thesis statement for 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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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

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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.  

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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 17 September 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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A Summary and Analysis of Langston Hughes’ ‘Theme for English B’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘Theme for English B’ is a 1951 poem by Langston Hughes (1901-67), one of the leading figures in the Harlem Renaissance. In the poem, a young African-American man studying at a college in Harlem describes the piece of homework his white teacher gave his class, which involved going home and writing a ‘true’ page.

The speaker of the poem is twenty-two and African-American. He was born in Winston-Salem in North Carolina and attended school there, before going to Durham, in the same US state. After that he came to the college where he is currently studying, on a ‘hill above Harlem’ in New York.

His teacher gives the class some homework: to go home and write a page that evening, writing from the heart, so that what the students write will therefore be true. But the speaker of the poem wonders if it’s as easy as all that. After outlining his brief life history to us, specifically his educational history, he points out that he is the only Black student in his class.

He then describes his journey home from the college, walking down the hill and into Harlem, through the park, and then across St Nicholas Avenue, Eighth Avenue, Seventh Avenue, until he comes to ‘the Y’, the Harlem branch of the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association). He goes up to his room, sits down, and writes a page, as instructed by his college teacher.

He writes on the page what he has already told us: that it isn’t easy to determine what is true when he, the speaker of the poem, is still so young. But he realises that who he is amounts to the same as what his experiences are, around Harlem. Indeed, he sees himself as being in a dialogue with Harlem as he writes, and more broadly, with the whole of New York City.

And who is he? He writes that he likes to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love, as well as to work, read, learn, and to understand life. He likes receiving a pipe to smoke with, as a Christmas gift, or some music records to play. He is equally fond of Bessie Smith’s jazz and blues, and of bebop , a popular African-American genre of music, as he is of Johann Sebastian Bach’s classical music.

So, he comes to realise, being Black doesn’t mean he is disinclined to like the same sort of things that white people like. Will the page he writes these observations on be defined by his race? Because the page is him – his thoughts, it will not be white. (Hughes utilises some clever wordplay here: in filling the white page with black ink, by writing on it, he is, in a sense, inscribing his identity as a Black person onto the page.)

But the speaker concludes that what he writes will be formed partly by his white teacher, too: he is white, and he is a part of the speaker, just as the speaker is part of him. And that is what it means to be American. It doesn’t matter that sometimes they don’t especially want to view themselves as linked to each other in this way: they are, whether they like it or not. And that is true.

And just as he learns from his instructor, so his instructor learns from his student, the speaker. Even though he’s older, and he’s white, and therefore freer than the young Black speaker, the teacher still has things to learn from his young student. And with that, the speaker finds that he has written his page of homework for his ‘English B’ class.

‘Theme for English B’ belongs to Langston Hughes’ later career, and he was nearly fifty when the poem was published. The speaker of his poem, by contrast, is just twenty-two: a young man of the next generation growing up in Harlem. However, Hughes himself knew what it was to live as a young man in Harlem, and, whilst the poem is not strictly autobiographical, the poet could draw on a deep well of experiences involving that part of New York.

In the poem, the Black speaker addresses or apostrophises his white instructor or college tutor. Apostrophe is a rhetorical device whereby a speaker addresses someone in a dramatic way: often someone who is absent, as the speaker’s teacher is in the poem itself.

This is especially significant in ‘Theme for English B’ because the issue of race is so central to the speaker’s way of formulating his understanding of America, and he, a young Black man, is talking to his white instructor, perhaps with more freedom than he would have in the class itself while face-to-face with him.

A key element of ‘Theme for English B’ is America itself. Hughes’ speaker comes to realise that such dialogues between black and white, much like the ‘dialogue’ between black ink and white paper as he composes his assignment on the page, is what makes America what it is.

It is a country of racial difference but also of shared similarities: he is both other than his white teacher (who could never share exactly the same experiences as a young Black student) and bonded to him by a commonality, not just by their both being American but by their shared access to ‘white’, European culture (the reference to ‘Bach’ alongside ‘Bessie’ Smith).

Like the majority of Langston Hughes’ poems, ‘Theme for English B’ is written in free verse : it lacks a rhyme scheme or any regular metre or rhythm, and the line and stanza lengths are also irregular. Hughes preferred to write in this style, and was partly influenced by the rhythms of jazz music – so important to the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s of which he was a key part – in composing his free-verse poetry.

This gives the poem a loose, conversational feel which is entirely in keeping with the colloquial tone of the poem (indeed, it’s sometimes analysed as a dramatic monologue, because we can picture the speaker of the poem sitting at his desk with his pen in hand, speaking the poem aloud to his instructor as he composes his assignment).

However, ‘free’ verse is very rarely completely free, for all great poetry contains artistic control and some sort of structure. In the case of ‘Theme for English B’, we can detect a certain consonance between ‘Winston-Salem’, ‘Harlem’, and ‘Harlem’ (repeated) at the ends of the lines in the first stanza; similarly, ‘St. Nicholas’ plays off ‘class’ (which is almost an abbreviation of ‘Ni c ’ las ’), while later in the poem we even get full rhymes (‘you’ and ‘who’; ‘write’ and ‘white’; ‘true’ and ‘you’; ‘me’ and ‘free’).

It is worth pondering the significance of these occasional moments of rhyme which assert themselves among the free-forming unrhymed lines as the speaker thinks through his attitude to race and America: it is as if things are falling into place (to ‘write’ upon the ‘white’ page is to couple white with black; his instructor is more ‘free’ than ‘me’, i.e., the speaker), that through writing his page, the speaker is realising what he thinks.

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Theme for English B

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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

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. Copyright Credit: 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.

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

Is there any more information you are giving other than a crystal.

What does Konah mean by I'm in the deep blue, Nineveh would do!?

Is this related to Langston Hughes?

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
• Langston Hughes: Poems Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for Langston Hughes: Poems

• Introduction