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Overview
“Theme for English B” is a dramatic monologue that Langston Hughes wrote late in his career and published in 1951
. The poem’s speaker is a 22-year-old Black man who lives in Harlem and is enrolled at Columbia University, where he’s the only student of color in his English class. Despite being at an elite institution, the speaker wrestles with the fact that his enrollment there doesn’t guarantee him equality. Indeed, his white instructor and fellow students are all “somewhat more free.” This theme remains potent today, as structural inequity continues to create barriers for Black folks and other people of color.Read a summary & analysis, an analysis of the speaker, and explanations of important quotes from “Theme for English B.”
