THEME OF ESSAY B
Sufian Ali March 3,2014
English 102 Professor Gonzalez
Langston Hughes was a black American poet during the Harlem Renaissance, which may be the reason why most of work consisted of feelings of the black Americans and the struggles of them during the Harlem Renaissance. Langston Hughes was one of the first poets to exploit the jazz form of poetry, which was relatively new at the time. Langston Hughes wrote Theme for English B in his classroom. The main theme of the poem is racial prejudice even with in the classroom. One can tell this poem is going to be about race from looking at the second line in the second stanza, “I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston Salem”(pg. 334 line 2). Usually when a poet is describing them selves in a poem they will not use the race or color of their skin in that description. However Langston Hughes specifically mentions he is colored, which suggests that this poem will have something to do with race of racial prejudice. Three lines below that in the same stanza gives more evidence that this poem is going to be about race when Langston Hughes says, “I am the only colored student in my class”(page 334 line 5). Then the rest of the stanza he uses imagery to take the readers through the setting of the college and his home. In the third stanza in the first line Mr. Hughes takes the attention of the reader away from the race a bit. In the first line of third and fourth stanza Langston Hughes writes “It is not easy to know what is true for you or me at twenty-two, my age”. In this line Langston Hughes suggests that at the age of twenty two one does not have that much life experience and does not know the reality of what life and truth is really about. He is saying that as a person grows older they get more experience of life and know the true colors of life. Then right after he says “But I guess I’m what I feel and see and hear” and then he mention Harlem after it. Langston Hughes may be saying this in the sense
English 102 Professor Gonzalez
Langston Hughes was a black American poet during the Harlem Renaissance, which may be the reason why most of work consisted of feelings of the black Americans and the struggles of them during the Harlem Renaissance. Langston Hughes was one of the first poets to exploit the jazz form of poetry, which was relatively new at the time. Langston Hughes wrote Theme for English B in his classroom. The main theme of the poem is racial prejudice even with in the classroom. One can tell this poem is going to be about race from looking at the second line in the second stanza, “I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston Salem”(pg. 334 line 2). Usually when a poet is describing them selves in a poem they will not use the race or color of their skin in that description. However Langston Hughes specifically mentions he is colored, which suggests that this poem will have something to do with race of racial prejudice. Three lines below that in the same stanza gives more evidence that this poem is going to be about race when Langston Hughes says, “I am the only colored student in my class”(page 334 line 5). Then the rest of the stanza he uses imagery to take the readers through the setting of the college and his home. In the third stanza in the first line Mr. Hughes takes the attention of the reader away from the race a bit. In the first line of third and fourth stanza Langston Hughes writes “It is not easy to know what is true for you or me at twenty-two, my age”. In this line Langston Hughes suggests that at the age of twenty two one does not have that much life experience and does not know the reality of what life and truth is really about. He is saying that as a person grows older they get more experience of life and know the true colors of life. Then right after he says “But I guess I’m what I feel and see and hear” and then he mention Harlem after it. Langston Hughes may be saying this in the sense