The Not-So-White Page

My favorite poem from this week’s readings is Langston Hughes’ “Theme for English B.” The discussion, “Appropriated Forms -- Anti-establishment Poems,” is what sparked my interest. It allowed me to discover the importance of the poem’s form. The content of this piece gave me the idea that by writing in an “establishment” form similar to others, the poet is trying to say that Blacks are the same as any other race.

“Theme for English B” talks about racial discrimination against African Americans in the 1900’s through an assignment from Hughes’ English instructor. The assignment is as follows:

Go home and write
a page tonight.
And let that page come out of you—
Then, it will be true. (2-5)

The most interesting thing about this poem is the technique Hughes uses in order to make a powerful statement and express his thoughts on the issue. He uses a brilliant metaphor comparing the treatment of Blacks to the page he is writing the poem on. Langston Hughes writes about how he “like[s] the same things other folks like who are other races” (25-26) and adds:

So will my page be colored that I write?
Being me, it will not be white.
But it will be
A part of you, instructor.
You are white— (27-31)

By white, Hughes means the truth. The instructor said that a poem will be true if the words or content originates from inside you. In a way, Hughes is arguing that that will not be the case for him, because he is Black. He believes that Blacks do not get the same respect or treatment as Whites. A poem written by a colored poet will not have the same effect and credit as one written by a white writer.