Summary Of The Poem 'Harlem' By Langston Hughes

In Langston Hughes’ Theme for English B he talks about the year he attended Columbia University. While never stating that the school in question is Columbia the reader can infer due to the clues Hughes leaves. The third stanza is an extended metaphor where Hughes linked himself to Harlem and Columbia, he states that he and Harlem are one in lines 18 and 19 when he says "I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you: hear you, hear me---we two---you, me, talk on this page". He links Colombia to school in the poem in line 9 when he says “to the school atop the hill”. In the third stanza Hughes differentiates himself from the school, this can be partly due to his distaste of the racial inequality he experienced while attending there. In lines 9 and 11 he states "to this college on the hill above Harlem" and "The steps from the hill lead down into Harlem". Hughes focuses on the fact that the school is above Harlem; this can be a parallel for the way Hughes was treated, as a lesser individual. Then in lines 12-15 Hughes begins his somewhat long trek back to where he lives in Harlem. Once again Hughes wants to put as much distance …show more content…
It creates a hesitation, as if Hughes is stopping to catch his breath reluctant to submit the delicate subject of race. The beauty of America is the diversity, though Hughes and the professor may not want anything to do with each other, they are only small pieces of one big whole. They are both what make up America. Power relationships are seen throughout the poem whether it be white to black, the school overlooking Harlem, or professor to student. That the narrator was able to speak out against previous limitations of his own identity, questioning the power relationship between professor and student by saying that they can learn from one another, the narrator shows he sees the professor as more of an equal than the relationship