Harlem (Dream Deferred) By Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was the most famous poet from Harlem, writing during the 1920’s and 1930’s. Hughes wanted to show the lives of the black community through his poems and the things they faced in America at that time like racism. He would compare the ways African American experience was different from the white Americans. At the time he was writing, slavery was over for sixty years already, but blacks were still treated unequally everyday. African Americans had a dream that was being held back from them, called a deferred dream. What is a dream deferred? Langston Hughes relates his sequence of poems, “Lenox Avenue Mural,” to this question. It is said that, “The “dream deferred” is the dream of African Americans: a dream of freedom, equality,

In our journey through life, we all have certain expectations of how we would like our lives to be. All of us strive to reach a certain level of self-actulization and acceptance. It could thus be said that all of us live a dream. Some of these individual dreams inevitably become the collective dream of many people. In "Harlem (A Dream Deferred)", Langston Hughes makes use of symbolism as well as powerful sensory imagery to show us the emotions that he and his people go through in their quest for freedom and equality. By using questions he builds the poem towards an exciting climax.

The short but inspirational poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes addresses what happens to aspirations that are postponed or lost. The brief, mind provoking questions posed throughout the poem allow the readers to reflect--on the effects of delaying our dreams. In addition, the questions give indications about Hughes' views on deferred dreams.

During the Harlem Renaissance, many African Americans were giving up on their dreams of equality due to rejection. However, Langston Hughes poem A Dream Deferred questions what happens to a dream that is deferred. In the poem, Hughes expresses his anxiety over his deferred dreams. The poet mentions how his dreams perished in six theoretical ways, all which are harmful to the dreamer. Langston Hughes used figurative language to explain how a neglected dream affects the

This poem by Langston Hughes is a very complicated. In it the speaker paints a picture of what might happen to someone’s dream if it is postponed too long. This idea is the overall theme of the poem and it is what unifies and connects each line to the poem as a whole. There are also indirect references that this is not only the dream of an individual, but an entire race’s struggle to achieve peace and liberation. This poem consists of a series of answers to the question, “What happens to a dream deferred?” All of the lines following this first question are presented as different similes.

That unfulfilled dream is like a painful longstanding dream that begins to be infected much like a pain of the physical

An Explication of Langton Hughes “Harlem (Dream Deferred)” Dreams are amazing things, and we can talk about them as long as we could remember them, but are dreams nothing but dreams if there never pursued? In "Harlem," the speaker discusses the darker side of an idea. Some people work hard to accomplish their dreams while others put their dreams on hold due to various circumstances in their lives. He wonders what happens when that dream or idea are ignored or "deferred." The result is not too pretty.

Hughes wonders if the delayed dream keeps getting worse as time passes. A deferred dream incapable of any progress indeed causes exasperation and annoyance to the dreamer. That unfulfilled dream is like a painful long-standing dream that begins to be infected much like the pain of a physical "sore." Therefore, a dream that is left unfulfilled will become infected with regret and frustration. He continues his questioning by using another simile for the postponed dream: "Does it stink like a rotten meat?"

Author Langston Hughes, played a powerful role in reflecting the oppression of African Americans in the states by giving them a sense a voice through his work. " Harlem", also known as "Dream Deferred", is a prime example of how socially aware Hughes was and how Hughes fought to bring the subjection of African Americans in the states out from under the shadows. Through "Harlem", readers feel the influence of street language and vivid imagery that drips through, which is what makes the eleven stanzas familiar and relatable to the people Hughes is representing. In this poem, Hughes is specifically targeting deferred dreams, frustrations, conscious goals and what can happen eventually if an individual fails to pursue these dreams and desires. "Harlem" starts off with the question "what happens to a dream deferred?", which refers to conscious goals and aspirations.

Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem” or “Dream Deferred” is about what could happen when one lets their dreams go, if even just temporarily. The poem starts, and is mostly comprised of, a question. This invites the reader in and makes a connection; what does the reader think? Hughes gives a series of ideas, all plausible, but never tells us for sure. One could say that different dreams have different consequences.

Dreams are hopes that people hope to accomplish in their lifetime. When trying to achieve these goals, people are willing to do anything. But, what happens when a dream is deferred? A dream pushed aside can disappoint a person in the deepest way. It is likely to spread throughout their thoughts and becomes a burden. In the poem “Harlem,” Langston Hughes, through literary devices, introduce a strong theme through a short amount of language Hughes is asking what happens to a dream that is being put off.

Two of the greatest black writers sought to answer this question. Langston Hughes, a poet, wrote a poem about what happens when a dream is deferred, known commonly as “Dream Deferred” among other names.

In 1920, there was a new movement beginning called the Harlem Renaissance. After World War I, many blacks migrated from the south to up to the north to places like Chicago, Detroit and New York. The people in Harlem felt the racial pride and this caught the attention of many musicians, writers, and artist. The Harlem Renaissance period lasted from 1920 to around 1935. Even though this period was short, it still lives on though all African American artists today.

The only major shift that occurs in Dreams Deferred, happens on the last line of the poem. Hughes compares dreams to other things using similes. These similes are not instantaneous, they happen and worsen over time. i.e(Does it dry up/like a raisin in the sun?/Or fester like a sore). But on the last line, he compares dreams deferring to something that doesn’t need time. An

In the poem “Dreams” Hughes uses a hopeful tone, one that is advising readers not to give up, and to have faith. Hughes uses a tone that is trying to get people to see that without dreams life would be sad and empty. He [Hughes] explains, “Life is a barren field Frozen with snow,” emphasizing that life would be lifeless. In the poem “Harlem” Hughes uses a more doubtful tone. Reader again can gather the doubtful tone from the way he uses the questions, in this poem