Theme for a Life
Langston Hughes was one of the greatest black poets, not just poet but black poet, ever to live. Langston Hughes was proud of his heritage, and he was proud of his color. He did not want the title of poet, but that of black poet. Hughes, in an essay titled “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,” speaks of black writers and poets “who surrender racial pride in the name of a false integration.” He doesn’t want to be mistaken for a white poet. He writes, “We younger Negro artists now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame. If white people are pleased then we are glad. If they are not, it doesn’t matter. We know we are beautiful. And ugly too…If colored people are pleased, we are glad. If they are not, their displeasure doesn’t matter either,” (The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain, p. 2). This is a constant theme expressed in his poetry. In his poem “Theme for English B” Hughes wonders “So will my page be colored that I write? / Being me, it will not be white.” Hughes was a powerful black writer, who always spoke out, in a black voice to help his people through his writing. Hughes grew up in a black abolitionist family. He learned early on
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1209
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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