1. Theme For English B
by Langston Hughes

2. The instructor said,
Go home and write
a page tonight.
And let that page come out of you—
Then, it will be true.
I wonder if it’s that simple?
I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem.
I went to school there, then Durham, then here
to this college on the hill above Harlem.
I am the only colored student in my class.
The steps from the hill lead down into Harlem,
through a park, then I cross St. Nicholas,
Eighth Avenue, Seventh, and I come to the Y,
the Harlem Branch Y, where I take the elevator
up to my room, sit down, and write this page:

3. Langston Hughes Born on February 1, 1902, in Joplin Missouri
Died May 22, 1967
As a kid he was primarily raised by his maternal grandmother
Attended Lincoln University and Columbia university
Active poet during the Harlem Renaissance

4. Form/Meter
The poem is a free verse poem with an irregular rhyme scheme an a rhythm that changes as the poem goes along

5. Allusions There are several allusions made in this poem
Johann Sebastian Bach
BeBop Jazz (“Bop”)
Bessie Smith
The YMCA

6. Figurative Language
In the Poem, the usage of imagery and symbolism is ever present
Use of black and white polarization
Usage of irregular rhyme pattern "Go home and write a page tonight. And let that page come out of you. Then, it will be true."
Personification: “and let that page come out of you”

7. Literary devices
Rhetorical Question: “will my page be colored that I write?”
Assonance is used many times in the poem

8. Theme and Tone
The overall theme is that you are defined by your actions, not your physical qualities
The tone is Honest or the concept of Honesty and how it relates to race, the American dream, and school and the racial predispositions of the times

9. Additional Questions
What are some of the examples of literary devices presented in the poem?
What do you think is the message he is trying to convey in the poem?

10. Works Cited
Shmoop Editorial Team. "Theme for English B Poem Text." Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov Web. 1 Mar
Biography.com Editors. “Langston Hughes Biography.” , A&E Television Networks, 27 Jan Web.