1. Analysis of Langston Hughes “Dreams” and “Harlem – A DREAM Deferred”

2. “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.

3. “Dreams” by Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
Subject:
Keep trying to achieve your dreams
Occasion: personal experience
Audience: general audience; other African Americans
Speaker: unknown narrator-possibly poet
Purpose: to show you cannot live to your full potential if you let your dreams die

4. “Dreams” Annotations Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

5. “Dreams” ANNOTATIONS Type: Lyric Stanzas: 2 Quatrains
Hold fast to dreams A
For if dreams die B
Life is a broken-winged bird C
That cannot fly. B
For when dreams go D
Life is a barren field E
Frozen with snow. D
Type: Lyric
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
Assonance: that & cannot; frozen & snow

6. “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?

7. “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?
Tone:
Questioning, judgmental, warning
Speaker:
Someone who is bitter about having his dreams put off
Audience:
Society

8. “Dream Deferred” by Langston Hughes
Subject:
A series of rhetorical questions about living with disappointment
(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?
Themes:
Having to postpone one’s deepest desires can lead to destruction or destructive behavior

9. “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?

10. “Dream Deferred” ANNOTATIONS
(Harlem)
What happens to a dream deferred? A
Does it dry up B
like a raisin in the sun C
Or fester like a sore— 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 G
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode? H
Type: Lyric
Stanzas: Six
Repetition:
“does it”
End Rhyme:
“sun-run”
“meat-sweet”
“load-explode”
Metaphor:
“does it explode?”

11. “Dream Deferred” by Langston Hughes
Alliteration:
“dream deferred”
(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?
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”

12. 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.

13. “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?

14. 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.