Langston Hughes/Claude McKay

Langston Hughes and Claude McKay both are quite different poets but they do still share some similar ideas. Claud McKay doesn't have the exact same style of writing as Hughes, he uses a specific style (sonnets) of writing that he is known for. McKay wrote to show the white people that African Americans can actually be smart and educated people. McKay's writing style resembled that of Shakespeare which earned him a lot of reputation at the time. Langston Hughes, on the other hand, is a much more traditional kind of writer that speaks to his people. His writing isn't as sophisticated and precise as McKay's.

Overall both of these poets are writing about the same thing which is about the white and black race and how the whites have the wrong idea on blacks. Their main difference comes down to the writing style. For example, in "Theme for English B" by Langston Hughes, he talks about how he wants to be different from the whites, and that whites want nothing to do with blacks as well. This makes him realize that in America there are two races and that it has to be accepted. In McKay's "To My White Friends", she talks about blacks and how they can be just as evil as whites but instead they are trying to be civilized and they just want peace. The whites have in some way gone "crazy" with racial issues and McKay is reminding the whites that blacks can be as well.

The final thing that the two poets have in common is that both poets write about Africa at some point. Hughes writes about it in "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" and McKay in "Africa".