Theme for English B

Study Guide

Deeper Study

Historical & Literary Context

Save

Deeper Study Historical & Literary Context

The Harlem Renaissance

Although Langston Hughes wrote “Theme for English B” in the early 1950s, the poem extends his legacy as a leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance refers to a major explosion of Black intellectual and artistic activity that erupted in the 1920s. Though centered on the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, the Renaissance had an international reach that witnessed the flowering of Black intellectual discourse, literature, visual art, music, and fashion. All these forms of cultural and artistic production sought to challenge racism, subvert predominant stereotypes, and develop a progressive new politics that advanced Black peoples and promoted integration. At the center of the Harlem Renaissance stood the figure known as the New Negro. The “Old Negro” remained hampered by the historical trauma of slavery. The “New Negro,” by contrast, possesses a renewed sense of self, purpose, and pride. Langston Hughes contributed to this vision of the New Negro through his poetry. In early works like “Youth,” for instance, he professed his faith that the next generation of Black Americans would achieve their freedom. “Theme for English B” both echoes this vision and complicates it by depicting a Black student who’s struggling with issues of racial identity and socioeconomic advancement.