dream deferred by langston hughes?

Question

what is the tone of the poem
and
what literary terms are used in the poem


10 pts to best answer

Answer 1

There are a lot of similes and metaphors in the poem (when it uses 'like' it is a simile, when it just compares without 'like' it is a metaphor), and I would say that the tone of the poem is anxious, driving, and confrontational.

Answer 2

Dreams Deferred Langston Hughes

Answer 3

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I just had to write a thesis on this.... In the poem "Dreams Deferred”, Langston Hughes uses rhetorical questions and contradiction to show that dreams are both fragile and combustible. So the answer is that they are delicate explosives because while they can be easily crushed, they can also boom into a plethora of out comes. Hope I helped! Edit @ Rear Adm. Von Tusch Would you also say my English professor missed the point? Sorry you seem to think that. And any way, poetry is so ambiguous that we could very well both be right....But my thesis is professor approved.

Answer 4

The tone is multiple: sadness, frustration and anger. Some literary devices used are imagery (including simile), rhetorical questions and symbolism:

“What happens when dreams are deferred?” is the first line in Langston Hughes’s “Harlem,” a very interesting social commentary on Harlem in the early 1950’s. It talks about a “dream deferred” Harlem, which was a haven for literature and intellect in the late 20’s and early 30’s, but has become run down and faded to a shadow of its former existence. Langston Hughes’s “Harlem” is filled with extremely vivid imagery.

“Harlem,” by Langston Hughes uses various examples of imagery that one can relate to. The key to turning words into images is the ability to relate them to common experiences. No matter the person, we all cringe at the thought of rotten meat. “Harlem” contains the line “Does it stink like rotten meat?” Now we as the audience may not know what he is referring to when he asks the question but we all can relate to the stench of rotten meat. What Hughes reffers to is the dream of Harlem which has become lost in the shuffle of the post World War II era. People are no longer searching for the good times that they had searched for in the late 20’s early 30’s during the Great Depression.

Another example of vivid image that Langston Hughes uses in “Harlem” is the depiction of a “festering sore.” Again, everyone can relate and cringe to the image of a contusion, abrasion, or laseration has not been properly taken care of. It oozes puss, stinks, and is extremely disgusting to look at.

As a black man in a time period where African-Americans were considered an inferior group of people,dreams and goals would have been difficult to realize. Langston Hughes aptly expresses his frustrations in his poem, "Dream Deferred." As people read this poem, in any time period, they can relate to the simple universal message that the poet expressed. Hughes is very expressive in how he feels about dreams he has had and the factand his frustration at not being able to pursue and/or fulfill those dreams that he is unable to pursue or fulfill those dreams.

n "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.

Hughes wants to know "What happens to a dream deferred?" He asks this question as an introduction to possible reactions of people whose dreams do not materialize. The image he uses in the first question is that of a raisin. He asks the question; "Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" He draws a parallel between grapes losing its juices in the sun, to dreams losing some of its vitality when its realization is deferred for a long time.

In the opening of the poem the speaker uses a visual image that is also a simile to compare a dream deferred to a raisin. The speaker asks the question, "Does it [the dream] dry up / Like a raisin in the sun?" (2-3). Here we can see the raisin, which used to be a moist, taut, healthy-looking grape, has shriveled up to become a raisin. The speaker does not emphasize the appearance of the raisin, so the description isn't as significant as an image as it is as a simile. Why compare a dream deferred to a raisin? Like a raisin, a dream deferred shrivels up and turns dark because the sun has baked it. The emphasis on the sun is important because it stresses time-we measure time by the sun's movement. Like the raisin, the dream has been on hold for a long time-consequently, it has transformed into something very different than it once was. Because they look so different, few people would believe that raisins were once grapes unless they had been told. Similarly, a dream that continues to be postponed will go through an evolution as well-it won't be the same as the original. On the surface, a reader might not view the outcome as negative because raisins are valuable on their own-they taste good. However, the speaker does not stress the taste of the raisin; he emphasizes the fact that a raisin "dr[ies] up" or loses its life-giving moisture. The comparison of the dream to the withered raisin shows how a dream that is postponed changes dramatically and will not turn out as the person originally intended.

Answer 5

You'd do better reading the poem ... Langston Hughes is a fantastic poet, has the Beat, and this is one of his best & most famous.