Theme for

English B
Study Guide by Course Hero

"Theme for English B" is told with a mix of past and present
What's Inside tenses. The poem begins in past tense when referencing the
professor's assignment but then shifts to present tense.

j Book Basics ................................................................................................. 1 ABOUT THE TITLE

"Theme for English B" refers to an assignment in an English
d In Context ..................................................................................................... 1 composition course, English B, in which the speaker is enrolled.

a Author Biography ..................................................................................... 2

k Plot Summary ............................................................................................. 4

d In Context
c Plot Analysis ............................................................................................... 5

g Quotes ........................................................................................................... 8
Free-Verse Poetry
l Symbols ...................................................................................................... 10
"Theme for English B" is written in free verse, meaning it
m Themes ....................................................................................................... 10
doesn't contain any formal metrical construction. Although
b Narrative Voice ......................................................................................... 11 today free verse is the most common form of poetry, its
development is relatively recent, not appearing until the late
19th century. While the first experiments in free verse and
irregular meter appeared in poems written by American Walt
j Book Basics Whitman (1819–92), free verse was first popularized in France
in the 1880s by a movement called vers libre, which later
spread to English language poetry in the early 20th century,
AUTHOR
thanks to the work of French-influenced poets such as
Langston Hughes
American Ezra Pound (1885–1972).
YEAR PUBLISHED
That "Theme for English B" is written in free verse means that
1951
it sounds more natural or more like common human speech
GENRE when read aloud than if it were written with a set, regular
Drama, History meter. While Hughes did occasionally write in meter (his poem
"Dreams," for instance, exhibits an irregular form of iambic
PERSPECTIVE AND NARRATOR dimeter, in which most of the lines comprise four syllables),
The speaker in "Theme for English B" is a 22-year-old black, most of his poetic output appears in free verse. While he did
presumably male, student attending a university in New York not use meter regularly, many of Hughes's poems contain set
City (likely Columbia University). The poem also features a rhythms influenced by the patterns of contemporary blues and
short quotation from the speaker's teacher, possibly modeled jazz music, most notably the poems from his collection The
after one of Hughes's own professors at Columbia University. Weary Blues (1926).

TENSE
Theme for English B Study Guide Author Biography 2

19th century entertainer Thomas Dartmouth "Daddy" Rice

Harlem Renaissance (1808–60), which became a pejorative term for blacks.

Langston Hughes is considered one of the most important In the late 19th century, during and after the end of the
products of the literary and cultural movement known as the Reconstruction Period (1865–77) in the South that followed the
Harlem Renaissance, a cultural movement occurring between Civil War (1861–65), Southern states began passing strict
the 1910s and the mid-1930s. As its name implies, the Harlem segregation laws that required separate public facilities,
Renaissance was centered on the New York neighborhood of educational systems, and transportation for blacks and whites.
Harlem. This area was originally an affluent white The landmark Supreme Court decision Plessy v. Ferguson
neighborhood, but large-scale vacancies and the arrival of (1896) ruled that segregation was constitutional, beginning the
middle-class African American families in the early 1900s led doctrine of "separate but equal." Although there were no actual
to a demographic shift, which continued with the Great Jim Crow laws in Northern states (such as New York), blacks
Migration, during which Southern blacks migrated to the would have still faced significant difficulties in finding
Industrial North in great numbers in search of work during the employment or engaging the legal system for protection.
early 20th century. Harlem became associated with a large
black population. It was not until the 1960s that the burgeoning Civil Rights
Movement, which sought equal legal and social status for black
While Hughes was one of the movement's central figures, Americans, would finally lead to the end of Jim Crow laws. The
many other writers, thinkers, and musicians shaped it, including Civil Rights Act of 1964 officially ended public segregation
authors W.E.B. Du Bois (1868–1963) and Zora Neale Hurston across the country, although in practice, the end of
(1891–1960) and musicians Louis Armstrong (1901–71) and segregation would take a few more decades.
Josephine Baker (1906–75), among others. In his
autobiographical book The Big Sea (1940) Langston Hughes
famously described the Harlem Renaissance as the time when
a Author Biography
"the Negro was in vogue," referring to the fact that for the first
time in American history, black culture and art were celebrated
and valued by white audiences.
Family History
While the Harlem Renaissance was a striking period of artistic
expression for African Americans, it did not lead to greater James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902,
economic or social equality. The Harlem Renaissance's demise in Joplin, Missouri, to Carrie Mercer Langston and James
in the 1930s was largely a result of the Great Depression Hughes. Hughes lived much of his childhood in Lawrence,
(1929–39), a period of global economic decline that saw Kansas, with Mary Langston, his maternal grandmother. His
millions of workers lose their jobs. By 1935 many of Harlem's earliest experiences with poverty and racism were balanced by
middle-class residents had moved away to seek work his grandmother's stories of an illustrious family history. While
elsewhere, signaling the end of the Harlem Renaissance as her narrative began in slavery, the Langstons by the 19th
such. century included educated men who achieved political success
and became leaders of their communities. The details and the
difficulties of Hughes's early life inspired his lifelong pursuit of
Racism, Jim Crow, and Civil racial equality, a theme that pervades most of his writing.

Rights Hughes's first autobiography, The Big Sea (1940), describes his
family background. Hughes's maternal great-grandfather,
"Theme for English B" was written during a time when African Ralph Quarles, was a white plantation owner. Quarles left his
Americans such as Langston Hughes were mistreated by estate to his three sons: Gideon, Charles, and John Langston.
whites through legal discrimination. The Jim Crow laws Because of anti-miscegenation laws (laws prohibiting intimate
permitted discrimination and segregation. The name Jim Crow relationships between people of different races) in Virginia, the
was a reference to a minstrel show routine called Jim Crow by children all bore their mother's surname rather than the

Copyright © 2019 Course Hero, Inc.

Theme for English B Study Guide Author Biography 3

surname of their biological father. his politically involved and loving grandmother, Langston
endured racial prejudice and extreme poverty.
Eventually, the brothers sold the plantation and moved to Ohio.
John became a successful lawyer and a member of Congress, After the death of her husband the Oberlin-educated and
while Gideon and Charles enrolled in Oberlin College. After politically active Mary rejected the only menial jobs open to
graduating from Oberlin, Charles became involved with the black women at the time. She survived by taking in boarders
operations of the Underground Railroad, which was an and occasionally renting out her whole house and living with
abolitionist organization in the first half of the 19th century that friends. Still, she did not neglect the education of her grandson.
helped runaway slaves escape slave-owning states. He was Langston attended a talk by American educator Booker T.
tried for violating the Fugitive Slave Law (a law requiring all Washington (1856–1915) at the University of Kansas when he
escaped slaves to be returned to their masters upon capture) was very young. Mary, moreover, filled her grandson's head
after aiding the escape of a slave. Charles saved himself at his with stories not just of racial oppression but of the fight for
trial by delivering a speech condemning the Fugitive Slave Law. freedom for black Americans, stories he never forgot. Inspired
He taught at the first public school for black children in by crossing the Mississippi River while on a train journey, he
Leavenworth, Kansas and was principal of the only teachers' wrote "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" when he was only 18.
college for black people in the state. He married Mary
Patterson Leary (1835–1915), who was also among the first Hughes attended Columbia University in 1921, studying

black students at Oberlin, in 1869. engineering to please his father, who was paying his tuition.
Finding the racism unbearable and engineering the wrong
Meanwhile, Charles was active in Republican politics, "looking," discipline for him, Langston left in 1922 to travel, working on
as his grandson described him, "for a bigger freedom than the steamships with destinations in Europe and Africa. He returned
Emancipation Proclamation [the 1863 executive order that to the United States in 1924, and with the aid of a scholarship
freed the slaves] had provided." He also served as president of he attended Lincoln University, graduating in 1929.
the Colored Benevolent Society in Lawrence, Kansas, and
Grand Master of the Masonic fraternity of Kansas. Mary and Hughes then lived in Moscow for a time, having been hired by a

Charles's second child was Carrie Mercer Langston, the communist production company to act in a film on African

mother of the future poet Langston Hughes. American workers. He also worked in Spain as a news
correspondent during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39), a civil
Carrie was involved in black cultural activities, including the conflict in Spain between the Republican government and
Inter-State Literary Society, of which her father was one of the Nationalist rebels. Although he rejected teaching as a
founders. Carrie read papers and occasionally her own poetry profession, he was poet-in-residence at Atlanta University in
at meetings. She attended the University of Kansas for a time 1947, moving to Harlem, New York, a short time later. In 1953
and married James Hughes. James, who was also biracial, was he was called before the House Un-American Activities
refused entrance to law school because of his race. Eventually, Committee (HUAC), which investigated communist
he got a law degree through correspondence courses and sympathizers. Although his defense before the committee was
moved to Mexico, where he prospered. successful, Hughes was listed as a security risk until 1959.

Early Life, Education, and Literary Production

Travels During his travels in the 1920s Hughes was already writing and
publishing poetry in two African American periodicals,
The Hughes's marriage did not last, and after a dismal year for Opportunity and The Crisis. The latter magazine published
Langston in an all-white public school in Topeka, Kansas—an "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" in June of 1921. Hughes's first
experience the poet ranks as his first encounter with volume of poetry, The Weary Blues, was published in 1926.
racism—Carrie brought him to live with her aging mother in That same year The Nation published Hughes's essay "The
Lawrence, Kansas. Langston lived with Mary Langston until he Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain." This important essay
was 12, when she died. In Lawrence, despite the influence of encouraged the black writer to be himself despite the

Copyright © 2019 Course Hero, Inc.

Theme for English B Study Guide Plot Summary 4

hardships of racial prejudice. Hughes's first novel, Not without

Laughter (1930), was a commercial success, enabling Hughes k Plot Summary
to financially support himself. His growing reputation earned
him the title of "the bard [poet] of Harlem."

Like many American writers caught in the worldwide economic Stanzas 1 and 2 (Lines 1–5)
downturn called the Great Depression (1929–39), Hughes
became interested in, but did not join, the Communist Party. The poem begins with the speaker recounting his English
After a visit to the Soviet Union in 1932 he produced a fair instructor's assignment. The assignment description is
amount of radical political writing. He wrote for a newspaper, rendered in italics, reflecting the change of speaker. The
the Baltimore Afro-American, covering the Spanish Civil War in assignment is written with an AABB rhyme scheme, which also
1937. In the early 1940s he wrote screenplays and drama and stands in contrast to the rest of the poem (with the exception
published an autobiography. Never losing his focus on racial of the end), where there is no set rhyme scheme.
justice, Hughes continued writing poems derived from jazz,
The speaker's instructor calls on him to write a page for
spirituals, and blues, affirming black speech and cultural forms.
homework, not specifying what sort of writing is expected, only
"Theme for English B" appeared in Montage of a Dream
that it should "come out of you" (meaning have personal
Deferred (1951), Hughes's 13th book of poetry, a collection that
meaning) and that it should be "true" (meaning honest and
focused on voices of residents of Harlem. He also wrote
from the heart).
operettas and plays. In the 1950s and 1960s he published
anthologies for children and for adults: First Book of Negroes
(1952), The First Book of Jazz (1955), and The Book of Negro
Folklore (1958).
Stanza 3 (Lines 6–15)
"Theme for English B" was likely written in reference to a class The speaker immediately begins to question the validity of the
Hughes attended while an engineering student at Columbia assignment's guidelines by asking, "I wonder if it's that simple?"
University (1921–22). Hughes never graduated from Columbia He proceeds to list his personal attributes—his age, race, and
and dropped out after becoming disillusioned with the career place of birth: 22, black, and Winston-Salem (North Carolina).
path of engineering and being discouraged by the constant He lists these qualities because he believes they complicate
racial discrimination he faced from both professors and peers. the task of completing the assignment.
Although he never received a degree from the university, today
The speaker goes on to describe how after attending school in
Columbia's website celebrates Langston Hughes as one of its
Winston-Salem, he later moved to Durham to continue his
famous alumni.
education, before arriving at his current school: presumably,
Columbia University. While the speaker doesn't identify
Columbia by name, he refers to it as the "college on the hill
Death and Legacy above Harlem," and Columbia's campus is adjacent to the
neighborhood of Harlem. The speaker claims he is the only
Although Hughes became not radical enough for a younger
colored (black) student in his class, despite the university being
generation of black activists in the 1960s, he remained a
so close to the predominantly African American neighborhood
revered international figure until his death in New York on May
of Harlem. The speaker then describes the directions that take
22, 1967. In many ways, he fulfilled his reputation as the bard of
him from campus to his residence, crossing a park
Harlem and remains a towering figure in American literature for
(Morningside Park) and several streets before taking an
his important role in developing the literature that defined the
elevator up to his room where he will write his assignment.
place and its inhabitants.

Copyright © 2019 Course Hero, Inc.

Theme for English B Study Guide Plot Analysis 5

being a two-way transfer of ideas is similar in the speaker's

Stanza 4 (Lines 16–20) mind to how America is a multicultural country, claiming,
"That's American."
Expanding upon his reservations about the deceptively
complex nature of the assignment, the speaker addresses his Even conceding that the instructor might not want to be
instructor, arguing that knowing what is true is not so simple influenced by the speaker and that sometimes he himself
for anyone, whether for the instructor or for the 22-year-old doesn't want to be influenced by the instructor, the speaker
speaker. He reiterates his age to emphasize how important believes this transfer is inevitable, saying, "But we are, that's
youth is in understanding a person's perception of the world, true!"
and one way in which he is different from his presumably older
professor. The poem ends with the speaker asserting plainly that while he
is learning from the instructor, the instructor is also learning
The speaker then proposes a theory about identity, arguing something from him, even though they are not fundamentally
that he is his surroundings and experiences: "I guess I'm what / equal: the instructor is older, white, and allowed more civil
I feel and see and hear." And what he feels, sees, and hears is rights. The final stanza (a single line) concludes with the
his neighborhood: Harlem. He adds that the instructor is part of statement: "This is my page for English B." By setting this final
his identity too because what the instructor teaches him has line apart and writing it in mundane, simple syntax, the speaker
an impact. Lines 19 and 20 feature an internal rhyme ("hear contrasts the deeply personal nature of the preceding lines
you, hear me—we two ... I hear New York, too"). In these lines with the seeming blandness of the assignment and the class
the speaker addresses the instructor and refers to the poem for which it was written.
itself as a "conversation" with his instructor.

c Plot Analysis
By saying he "hears" New York as well, he acknowledges how
the rest of the city (including the white parts of New York) also
shapes him. In line 20 the question "Me—who?" emphasizes
how difficult it is to comprehend personal identity.
Dramatic Monologue
Stanzas 5 and 6 (Lines 21–41) While the speaker suggests the poem is a conversation, there
is no direct exchange between the speaker and his instructor.
The speaker lists more personal attributes, such as his basic Instead the speaker quotes his instructor and then proceeds to
human needs and desires ("I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in deliver a reply, a report on his identity. A poem, like "Theme for
love") and other things such as his work ethic and his desire to English B," in which a speaker addresses a silent listener (or
"understand life." The speaker says he thinks a pipe is a good interlocutor) is referred to as a dramatic monologue.
Christmas present and states an affinity for both classical
music and modern jazz and blues ("Bessie, bop, or Bach"). He The dramatic monologue as a poetic form is patterned after
admits that being African American doesn't automatically mean the speech of a character or speaker. In the case of "Theme
he doesn't like the same things as members of other races but for English B" the speaker's speech is informal and inquisitive.
then questions whether anything he writes will be automatically The speaker asks questions, considers philosophical
influenced by his race, asking, "Will my page be colored that I uncertainties, and treats the interlocutor (the instructor) with
write?" respect while still challenging him and his ideas. Dramatic
monologues have a lengthy history in English poetry, dating
The speaker states that what he writes will not be white, both back to the days of Old English. Among the most famous
referring to his race and cleverly referring to how writing on a examples of the form are British poet Robert Browning's
page changes its color. He then claims that what he writes will (1812–89) "My Last Duchess" (1842) and Anglo-American poet
be a part of the instructor and that, while through his teachings T. S. Eliot's (1888–1965) "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
the instructor has shaped the speaker's identity, the speaker (1915).
has also influenced the instructor in some way. Education

Copyright © 2019 Course Hero, Inc.

Theme for English B Study Guide Plot Analysis 6

skills, such as organ playing, which eventually earned him a job

Musical References as an organist for the duke of Weimar. His earliest
compositions were religious church music, but after being
Music was extremely important in Langston Hughes's writing, influenced by contemporary Italian operas, he began to branch
as seen with his debut collection of poems, The Weary Blues out into secular music of different styles. His fame and renown
(1926), which was heavily influenced by contemporary jazz and as one of the greatest composers in history came only
blues music. The title "Theme for English B" is reminiscent of decades after his death, when early 19th century composers
titles to musical compositions, such as Johann Sebastian revived interest in his works. Bach had three sons, all of whom
Bach's Prelude and Fugue in D Major. In "Theme for English B" went on to become successful composers. In the poem, the
Hughes makes several additional musical references, most name Bach has musical resonance as a symbol of music
notably in line 24 when he describes his appreciation for perceived to be of a higher culture than jazz, and since the
"Bessie, bop, and Bach." assignment is for English B, the alliterative use of B for all the
forms of music fits well.
Bessie refers to American blues singer Elizabeth "Bessie"
Smith (c. 1894–1937), whose career peaked during the 1920s.
Known as the "Empress of the Blues," she was a contralto
vocalist whose main musical subjects and themes were love, Alliteration, Assonance, and
heartbreak, and poverty. Smith was born in Chattanooga,
Tennessee, where she grew up impoverished. She began Irregular Rhyming
performing at an early age, but it was not until she moved to
Philadelphia in the early 1920s that she was discovered and In "Theme for English B" Langston Hughes employs alliteration

signed by Columbia Records. Her recording debut came in (the repetition of letters or sounds at the beginnings of words)

February 1923 when she released a number of records and assonance (the repetition of vowel sounds). Examples of

including "Downhearted Blues," which sold two million copies. alliteration include "Bessie, bop, and Bach," as well as the close

During her career she worked alongside other musical greats, grouping of the words hill and Harlem in lines 9 and 11. Hughes

most notably American trumpeter Louis Armstrong (1901–71). makes heavy use of assonance in lines 18–20 with the

However, by the end of the 1920s, her record sales had repetition of the oo sound ("two," "you," "too," "who").

plummeted and her struggle with alcoholism ruined her career.

Additionally, while there is no regular rhyme scheme
She would eventually be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
throughout the poem, Hughes does incorporate incidental
Fame in 1989.
rhymes on two occasions in the poem, using the rhyming for

The reference to bop is difficult to interpret because bop emphasis. In the italicized passage (the instructor's

commonly refers to the jazz style "Bebop," which developed in assignment) Hughes writes the stanza with an AABB rhyme

the 1940s. It's possible Hughes is referring to bop as a byword scheme, likely to distinguish the professor's voice from that of

for jazz as a whole as the poet came to know it later, but it's the speaker. Rhymes appear again in lines 18–20, but there is

also possible it is an anachronistic reference to a form of jazz no end-rhyme pattern in these lines; instead, the rhymes are

that had not yet existed when Hughes was the age of the internal rhymes, meaning words rhyme with other words within

poem's speaker. the same lines (example: "hear you, hear me—we too—you,
me"). The reflective nature of these internal rhymes may be
Bach refers to German classical composer Johann Sebastian symbolic of the interchange of ideas between student and
Bach (1685–1750), an important figure in the baroque teacher, which the poem explores. The poem also ends on a
movement and one of the most important composers of the rhyme, between the last two lines: "and somewhat more free. /
18th century. Bach was born in Thuringia, Germany, into a This is my page for English B."
family with a strong musical tradition. He lost both his parents
by age 10 and was thereafter taken care of by his older
brother, Johann Christoph. Although as a child Bach was a
gifted singer, as he aged he lost his high vocal range and was
no longer useful as a vocalist. This forced him to acquire new

Copyright © 2019 Course Hero, Inc.

Theme for English B Study Guide Plot Analysis 7

— Narrator
g Quotes
The speaker is pushing back against the assignment's
simplistic instructions and arguing that knowing what's true
"And let that page come out of
isn't as easy as writing what one feels. This is because people,
you— / Then, it will be true." whether young or old, don't understand their lives.

— Narrator
"But I guess I'm what / I feel and
The instructor is asking his students, including the speaker, to see and hear, Harlem, I hear you."
write their homework from the heart. He may naively believe
that if they simply write what they feel, it will be true and valid.
— Narrator

The speaker believes people are a product of their

"Born in Winston-Salem. / I went
experiences and surroundings. He holds a "nurture" position in
to school there, then Durham, then the ancient nature versus nurture debate concerning whether
people are more products of their genetics (nature) or their
here." experiences (nurture). The speaker then addresses his
neighborhood directly. By saying he "hears" Harlem, he means
— Narrator he is attuned to and influenced by the neighborhood and its
culture.
The speaker explains his history and the geography of his life
so far. He started in the South (North Carolina) but now lives in
the North (New York). This reflects the northward movement "You, me, talk on this page."
of many other African Americans during the Great Migration
(1916–70), the period in U.S. history during which African — Narrator
Americans moved in large numbers from the South to cities in
the North and West.
The speaker switches to addressing the instructor again. While
the poem is a dramatic monologue, the speaker still sees it as
a conversation with the instructor because he is responding to
"I am the only colored student in the instructor's assignment.
my class."

— Narrator "Me—who?"

The speaker could either mean he is the only black student in — Narrator

English B, or he could mean he is the only black student in his

entire class (every student in his graduating year for the entire The speaker questions who he is and whether he has any
university). Either way, he is in the minority. authority to ponder weighty topics such as identity.

"It's not easy to know what is true "Understand life."

for you or me."

Copyright © 2019 Course Hero, Inc.

Theme for English B Study Guide Quotes 8

— Narrator
"You are white— / yet a part of me,

After listing a number of ordinary things the speaker enjoys,

as I am a part of you."
the speaker includes a more profound enjoyment:
contemplating life. He is an ordinary person in most ways but — Narrator
also a philosopher of sorts.
The speaker is arguing that although he and his instructor are
of different races, they are both Americans and thus both part
"I like a pipe for a Christmas of a collective whole.

present."
"That's American."
— Narrator

— Narrator
The speaker is a smoker but enjoys the more cultivated and
difficult form of smoking, the pipe, over the convenience of a
The speaker believes racial diversity and the free exchange of
cigarette. He also may be aligning himself with the instructor,
ideas are central traits of America—even an America that
since pipes are sometimes stereotypically seen as part of the
values him less! The poem may be seen as a basic questioning
traditional appearance of a college instructor. Thus, the poem
of that truth, which is the challenge that begins it.
also has to do with exploring the stereotypes of all people.

"Bessie, bop, or Bach." "Although you're older—and

white— / and somewhat more
— Narrator
free."
In listing three kinds of music he enjoys, the speaker shows he
— Narrator
has varied musical tastes. The mix of Classical European and
African American modern music shows how he has been
influenced by different cultures. Because the instructor is older and white, he has higher status
than the speaker. However, while he might be comparatively
freer than the speaker, the word "somewhat" suggests the
difference is not immense, and perhaps the instructor is also
"So will my page be colored that I
less than entirely free.
write?"

— Narrator "This is my page for English B."

By writing on a blank page, the paper becomes colored by the — Narrator

pencil or ink, but the speaker is also asking whether his being
black impacts how he will write and whether there is a The speaker concludes his page by referring to the original
fundamental difference between what he writes and what a assignment. The phrasing of the statement also sounds like the
white person would write if given this assignment. end to an oral report, which fits with the structure of a dramatic
monologue. It raises the question of what value such an
assignment has for someone less than free, someone not at an

Copyright © 2019 Course Hero, Inc.

Theme for English B Study Guide Quotes 9

A-level in the society—no higher than English B. of traditional African musical styles.

European classical music, meanwhile, as typified by J. S. Bach,

reflects the United States' ties to Europe and to European

l Symbols culture. Hughes also, simply by living in America, has been

influenced by European culture, and by listing Bach alongside
Bessie Smith he acknowledges that both musical/cultural
traditions have shaped him.
Geography

In "Theme for English B" Hughes details some of the m Themes

geography of New York City, particularly the area around
Columbia University and Harlem. This geography symbolizes
the contrast between what Harlem represents and what Higher Education and
nearby Columbia University represents. Harlem represents
jazz, blues, and black culture. Columbia University represents Hierarchy
white traditions, academia, and hierarchy. The very name of
Columbia University references European history by honoring
Italian explorer Christopher Columbus (1451–1506).
One of the central themes of the poem is the hierarchy central
The two—university and neighborhood—are so close that to higher education, particularly at Columbia University, where
Hughes can easily walk between them. This demonstrates how Langston Hughes was a student. The hierarchy that exists
the divisions between these seemingly disparate cultures are between the speaker and his instructor is three-fold. Not only
not as great as they might appear, yet they strictly separate is there the ordinary power structure between student and
the people. teacher, but there is also the hierarchy of old over young and
that between white and black people in America.

However, Hughes subverts this hierarchy within the poem by

Music confronting his instructor with a central truth of education: that
it is a two-way flow of information. Even though the instructor
is "older—and white— / and somewhat more free" than the
speaker, the speaker points out that even as he learns from his
When referencing his musical preferences, Hughes
instructor, the instructor is also learning from him. If he turns in
intentionally lists three different musical genres:
this poem, his "page for English B," the speaker will be
the blues, represented by Bessie Smith (c. 1894–1937), imparting to the instructor some insight into his mind and
jazz, represented by bop, and identity that the instructor wouldn't have otherwise known,
Western classical music, represented by J. S. Bach thus making the instructor the student, in a sense.
(1685–1750).

These three distinct musical genres symbolize Hughes's mixed

identity and the diversity of America. Racial Identity
Blues and jazz are both original American art forms, and both
originated with black musical innovations before becoming
A major theme in "Theme for English B" is Hughes's race and
popular with a broad American audience. In "Theme for English
how it impacts him as a person and writer. That the speaker is
B" blues and jazz represent Hughes's ties to black culture and
the only person of color in his class is significant: it affects how
his black (African) heritage: blues traces its roots to a number

Copyright © 2019 Course Hero, Inc.

Theme for English B Study Guide Symbols 10

he approaches the assignment. Unlike the other students, the white teacher. Additionally, the comment in lines 39–40 that
speaker must consider extra dimensions to his identity; for the teacher is "somewhat more free" questions the principles
instance, whether being African American determines the of liberty and equality upon which the United States was
things he likes to do. He concludes his race doesn't necessarily founded, suggesting that for black Americans freedom and
affect what he likes, but the words "I guess" suggest he isn't equality are not what they are for white Americans. Very
certain. Those two words also suggest his race may impact importantly, the white instructor is not truly free either, only
things as basic as what he wants for a Christmas present or "somewhat," as real freedom may not be possible unless it is
what music he enjoys. He also questions whether his race extended to all.
affects his writing, and if what he writes will be fundamentally
different from what his white classmates turn in.

The poem, although friendly and nonconfrontational, does

b Narrative Voice
address some sensitive racial issues of the time, such as
tension between white and black America. The speaker claims
The poem is written mostly in first person, in the voice of a
he is part of the instructor and the instructor is part of him,
younger, less experienced poet-speaker, who may be
even if neither of them may want to be part of the other. This
reflective of Langston Hughes. However, when the poem
references how white Americans disdain black Americans and
quotes the instructor the perspective switches to second
conversely how black Americans resent white Americans for
person imperative, with the instructor giving a command to the
the mistreatment. It also reflects how Hughes ultimately
students. The short section in the instructor's voice also stands
dropped out of Columbia because of the discrimination he
out from the rest of the poem because it's set in italics and
faced, not wanting to be part of a system that didn't value him.
because it's written with an obvious AABB rhyme scheme.

The speaker's voice is conversational and often informal, using

phrases such as "I guess" and "Well" that mimic colloquial
What Is an American? speech, in contrast to what might be expected for an
assignment in a college course, where formal academic
language would be the norm. The speaker gives a detailed
In line 33 the speaker says "That's American," in reference to account of the route he takes when walking between his
how he is part of his instructor and his instructor is part of him. classes at Columbia University and his residence in Harlem,
With this statement the speaker is arguing that despite their listing the landmarks and streets he has to cross on the way.
differences, both he and his instructor share some common The speaker is inquisitive; he wants to understand his identity
identity as Americans. and tries to describe it by listing the things he likes, such as
music, working, and thinking about life.
The statement has dual meaning, also suggesting that America
means diversity. America being a country founded by The speaker's tone is calm and nonconfrontational throughout,
immigrants means that unlike most nations, many Americans even when addressing a sensitive subject such as American
(or at least white Americans) chose to become Americans race relations. The most heated the poem becomes is when
rather than simply being born as such. However, many black the speaker admits that often he doesn't want to be "a part of"
Americans descend from slaves who were brought to the his instructor, or by relation part of white-dominated America.
country against their will, and this is echoed by the speaker's However, the speaker ultimately concludes that whether white
comment that at times he doesn't want to be a part of the or black Americans want to be part of the same country, they
instructor or part of white America. are.

Regardless of either the instructor's or the speaker's personal When addressing the inequality between the speaker and his
feelings, Hughes concludes they are both part of one another white instructor, the speaker again puts it gently, only
and thus both part of America. In saying this Hughes is staking describing the instructor as "somewhat more free" than
a claim to America and arguing that he as a black man has just himself. However, the speaker does subtly attempt to level the
as much a right to be in the country (or in the university) as his playing field and disrupt the hierarchy between white instructor

Copyright © 2019 Course Hero, Inc.

Theme for English B Study Guide Narrative Voice 11

and black student by arguing that education is a two-way

street and that, while he learns from his instructor, the
instructor is also learning something from him. That is a basic
function of the poetry that results.

Copyright © 2019 Course Hero, Inc.