Revisiting the Discourse of Race and Power in Langston Hughes’s “Theme for English B”: A Critical Race and Bakhtinian Dialogic Perspective

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Department of Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Damghan, Damghan, Iran.

Abstract

This article analyzes Langston Hughes’s poem “Theme for English B” through the combined lens of postcolonial theory, Critical Race Theory (CRT), and Bakhtin’s theory of dialogism. Positioned at the intersection of racial dominance, Black identity, and institutional education, the poem becomes a dynamic site for representing socio-political tensions and struggles over voice and identity. From a postcolonial standpoint, the poem functions as a subtle act of resistance against white hegemony within the American educational system. It simultaneously explores the emergence of racial consciousness and the complexities of self-representation in a racially stratified society. CRT deepens the analysis by foregrounding the systemic nature of racial inequality and the influence of institutional structures on the speaker’s identity formation. Bakhtin’s dialogism further enriches the reading by drawing attention to the polyphonic interaction between conflicting voices—the Black student, the white instructor, and the dominant cultural discourse. These voices do not merge into a single truth but remain in tension, revealing the multiplicity of perspectives embedded in the poem. ultimately, the article argues that Hughes redefines both Black identity and Americanness by constructing an intercultural, dialogic space. In doing so, he challenges dominant power structures and reimagines identity as fluid, contested, and relational within the broader context of race and nationhood.

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References

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Research in Contemporary World Literature
Volume 31, Issue 1
April 2026
Pages 99-116

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