Theme for English B

"Flatted Fifths" by Langston Hughes (1951)

This is another piece from Hughes’s book-length poem Montage of a Dream Deferred. Both this poem and “Theme from English B” are interested in the number five, especially how it relates to jazz music. For instance, the first four lines of “Flatted Fifths” have five words in them, while “Theme for English B” has five stanzas. Also, both poems explicitly mention “bop” (“Theme for English B,” Line 24) or “be-bop” (“Flatted Fifths,” Line 2).

"Harlem" by Langston Hughes (1951)

This is Hughes’s second poem titled “Harlem,” and it is also part of Montage of a Dream Deferred. The title of the book-length poem is taken from the first line of “Harlem”: “What happens to a dream deferred?” (Line 1). Both “Harlem” and “Theme for English B” include a stanza that is set apart by italicization. While “Theme for English B” includes three questions, “Harlem” includes twice as many questions in far fewer lines, giving the poems very different tones.

"I’m Nobody! Who are you?" by Emily Dickinson (1890)

Hughes integrates Dickinson’s idiosyncratic use of the em-dash from this poem (and many of her other poems) in his work.