28. Conclusion
• 29. A Psalm of Life
• 30. Song of Myself
• 31. When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer
• 32. Success is counted Sweetest
• 33. I taste a liquor never brewed
• 34. Wild Nights – Wild Nights! (249)
• 35. I like a look of Agony
• 36. I felt a Funeral, in my Brain (280)
• 37. I’m ceded—I’ve stopped being Theirs (508)
• 38. A Bird came down the Walk (328)
• 40. This World is not Conclusion
• 41. The Soul selects her own Society (303)
• 42. Mine—by the Right of the White Election! (528)
• 43. This was a Poet—It is That
• 44. I died for Beauty — but was scarce
• 45. Because I Could Not Stop for Death
• 46. This is My Letter to the World
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• 48. The Brain – is wider than the Sky –
• 49. Much Madness is divinest Sense
• 50. I Started Early - Took my Dog
• 51. I cannot live with You (640)
• 52. Pain has an element of Blank (650)
• 53. My Life had stood—a Loaded Gun
• 54. Publication—is the Auction
• 55. A Narrow Fellow in the Grass
• 56. Bustle in a house
• 58. Apparently with no Surprise
• 59. The Pasture
• 61. Mending Wall
• 62. Nothing Gold Can Stay
• 64. The Widow’s Lament in Springtime
• 65. Spring and All [By the road to the contagious hospital]
• 66. The Red Wheelbarrow
• 67. This Is Just To Say
• 68. A Sort of A Song
• 69. Landscape With the Fall of Icarus
• 70. Danse Russe
• 71. Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird
• 73. In A Station of the Metro
• 74. The River Merchant’s Wife: A Letter
• 76. In Just-
• 77. I sing of Olaf glad and big
• 78. Anyone lived in a pretty how town
• 79. The Harlem Dancer
• 80. Harlem Shadows
• 81. The Lynching
• 82. If We Must Die
• 84. America
• 85. The White City
• 86. How It Feels to Be Colored Me
• 87. The Negro Speaks of Rivers
• 88. Mother to Son
• 89. I, Too, sing America
• 90. The Weary Blues
• 91. Mulatto
• 92. Song for a Dark Girl
• 93. Visitors to the Black Belt
• 94. Democracy
• 95. Theme for English B
• 96. Yet Do I Marvel
• 97. Incident
• 98. Woman Warrior (No Name Woman)
• 99. Everyday Use
• 101. A Supermarket in California

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Theme for English B

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The instructor said,

     Go home and write      a page tonight.      And let that page come out of you—      Then, it will be true.

I wonder if it's that simple? I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem. I went to school there, then Durham, then here to this college on the hill above Harlem. I am the only colored student in my class. The steps from the hill lead down into Harlem, through a park, then I cross St. Nicholas, Eighth Avenue, Seventh, and I come to the Y, the Harlem Branch Y, where I take the elevator up to my room, sit down, and write this page:

It's not easy to know what is true for you or me at twenty-two, my age. But I guess I'm what I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you: hear you, hear me—we two—you, me, talk on this page. (I hear New York, too.) Me—who? Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love. I like to work, read, learn, and understand life. I like a pipe for a Christmas present, or records—Bessie, bop, or Bach. I guess being colored doesn't make me not like the same things other folks like who are other races. So will my page be colored that I write?

Being me, it will not be white. But it will be a part of you, instructor. You are white— yet a part of me, as I am a part of you. That's American. Sometimes perhaps you don't want to be a part of me. Nor do I often want to be a part of you. But we are, that's true! As I learn from you, I guess you learn from me— although you're older—and white— and somewhat more free.

This is my page for English B.

From The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes , published by Knopf and Vintage Books. Copyright © 1994 by the Estate of Langston Hughes. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Harold Ober Associates Incorporated.

More by this poet

The weary blues.

Droning a drowsy syncopated tune, Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon,      I heard a Negro play. Down on Lenox Avenue the other night By the pale dull pallor of an old gas light      He did a lazy sway . . .      He did a lazy sway . . . To the tune o’ those Weary Blues.

The Negro Speaks of Rivers

I've known rivers: I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the      flow of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

Dream Variations

To fling my arms wide In some place of the sun, To whirl and to dance Till the white day is done. Then rest at cool evening Beneath a tall tree While night comes on gently,     Dark like me— That is my dream!

Adjectives of Order

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Theme For English B Poem Summary, Notes and Line by Line Explanation in English

Table of Contents

Introduction

One of Langston Hughes’ most well-known poems is “Theme for English B.” Through the depiction of a black man’s writing assignment, it delves into themes of identity and race. Hughes portrays a youthful, twenty-two-year-old narrator in ‘Theme for English B,’ who speaks about his own experience as a black man in a predominantly white neighborhood. Despite being written decades ago, this poem, like many others by Hughes, is still relevant in today’s society. 

About the poet

The speaker begins ‘Theme for English B,’ in the first words, by outlining the task he was assigned. The speaker, a little child, describes how he was instructed to “God home and write / a page tonight.” It might be anything; all that is required is for it to “come out of you.” This usage of personification gives the impression that the page is behaving independently and making its own decisions. The teacher says that it should be a natural process. 

The speaker contrasts his life to that of his peers in the next sequence of sentences. They are related in a variety of aspects, the most important of which are reading, learning, and comprehending life. He is not so different in that he does not like “the same things other people of different races like.” But, he adds, he is distinct in a significant way. The paper he writes on will “not be white.”

The poem concludes with the line “This is my page for English B.” He went out to write and let what was “true” settle on the paper, as the instructor instructed. The assignment finished itself.

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PM Narendra Modi hoisted the flag at the Red Fort on the occasion of India's Independence Day, marking the country's 78th year of independence. He addressed the nation and highlighted the government's achievements and future goals.

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