Question

"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? Source: Hughes, Langston. "Harlem." 1951. Approaching Literature in the 21st Century: Fiction, Poetry, Drama. Ed. Peter Schakel and Jack Ridl. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005. 546. Print. What literary device or devices does Langston Hughes use in the poem? How does the device or devices contribute or emphasize the theme of the poem? Explain.

Answer 1

Simile and imagery

Hughes is using simile in this poem to compare what happens when you put off dreams. He compares deferred dreams to things with very strong sensory imagery like drying up "like a raisin in the sun" or stinking "like rotten meat". These details help the reader understand the heavy impact of what will happen if you put your dreams on hold. 

Answer 2

Langston Hughes uses a series of effective similes in his attempt to define what it feels like to have to put away one's dreams. In each simile, it is clear that the dream doesn't disappear. In the first simile, it shrivels up but it is still a solid raisin. In the second, it clearly cries out for attention as an unattended sore that surely pains the owner. In the third, it begs for attention through its slow rotting and stinks worse the longer it is ignored. In each simile, including the last two, it takes a different form but never disappears. At the end, Hughes departs from the simile and simply asks, does a dream deferred explode? This draws our attention because it is different, almost as if Hughes is suggesting that this is the answer—that a dream deferred will explode if left unattended too long. These similes and the question at the end all support the theme of the lingering effects of one's deepest dreams.