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Harlem: A Dream Deferred
14
Transcript
Thank you for your attention!
- Langston Hughes' poem, "Harlem: Dream Deferred" portrays the experience of someone who has given up on their dreams. Hughes uses figurative language to compare it to actual occurrences that give a similar feeling for the individual. His original style and structure made this poem unique; by its unusual rhyme scheme, atypical meter, etc. Langston Hughes was famous for his rise from "rags to riches" by following his dreams, and this poem explains how he would be if he didnt.
Conclusion
Personal Reflection
- "Harlem: Dream deferred" summarizes a dream that is put off by an individual. Langston Hughes uses similes and metaphors that depict what happens to someone when they give up on their goals and desires. "Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" states that if a dream is not pursued, it is soon forgotten. "Or fester like a sore" suggests that it constantly eats at you because you never fulfilled your aspirations. "Does it stink like rotten meat?" explains that the dream annoys the individual and is continuously aggravating him or her because of its stench. "Maybe it just sags like a heavy load." compares it to carrying dead weight on your shoulders. "or does it explode?" suggests that it may eventually come out of the individual in a violent outburst.
Sources
Thesis
Harlem:
Dream Deferred
- http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/g_l/hughes/harlem.htm
- http://www.uiowa.edu/~writingc/writers/handouts/WritingLiteraryAnalysis.shtml
- http://www.shmoop.com/harlem-dream-deferred/
- In "Harlem: Dream Deferred", Langston Hughes conveys the idea of an ambition given up by an individual by using figurative language to illustrate what he or she experiences.
By: Langston Hughes
Poetic Elements
- Figurative language - Langston Hughes uses similes and metaphors to compare the idea of giving up on your dreams to pestering situations. Situations such as a festering sore because its an interminable annoyance and rotten meat because it makes the individual angry.
- Imagery - Hughes gives the reader comparisons to interpret using all the senses. For example, "Or crust and sugar over like a syrupy sweet" appeals to taste.
- Rhyme - Langston Hughes uses an irregular rhyme pattern that consists of only 3 rhymes while the rest does not. This somewhat creates resentment which relates to the consequences of deferring a dream.
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