these tumultuous twenty years. Langston Hughes, an African-American writer, exposes the divisions between Caucasians and African Americans in the social construct of the educational system during this chaotic time period. In Hughes' poem, "Theme for English B," he discusses racism through the stage of a university in America, using narrative and poetic devices to express the feelings and emotions involved in the struggle for equality. The poem's structure divides into three main stanzas with a one-line
Langston Hughes was an African American poet and author who joined other black artists to break literary barriers during the civil rights movement. The poem entitled "Theme for English B" was written thirty years or so after the birth of the Harlem Renaissance, but still embodies why the Renaissance had originated in the first place. I believe this poem reflected on Hughes' life in general, but more importantly on the fight against the ignorance that created discrimination. James Mercer Langston
Comparison of Themes in “Incident” and “Theme for English B” The poem, "Incident" by Countee Cullen and Theme for English B by Langston Hughes, talk of racism. However, Theme for English B builds more on identity than in the Incident. The poem, Theme for English B, focuses on the complications of identity and the reality of understanding people. People are made aware of their role in life through the story of the young black student in America. Nonetheless, the poem introduces the reader to the
In 1951, Langston Hughes wrote “Theme for English B” using the persona of a 22-year old African American who had come to New York City as part of the post-World War II Great Migration. The set up for the poem is deceptively simple: the English professor has given the students an autobiographical assignment in jaunty rhyme, “Go home and write/ a page tonight” (2-3). Everybody has done assignments like this, and from a position of privilege, the teacher assumes that the students will easily be
point of view, and historical context in his poems “I, Too” and “Theme for English B” to expand the views on African American culture to his audience members. Looking at the historical context of each poem shows that the political movements of the time had a large effect on Hughes’s two poems. The timeline between the two poems is an interesting one to analyze. “I, Too” was written in nineteen twenty-six and “Theme for English B” was written in nineteen fifty-one (Rampersad). Many events relating
In the poem “Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes, the first concept that might come to mind when reading the title is an English/ Literature assignment/ lesson or a universal message. “Theme for English B” is about a twenty-two year old, colored, college student in the twentieth century writing a poem for his English assignment. This college student speaks to his/ her instructor and telling him/ her that himself/ herself and a white professor are connected. That they’re associated because they’re
There is a great poem about ethnicity. Theme for English B by Langston Hughes is about an African American writer who found it difficult to complete his writing assignments from his white professor. The writer always wonders if he will ever have the writing skills to please this white professor. There is another great poem about Culture is called On the Amtrak from Boston to New York, by Sherman Alexie. This poem is about where the author sees that some of the Native Americans don’t have a choice
Theme for English B is a free verse poem by Langston Hughes with no set rhyme scheme or meter. Despite this, the poem does tend to rhyme at certain parts, noticeably at the beginning and the end. The only time a rhyme scheme and meter can be establish is in lines 2-4 and the rhyming couplet at the end. The rhyme scheme for lines 2-4 is B B C C and the meter is iambic. The visual appearance of the poem reminds me of a short draft for an essay. It’s long and broken up into “paragraphs” with a concluding
Theme for English B is written by Langston Hughes. He is one of the greatest African American poets and the most recognizable poet in the 20th century. He has written during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1910s and 1920s. Most of his poetry challenges the idea of racism as well as American identity as a whole. One of Hughes’ greatest poems, “Theme for English B” was written in the period when racial discrimination had peaked. This poem reflects on Hughes himself as a black speaker in the poem. This
The poem “Theme for English B” tells a story of a man and his struggle to write to his instructor about deeper matters. The poem by Langston Hughes explains the situation of a colored man. Everyone sees that he is different but to himself he knows he is the same by heart. He writes from his heart and from his own perspective. He explains to his readers that everyone may seem him in a different light but he must know himself enough to make his own independent judgements. As the author writes about