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“Theme for English B” takes place in Harlem, which is a historically Black neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. The speaker clarifies the setting in the opening stanza, where he notes that he attends “this college on the hill above Harlem” (line 9). The college referred to here is most likely Columbia University, which is situated adjacent to Harlem in the neighborhood known as Morningside Heights. The fact that the speaker is “the only colored student in [his] class” (line 10) indicates that the poem takes place sometime in the middle of the twentieth century. The speaker describes how, after receiving a writing prompt from his English teacher, he walks from his college campus to the Harlem YMCA, where he rents a room. It is there in his room at the Y that the speaker sits down and contemplates his response to the writing prompt. Although the poem has a very concrete setting, it’s important to note that the speaker’s thoughts about racial identity and racial difference apply not just to a specific corner of New York City. Indeed, they apply more broadly to mid-century American society, which remained racially segregated in a way the speaker longs to question.

Next section Themes

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