Sarah Cook
Major Poets
Poem Analysis Paper I: Theme for English B by Langston Hughes
Due: 9/18/14
Langston Hughes was one of the great poets during the Harlem Renaissance. He helped
shape the culture of Harlem in the 1920’s as well as literary culture to the present date. During
his years at Columbia University, Hughes wrote Theme for English B, which is a protest against
racial segregation inspired by a school assignment.
The assignment given to Hughes is to write a paper for his English composition class that
explains who he is. His instructor tells the class to “let the page come out of you –then, it will be
true” (lines 4-5). However, Hughes doesn’t think the instructor will consider his work at the
same level as his classmates because he is the only colored student in his class. The poem is his
way of advocating equality.
Before Hughes wrote this poem, he was most likely given an assignment that made him
think about the possibility of the teacher not treating him fairly. It is also possible that the teacher
has already been treating him poorly compared to the other students. This could explain why he
states “I am the only colored student in my class” (line 10). Another possibility could be that
Hughes is using the assignment as a facilitator in advocating his own rights as an AfricanAmerican living in Harlem.
The first part of the poem spans lines 1-15. In these fifteen lines, Hughes introduces who
he is, where he lives, that he is colored, and that he is twenty-two. The lines also introduce his
assignment, and why he is writing the poem. They institute where he stands on the issue he
writes about. Within the first part, in lines 1-10, his tone is apprehensive. He doesn’t know if the
instructor expects anything from him because of his race. Also in the first part, in lines 11-15,
Hughes suggests that his commute home is exhausting and long through his use of a run-on
sentence. These lines give narrative directions, that if read out loud will make the reader gasp for
air when the sentence is finished.
Part two of the poem is from line 16-26. This part is addressed as a letter to the instructor.
The lines in the second part of the poem establish ethos via a statement of Hughes’ interests. This
establishes ethos because he uses these interests to compare himself to the instructor and say that
they are similar.
In lines 16-20, Hughes personifies Harlem and New York by addressing them as if he can
hear them. He suggests that they are a part of him and he protests for all the people in the two
places through his assignment.
The climax of the poem happens in the first line of the third part. Line 27, “so will my
page be colored that I write?” suggests that the page is literally colored black so that the words
on the page are invisible. This indicates that Hughes believes the instructor will not consider
what he has to say because he, like the words, is invisible.
The third part of the poem is constituted by lines 27-41. After the climax in line 27, the
work focuses on pathos. An example of this pathos is the phrase “You are white –yet a part of
me, as I am a part of you. That’s American” because he is creating a clear connection between
himself and his teacher. This connection is significant because during the time period that this
was written, everyone had substantial American pride. He knows that the professor does not
want to be affiliated with him, and he states that he sometimes does not want to be with him
either. However he accepts it because he wants the teacher to do the same for his sake. The last
section with pathos is lines 37-40. The word “somewhat” in context is comparing Hughes to his
teacher in that they are “a part of” each other (lines 32-35). The instructor is connected to him by
humanity, yet is free of discrimination. However, the instructor is white and connected to
Hughes which, he assumes, is almost as difficult as being colored from the instructor’s
perspective.
The main difference between the parts is that the first part is internal and the other two
parts are external. In the first part, he is the agent of the sentences. He asks himself “I wonder if
it’s that simple?” (Line 6), which sparks the rest of the poem. The second part is different from
parts one and three because it begins in letter format and is generally establishing Hughes as a
person the instructor should notice. The third part focuses on a connection between himself and
the instructor. This is different from part one because like part two, it is also addressing the
instructor directly in a letter format.
This poem falls into the genres: The Autobiography, and The Solitude Poem. This can be
considered to be an autobiography because all of part one is true. Hughes went to college in
Harlem and had a long commute home to the Harlem Branch Y. Theme for English B is also
considered a solitude poem because of line 10, “I am the only colored student in my class” and
the climax, line 27. Hughes breaks the constrictions of the solitude content genre because he
considers all of Harlem and New York to be a part of himself in lines 17-20. In these lines he
creates a community in himself which he speaks for.
Since the letter form in parts two and three are the main focus of this poem, a road not
taken could be if he decided not to use this form. Without the letter form, the poem wouldn’t be
as direct because it uses the words “you” and “we.” The direct address makes it feel as if Hughes
is speaking to the reader as well as the instructor.
There is no set form or meter in Theme for English B. It is in free verse with a stream of
consciousness style. Since it is meant to be an assignment, it gives the sense of structure through
the free verse. This is because the poem shows the teacher Hughes is willing, and especially able
to learn at the colligate level.
Hughes’ imagination has invented a unique method of protesting racial discrimination.
He disguises his protest by setting his ideas in the form of a college assignment and letter. This is
effective because the reader is involved in the letter and is affected as Hughes intended the
instructor to be.
This poem puts the reader into Langston Hughes’ mind. He creates an empathetic link by
including the letter in the poem. The letter creates a window into Hughes’ thoughts and allows
the reader to think his thoughts with him.