Poem Analysis Harlem or Dream Deferred

Brennan 1 Ryan Brennan Professor Hopkins ENC 1102 13 Feb. 2011 An explication of “Harlem” by Langston Hughes In the Langston Hughes poem “Harlem”, later renamed “Dream Deferred”, the speaker relates to people who have great dreams or goals in life that seem out of reach. Hughes wrote during the Harlem Renaissance, a time when African-American arts and literature blossomed in the 1920’s. Many African-Americans of this time had great dreams that they were unable to fulfill. In response to this plight, Hughes questions the availability of the American dream in the black community. Considering that Hughes would change the title from “Harlem” to “Dream Deferred” suggests that Hughes recognized this as not only an African-American problem, but as a problem of all oppressed peoples. As the poem begins, the speaker poses the question, “What happens to a dream deferred?” (line 1). According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the term deferred is defined as withheld for, or until a stated time (“Deferred”). This opening question, while straightforward, is the catalyst for a series or rhetorical questions utilizing simile to emphasize the central idea of the poem. “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” (lines 2-3) ask if this dream will eventually wither away over a period of time. The following lines, “Or fester like a sore—and then run?” (4-5) continue by comparing the dream to a sore. This grotesque imagery suggests that our dreams or desires may, in fact, become things with destructive consequences

Brennan 2 that have the power to fester or eat away at an individual. As the poem develops, Hughes cleverly incorporates the use of rhyme. The lines in the poem that rhyme provide juxtaposition, such as a dream either withering away, or, rather, eating away at the dreamer. The next line, “Does it stink like rotten meat?” suggests that if a dream or goal is not met, emotions can make it rot and stink leaving one with a constant burden. Lines 7-8, “Or crust and sugar over— like a syrupy sweet?” suggest that if a dream or goal is not met, the dreamer may become hardened toward the possibility of achievement. These lines also rhyme and opposite situations again occur, such as a dream deferred being exposed and noticeable opposed to being held inside only to harden the individual. Lines 9-10 are the only lines of the poem that do not pose a question, “Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.”(9-10). The fact that this line is a statement shows that this is what usually happens to a dream deferred: the dream or goal that idealistically should bring hope and optimism, is, quite often an unreachable, and a burdensome load that will wear down and even depress the dreamer. The final line of the poem, “Or does it explode?”(line 11) is written in italics which changes the tone and voice of the reader. The final stanza goes back to a question rather than a statement and is a metaphor instead of a simile as in the earlier lines of the poem. This metaphoric explosion can possibly symbolize the murdering of someone or committing some very irrational action. Does the dreamer get dragged down and depressed by their dream deferred, or do they explode and do something irrational? The idea Hughes is conveying is that when a dreamer has a dream or desire that is unreachable, many things may happen, but the worst would be to explode.

Brennan 3 Works Cited “Deferred.” Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam-Webster, 2010. Web. 1 Feb. 2011. Hughes, Langston. “Harlem.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 11th ed. New York: Longman, 2010. 981. Print.