Anyone know what this part of this poem means?

Question

I don't get the part that starts with "or crust and sugar over..."



A Dream Deferred
by Langston Hughes

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?

Answer 1

when the author refers to the dream as "or crust and sugar over" he refers to it as how a piece of sugary substance sits "deffered" for awhile just as if a dream were deferred....hes talking about what happens to dreams that are put on hold......and what happens to a dream that is put on hold is up to the reader to interpret.

Answer 2

You might be used to seeing the word "crust" as a noun referring to the crust of bread, and "sugar" as a noun as well. In this poem, Langston Hughes is using them as verbs. One answerer already referred to how syrup (or a syrupy sweet) sitting will get a sugary crust on top. You might have seen that yourself with a container of honey. It will still be sweet, but it can't be spread . So if you "defer" a dream, Hughes is saying you are setting it aside like a can or bottle of syrup (or honey, which acts the same), and eventually it will be difficult to use unless you heat it up (the syrup or honey) - or apply some kind of energy to making the dream become a reality.

Answer 3

A sweet syrup, as it ages and dries up, will form an outer crust or coating of crystallized sugar.

Answer 4

It just means that sometimes our hopes and dreams dry up and we can't realize them. If you leave a sugary syrup uncovered it will get a hard surface on it, spoiling it. Sometimes dreams get spoiled too.

I hope this helps.

Answer 5

you try to be hard but you are sweet.