Hughes’ “Harlem: A Dream Deferred” Textual Analysis Essay

The famous poet, James Langston Hughes, has started writing poetry at an early age. One of his most popular poems is “Harlem: A Dream Deferred.” In this profound poem, the poet says, “A life without no dreams is no life at all.” (Hughes) This poem is especially noteworthy for the use of literary devices like smiles, imagery and skewed rhyme schemes, etc, which make the poet’s abstraction more concrete and tangible for his audience. He postulates the idea that humans do not need to be afraid to dream. When we think more about our goals, they become imprinted in our subconscious mind and we see things related to them in our dreams when we sleep. Most of us often see dreams that we cannot fulfill due to certain limitations. This may have provoked thought in the poet about what happens to those dreams. Poems often reflect the ideas and thoughts of the writer who creates them. Mostly, we see poets expressing what they feel. But in Harlem, this does not seem to be the case. The poet is asking a lot of questions to the readers. It is up to them to figure out what happens to those dreams. The poet sees a dream like the one Martin Luther King has in “I have a Dream,” where African Americans will someday be respected and treated equally here in America.

The analysis of this essay will identify three points; the first describes how Imagery makes the poem more interesting and real; the second point will help describe the characteristics of the poem with a simile; and the third and last will show how the structure of the poem, plays a crucial role in giving it real form.

The poet has presented several similes in this piece, such as ‘Like a Raisin’, and ‘Like a Sore’. The poet asks whether the dream dries up like a raisin in the sun. The raisin is already dry, but even then it serves us with nourishment. When we continue to keep it in the sun, it will tend to lose its nutritional value. So we are likely to imagine that the dream may eventually dry up, and it appears that the poet is cleverly telling his audience not to waste their potential. He may even be hinting to the “sun” as White Americans who are supposedly exploiting African Americans in this country. On the other hand, the poet puts forth a different idea, something opposite to the raisin. He asks whether the dream got swollen up like a sore and then it ran. So, unlike the raisin that shrinks, maybe the deferred dream gets inflated and it escapes. This is similar to a situation when you let go of an inflated balloon, and you never know where it ends up when it falls to the ground. In this manner, I think the poet neither does know himself exactly where the dream will end up. It appears that the poet is telling us not to be too obsessed with our goals, to the extent that it may keep swelling to the extent that we may totally lose control over it.

The poet next asks whether the dream, similar to a sore stinks like rotten meat. The poet, through this allusion, perhaps refers to the bad dreams we have, which we interpret as nightmares, which destroy our peace of mind. Now, maybe, the poet uses the term ‘rotten meat’ to make us feel the pain of oppression and racism African Americans faced here in America; or maybe the author wants to tell us that if we do not convert our dreams into reality, those very dreams will soon start to rot, like meat that has been left unattended for several days. In the next line, the author asks whether the dream disguised itself as a syrupy sugary sweet crust. Dreams such as these, have been known to evolve with the help of one seeking positive goals and maintaining a positive attitude. “The dreams of life and goals” that humans have, are central to what makes men and women valuable members of society (Grimes). If we maintain this kind of positive thinking, our energy will in fact channel our surface; in the same way, a crust can be formed over our aspirations; that is when our goals and dreams can no longer be fulfilled. So, before the outer layers start forming, we must take control of our goals and put them into action very quickly. That may be why, “the poet” hints that our dreams sometimes sag and becomes a heavy load, when we are unable to fulfill them. “He then asks us the question,” if it doesn’t weigh down our dreams due to pressure, then it will explode, due to even more pressure. It is obvious that when people do not get their way, their emotions may eventually get in the way. This may lead to the very same type of explosion that happens when we come under pressure.

The poem has seven sentences out of which six are questions. The rhyme scheme is irregular, that is, a bad efe the. Here, ‘sun’ in the third line rhymes with the fifth line’s ‘run’; the sixth line’s ‘meat’ rhymes with the eighth line’s ‘sweet’ and the tenth line’s ‘load’ rhymes with the eleventh line’s ‘explode.’ “This irregularity gives these lines a jagged edge, like the edge of a shard of broken glass, enabling Hughes’s message to lacerate its readers” (J., Michael). In the fourth and eighth lines, there are two hyphens used. This is so that the poet can get the break that he wants in the sentence and so as not to create a stop in the sentence as well so that it can be read continuously.

This poem really does make a big difference, and in fact, it has influenced a lot of toward good things. People see dreams as a pathway to a better and constructive way of life, which is what clearly denotes, “the sweet side of hope” called equality; that African Americans have dreamed of for themselves for very long. This also can be taken into account in another way too, just like the sweet becomes rancid when a crust forms on its people back then and now, “in retrospect” to how groups of people have at present become politically energized in local and national politics today. This is a living example, which shows that imagery makes poems more concrete, similes help to interpret the characteristics of a poem, which can play a crucial role in giving that said poem, “real form” and “meaning.” So, as mentioned earlier, what Hughes says remains a fact of human existence: “A life without no dreams is no life at all.” We need not be afraid to dream. We can dream of changes, and those changes will definitely happen if we hold on to them and persevere. Inspiration can knock at your door at any time, just like opportunity. But if you seek and search for inspiration, you are bound to find it much quicker.

Learn to keep all those inspirations inner-mind and readily available, because there is one thing no one can stop you from doing, and that is dreaming. In reality of becoming a dream catcher, you will find out that you will eventually achieve some, if not all of your inspirations and dreams, that will play or change an intricate part of your life.