Ted Hughes Poem Harlem By Langston Hughes

In the poem “Harlem”, Hughes expresses the overall position of African Americans during the 1900's. America, which is known as the “land of opportunity”, where dreams are suppose to come true; was not the case for African Americans during that time. Even though they we’re obviously "free," poverty, racism and other social injustices still existed; making it difficult and also impossible to actually reach those dreams—therefore, their dreams had been "deferred". In this poem Hughes really expresses the frustration of African Americans at that time, and allows me to relate buy giving me reactions of having my opportunities in life possibly robbed from me. The poem raises various questions to me like what happens to our dreams if we put them on hold? Do we give up? Do we become angry? Do we become complacent? To me, the last line is very powerful, because it indicates the fact that people can only be held down so long before they revolt, rebel or even

Thesis statement: Hughes wrote this when Jim Crow laws were still imposing an bitter segregated society in the South. There were still lynchings of innocent African Americans, there was no Civil Rights Movement, there was no Civil Rights legislation yet, and Blacks couldn't eat at lunch counters in the South. Harlem, however, was not at all like the South in terms of blatant, legal segregation. However, racism was very much in place in many places in America. Blacks were second class citizens, their children attended schools that were ill-equipped, and the dreams of Black citizens were not being realized in this period.

One of Hughes most famous poems, “Harlem(Dream Deferred)” had a great impact by posing lots of questioning. According to critic Tom Hanson, this poem is just that simple because it gives a bunch of undesirable answers to the same question, “What happens to a dream deferred?” Hanson also says how this poem refers almost completely to an unsolved problem (Hanson, Harlem). The poem gives four rather unpleasant interrogatives and one declarative answer followed by the sixth possibility, “Or does it explode?” which is supposed to be a question to make a reader really think. There are several ways to interpret the meaning of the final line, and the most sensible explanation is, the African American community is “deferring dreams” and in doing so their dreams explode in terms of the chance to act is gone. Some may say Hughes presented an unattractive view

In the first couple of lines in Hughes’s poem he speaks upon past African American struggles and encourages them to move forward from them with the use of his refrain lines, ‘that day is past,’ and ‘bitter was the day.’ He makes various references “responding to the early days of depression, moreover…having a range of tone, language, and insight…” (Shulman 295), to speak upon slavery and inequality. For example, he awakens the memories of slaves being lynched, whipped, and

Langston Hughes was a successful African-American poet of the Harlem renaissance in the 20th century. Hughes' had a simple and cultured writing style. "Harlem" is filled with rhythm, jazz, blues, imagery, and evokes vivid images within the mind. The poem focuses on what could happen to deferred dreams. Hughes' aim is to make it clear that if you postpone your dreams you might not get another chance to attain it--so take those dreams and run. Each question associates with negative effects of deferred dreams. The imagery from the poem causes the reader to be pulled in by the writer's words.

The poetry of Langston Hughes, the poet laureate of Harlem, is an effective commentary on the condition of blacks in America during the 20th Century. Hughes places particular emphasis on Harlem, a black area in New York that became a destination of many hopeful blacks in the first half of the 1900ís. In much of Hughes' poetry, a theme that runs throughout is that of a "dream deferred." The recurrence of a"dream deferred" in several Hughes poems paints a clear picture of the disappointment and dismay that blacks in America faced in Harlem. Furthermore, as each poem develops, so does the feeling behind a"dream deferred," growing more serious and even angry with each new stanza.<br><br>To understand Hughes' idea of the"dream deferred," one

Langston Hughes, a gentleman of color who was a leader to the African American community is a poet, who according to an editor of “Harlem Renaissance” portrayed the truth rather than a sugar-coated version of how life was in Harlem, the hub of the black community. Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem” describes how colored people live in poverty, in the poem “Dream Variations” Hughes’ dream was symbolized by nature, and in the short story “Slave on the Block,” racism and life of a domestic slave are shown from his point of view. The time when these pieces of work were created was an era when black artistry was opening the eyes of white America to how poorly Afro Americans were treated; this movement was called the Harlem Renaissance, as said in “Harlem Renaissance”. In this movement, Hughes was a force of nature that pursued equality among all races, yet still maintaining integrity and pride. White America was not a welcoming place for people of melanin, white people were not sentimental or generous with them so people say it was more described as, “The cold, uncaring atmosphere of the United States were for blacks discrimination, racism, and often brutal treatment were a feature of everyday life” (“Dream”). Not only did Hughes have to endure the pain of this treatment but so did all colored people.

I read this poem for the first time in African American Literature class my sophomore year at the University of Tennessee. Dr. Margaret Hartsell taught the class. She was one of those hard-nosed professors that you never forget. Her most important lesson was to develop a passion for learning. We analyzed Langston Hughes’ poetry and his influence on the Harlem Renaissance. Many historians believe that he was the most influential and prominent literary figure during the era. When Langston Hughes wrote this poem the Harlem Renaissance was a distant memory for many blacks in Harlem and throughout the nation. Harlem, the mecca of African American life and the country’s most vibrant city became a war zone contaminated with crime, drugs, poverty,

In Line 1 of “Harlem”, we are introduced to what happens to a persons dreams get put on hold for some time. Hughes then asks, “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” (2-3). A raisin at first, is a grape, moist, round and juicy. However, it has shriveled up to become this dried up raisin. This simile is perfect because a dream deferred just shrivels up in our mind; we have let too much time pass to go back to fulfill the dream. The poem continues with “Or fester like a sore-and then run?” (3-4). This simile represents the dream eating at them; constantly an irritation because it has not been obtained. Line 5 is

Rights were restricted African-Americans at this time, so this idea was relevant to the time period. The first image is seen after Hughes opens with, “What happens to a dream deferred?” (“Harlem” line 1) when he writes, “Does it dry up/Like a raisin in the sun?” (“Harlem” line 2-3). Hughes could be trying to get across the idea that if a dream sits too long without action, it may lose its vitality. Say an African-American at the time had a dream of opening up his own shop, but he had to buy the property from a discriminating white owner. If this person didn’t stand up for himself, what would happen to his dream? Would it just “dry up like a rain in the sun”? What Hughes is trying to say, is that if African-Americans don’t stand up for themselves, their dreams may turn into something withered away, dry, and lifeless. Whereas, for a white person, their dreams are fresh, juicy grapes that they can pick off at any time. This line Hughes uses helps bring an image of the lifelessness of dreams some African-Americans to readers’ minds in a negative tone, on purpose. The second image Hughes uses is, “Maybe it just sags/Like a heavy load” (“Harlem” line 9-10). In this image of a sagging heavy load, Hughes tries to reflect an image of a dream holding somebody down. This is the opposite of the cliche term of “reaching for the stars” if you have a dream. Hughes is trying to say that for some African-Americans at the time, dreams could keep some

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.

When reading poetry, it can often be difficult to interpret the exact meaning of the poem the author was trying to transmit. A reader must learn to construe a poem without getting confused on what the author was trying to convey. We must scrutinize the work so that we may understand it better. In Langston Hughes “Harlem,” to analyze what this poem is trying to interpret we must understand line for line. The poem has eleven lines and all but one is asking a question. In each line except line seven, the last syllable stressed. Six of the seven sentences in the poem are questions. All of the sentences except the first and the last contain similes using like. Line three rhymes with line five; line six rhymes with line eight; line ten rhymes with line eleven. Lines four, seven, and eleven begin with or. Lines three, eight, and ten begin with like. The narrator is asking these questions to have the reader envision the lurid analogies to evoke the illusion of a postponed dream. One must also uncover the hidden meanings that stated in this poem. Written in 1951, Harlem addresses one of the most common themes of the time, inadequacies of the American Dreams of African Americans.

Hughes placed a particular emphasis on Harlem, an area in New York that was predominately Black, which became a Mecca for many hopeful blacks in the first half of the 1900's. Hughes has a theme in most of his poetry, in other words his writing style was to write poetry that is called "dream deferred". His use of a "dream deferred" focus in several poems paints a vivid picture of the disappointment and dismay that blacks in America faced in Harlem. Furthermore, as each his poems develop, so does the feeling behind a "dream deferred," his words make the reader feel the growing anger and seriousness even more at each new stanza.

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.

Harlem is one of the Langston Hughes most famous poem and he wrote the poem in 1951. The poem refers to the limitations that the African Americans needs to face in order to fulfill their dreams. Hughes used symbolic languages and analogy to recreated the feeling of frustration that people feel when they need to postpone their dreams. They used a tone that has a light scale of dark and cynical language.