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
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.
Speaker: unknown
narrator-possibly poet
Subject:
Keep trying to achieve
your dreams
Occasion: personal
experience
Audience: general
audience; other African
Americans
Purpose: to show you
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
For if dreams die
B
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
B
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
A
D
E
D
Assonance: that &
cannot; frozen &
snow
Type: Lyric
C
Stanzas: 2 Quatrains
Repetition: Hold fast
to dreams
Alliteration: dreams die
Metaphors: Life is a
broken-winged bird that
cannot fly
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?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun
Or fester like a sore—
Tone:
Questioning,
judgmental, warning
Speaker:
Someone who
is bitter about
having his
dreams put off
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?
Audience:
Society
“Dream Deferred”
by Langston Hughes
(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?
Subject:
A series of rhetorical
questions about living
with disappointment
Themes:
•Having to
postpone one’s
deepest desires
can lead to
destruction or
destructive
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?
Does it dry up
B
like a raisin in the sun
Or fester like a sore—
C
D
And then run?
C
Does it stink like rotten meat? E
Or crust and sugar over—
F
Like a syrupy sweet?
E
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
G
Or does it explode? H
A
Type: Lyric
Stanzas: Six
Repetition:
“does it”
End Rhyme:
“sun-run”
“meat-sweet”
“load-explode”
Metaphor:
“does it explode?”
“Dream Deferred”
by Langston Hughes
(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?
Alliteration:
“dream deferred”
Similes:
“dry up like a rasin in the sun”
“fester like a sore-”
“stink like rotten meat”
Sugar over-Like a syrupy
sweet?”
“sag like a heavy load”
Imagery:
“raisin in the sun”
“fester like a sore”
“stink like rotten meat”
“heavy load”
“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.