Analysis of Langston Hughes

“Dreams”
and
“Harlem – A DREAM Deferred”
 “Dreams” Discussion
Questions
To what does the speaker compare life in the
first stanza?
Interpret the metaphors. What does each
suggest about life?
Restate in your own words the advice that
this poem offers. The American poet Delmore
Schwarts once wrote," In dreams begin
responsibilities." How might Hughes interpret
this statement? Base your answer on the
poems you have just read.
 “Dreams”
by Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams Subject:

For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
Keep trying to achieve
your dreams
Occasion: personal
experience
Audience: general
audience; other African
Americans

Speaker: unknown Purpose: to show you

narrator-possibly poet cannot live to your full
potential if you let your
dreams die
 “Dreams”
Annotations

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
 “Dreams”
ANNOTATIONS

Hold fast to dreams A

Type: Lyric
For if dreams die B
Life is a broken-winged bird C Stanzas: 2 Quatrains
That cannot fly. B
Repetition: Hold fast
Hold fast to dreams A to dreams
For when dreams go D
Life is a barren field E
Frozen with snow. D Alliteration: dreams die

Metaphors: Life is a
broken-winged bird that
Assonance: that & cannot fly
cannot; frozen &
snow Life is a barren field frozen
with snow
 “Dream Deferred” Discussion
Questions
 List the verbs used to indicate what can
happen to "a dream deferred.”
With what kind of dream do you think the
poem is concerned? Identify five similes in
the poem. What do you think the speaker is
suggesting in each simile?
Discuss the following theme: dream,
disillusionment, poverty and frustrations
Interpret the last line. Why people need to
feel they can fulfill their dreams?
 “Dream Deferred”
by Langston Hughes

(Harlem)
What happens to a dream deferred? Tone:
Questioning,
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun
judgmental, warning
Or fester like a sore—
Speaker:
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat? Someone who
Or crust and sugar over— is bitter about
Like a syrupy sweet?
having his
dreams put off
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load. Audience:
Society
Or does it explode?
 “Dream Deferred”
by Langston Hughes

(Harlem)
Subject:
What happens to a dream deferred? A series of rhetorical
questions about living
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun with disappointment
Or fester like a sore—

And then run? Themes:

Does it stink like rotten meat? •Having to
Or crust and sugar over—
postpone one’s
Like a syrupy sweet? deepest desires
can lead to
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
destruction or
destructive
Or does it explode? behavior
 “Dream Deferred”
ANNOTATIONS

(Harlem)
What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun
Or fester like a sore—

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—

Like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?
 “Dream Deferred”
ANNOTATIONS
(Harlem)
What happens to a dream deferred? A Type: Lyric
Does it dry up B
like a raisin in the sun C Stanzas: Six
Or fester like a sore— D

And then run? C Repetition:

Does it stink like rotten meat? E “does it”
Or crust and sugar over— F

Like a syrupy sweet? E End Rhyme:

“sun-run”
Maybe it just sags G “meat-sweet”
like a heavy load.
“load-explode”

Or does it explode? H Metaphor:

“does it explode?”
 “Dream Deferred”
by Langston Hughes

Alliteration:
(Harlem)
“dream deferred”
What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
Similes:
“dry up like a rasin in the sun”
like a raisin in the sun “fester like a sore-”
Or fester like a sore— “stink like rotten meat”
Sugar over-Like a syrupy
And then run? sweet?”
Does it stink like rotten meat? “sag like a heavy load”
Or crust and sugar over—
Imagery:
Like a syrupy sweet?
“raisin in the sun”
“fester like a sore”
Maybe it just sags
“stink like rotten meat”
like a heavy load.
“heavy load”
“explode”
Or does it explode?
 Essential Question
Why do writers use figurative language
like similes and metaphors in their
poetry?

Writers use metaphors and similes to

invite the reader to make a comparison
between two unlike things and to note a
surprising characteristic they share.
 “Dreams” and “A Dream
Deferred”
Think about goals you have set for
yourself but are not sure you can achieve.
How does the possibility of failure make
you feel? What if someone told you that
you couldn’t achieve your goals and
dreams?
 Post-Reading
Text to Text Connection
What similarities do you see between
the poems “Dreams” and “A Dream
Deferred”?

How are the poems different?

Use evidence from the poems to

support your answers.