Outline
Introduction
Discussion
Similarities in:
- Themes
- Style
- Structure
Differences in:
- Theme
- Structure
Conclusion
Langston Hughes Poems And Themes Contrasted
Introduction
The poems I, Too and Theme for English B are written by Langston Hughes. He was of American decent. Most of his work was done during Harlem Renaissance. He was among the innovators of writing poetry in jazz art. The most famous work was called Harlem was in vogue. Apart from being a poet, he was a social activist, columnist, playwright and novelist. He lived between the years of 1902 to 1967. I, Too and Theme for English B have similarities and difference emerging in themes as well as structure (Hughes, Rampersad & Roessel, 55).
Discussion
There is a similarity in the both poems while addressing the theme of racsism. In I, Too, the persona is maltreated because she has colored skin. When visitors come to their home, he is sent to eat in the kitchen. The African Americans were discriminated because they were considered inferior. Initially, they lived as slaves and it could be the reason white people developed a negative attitude towards them. After abolition, they were faced with the challenged of racism. The poet was addressing this issue because it was a major challenge towards the black Americans.
Theme for English B talks about racism in learning institutions. The persona is discriminated because he is a black student in school dominated by white people. He seems not to understand because race does not determine personality or intelligence. He gives an example and says his instructor could also learn from him regardless of his color and age. He continues to say him and the instructor are part of each other. They have a student-teacher relationship and it should not be affected by their races. White people did not like to be associated with the blacks. This is why the persona said he understands when his instructor does not want to be seen as part of him (Hughes 99).
Both poems have a theme of hope for the African Americans. I, Too poem talks about the future being better. The persona will not be chased off into the kitchen anymore. He will dine at the table even when there are visitors. They will see how beautiful he is and become remorseful about their ill treatment. This shows the black people were hopeful about the future. I knew that racism will end and the law will protect their right of living in a peaceful society. The persona argues she is an American too, who should have equal rights to those of whites and get fair treatment.
In Theme for English B, the persona was the only black student in class. This was a good sign of hope because initially white and black students would not mix in one class. This shows that in future, blacks would attend any school without being discriminated. This is actually the case in modern America. It is illegal to deny any citizens his or her rights because of or race gender. The persona gets some hope when he remembers Harlem and New York City in general. This is because when the poet was a young adult, there was a movement in Harlem, supporting black people development. He becomes hopeful when he thinks of his hometown (Hughes, et al, 112).
Other resemblances occur in the styles used to write the two poems. Both poems have used symbolism. I, Too poem has used symbols like kitchen, dark brother and tomorrow among others. The persona is sent to the kitchen when visitors come. The kitchen represents mistreatment and discrimination. A kitchen is not an appropriate place to dine. It is lonely and unfriendly. Dark brother symbolizes the African American race. The persona is undermined because of his colored skin. Tomorrow is the future for blacks. The persona believes that in future discrimination will end and there will be harmony between white and black people.
Symbols in Theme for English B are instructor, Harlem and class among others. The instructor teaches the persona English and represent white race. He told the class to write about their thoughts. The persona wrote about how the teacher discriminated him. Harlem signifies hope for the black race. They were vigilant on civic participation because they wanted to be considered as part of America. The class represents how the blacks were denied the right to have basic requirements like basic education in good schools. The persona was the only African American in that class (Hughes, Rampersad & Roessel, 125).
.
There is a parallel of repetition in both poems. I, Too has repeated the phrase, “When company comes”. The poem intends to create emphasis on a situation of ill treatment. Every time visitors visited their home, the dark brother was sent to dine in the kitchen. The use of the words “dark brother,” mean he is human just like whites, only that he is being discriminated for his race. Theme of English B has repeated the word “hear.” It is used to emphasize the persona’s thoughts of Harlem. The persona uses this word to express his nostalgia of Harlem. He is proud of his hometown because it is transforming and fighting hard tom end racism.
The two poems have irregular structures in their stanzas. The stanzas have different number of lines. I, Too poem has five stanzas and they all have different number of lines. The first and last verse of the poem has one line. The second stanza has six lines, the third has seven lines and the fourth has three lines. Theme for English B poem has three stanzas with differing number of lines. The first and last stanzas have one line. The second has four lines, the third has ten lines and the fourth has twenty-four lines (Hughes, 187).
I, Too and Theme of English B poems have differences in their themes, styles and structure of the poem. The former poem has themes that differ from the latter poem. It addresses the theme of education. The persona is a college student studying in a foreign land. He is the only African American students in the whole class. This is an indication of how rare it was for black people to get higher education. The few who managed to pursue college education experienced a difficult social life because of racism. Basic education facilities were limited and had poor facilities and quality of education.
Both poems have different structures of how they have been composed. I, Too poem has five stanzas and eighteen lines. Theme for English B is made of three stanzas and forty lines. This poem has used direct speech, unlike I, Too. The person intends to a good future when racism is over. When visitors come, no one will chase him to eat in the kitchen (Hughes, Rampersad & Roessel, 143).
There is also use of alliteration, which is not found in I, Too poem. The eighth line has used letter “h” in the words there, then. There is use of rhetoric questions in Theme for English B. The rhetoric question addresses whether it will be easy for the persona to express her thought as the instructor said. This is because it could be difficult for a student to confront his teacher about his actions.
Conclusion
Langston Hughes is inspired to write this poem by his background. He come a family lineage of mixed race members. He was unhappy about the discrimination since it caused lack of harmony among the society member. This is why he strongly rebuked it and showed there should be equality between white and black people. The Harlem Renaissance is another inspiration to his works. Efforts of such social activists have helped America to reach its current level of development. National cohesion and coexistence has enabled people to develop the nation (Hughes et al, 167).
Works cited
Hughes, Langston, Rampersad Arnold, and Roessel. David E. The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes. New York: Knopf, 1994. Print.
Hughes, Langston, Arnold Rampersad, Dolan Hubbard, and Leslie C. Sanders. The Collected Works of Langston Hughes. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2001. Print.
Hughes, Langston. Selected Poems of Langston Hughes. New York: Vintage Books, 1990. Print.
Works cited
Hughes, Langston, Rampersad Arnold, and Roessel. David E. The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes. New York: Knopf, 1994. Print.
Hughes, Langston, Arnold Rampersad, Dolan Hubbard, and Leslie C. Sanders. The Collected Works of Langston Hughes. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2001. Print.
Hughes, Langston. Selected Poems of Langston Hughes. New York: Vintage Books, 1990. Print.
Works cited
Hughes, Langston, Rampersad Arnold, and Roessel. David E. The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes. New York: Knopf, 1994. Print.
Hughes, Langston, Arnold Rampersad, Dolan Hubbard, and Leslie C. Sanders. The Collected Works of Langston Hughes. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2001. Print.
Hughes, Langston. Selected Poems of Langston Hughes. New York: Vintage Books, 1990. Print.
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