1. Aim: How does Langston Hughes poem, “Harlem,” use metaphor to illustrate a dream deferred? Do Now: What happens to a wasted dream? Can you think of an image that could represent a wasted dream?

2. Harlem 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? Vocabulary: Deferred: (verb) to put off to a later time; postpone Fester: (verb) to become worse or more intense through long term neglect or indifference.

3. What happens to a dream deferred? Paraphrase this first line of the poem. “What happens…”

4. To what 5 things does Hughes compare the dream? 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? A raisin in the sun A sore Rotten meat Syrupy sweet Heavy load What is a similarity between all 5 things?

5. Metaphor A comparison of two unlike things To what is Hughes comparing a dream deferred? What is the message about the dream? Why might the dream explode rather than dry up?