‘A Dream Deferred’, by the poet Langston Hughes (1902-1967), is one of the Harlem

lyric poems that sum up the white oppression of blacks in America during the 50’s. ‘A Dream
Deferred’ has a deep meaning considering he era Hughes lived in; it has a special style in
which the poet transmits his ideas. The question, “What happens to a dream deferred?”
appears to be answered with nothing but more questions. But if we analyze each question we
get an idea of what the speaker really believes about dreams being postponed. Hence, Hughes,
in his poem “A Dream Deferred”, has employed vital poetry devices such as: the use of style,
themes, and figurative language.

To begin with, even though the poem applies irregular rhyme and musical pattern, lyrical
quality achieved through alliteration, rhyme, repetition of certain words, and carefully placed
stressed syllables. The length of the first five lines also varies: line 1 has eight syllables, line 2
has four, line 3 has seven, line 4 has six, and line 5 has three. On the other hand, the questions
are all rhetorical questions, because they intend to answer themselves. This irregularity gives
those lines a jagged edge enabling Hughes's message to attract its readers. However, the last
three lines of the poem each have five syllables, smoothing the poem's edge to the keenness of
a razor ready to cut cleanly. Although the poem does not imitate any format used by previous
poets, it does exhibit regularities.

Themes, as another poetry characteristic, play a significant role in defining the dream
Hughes is longing for. What dream is it exactly? The poem does not choose the dream but
leaves it up to the reader. Nevertheless, the speaker’s position is clear that any important
dream or goal that must be delayed can have serious negative affects; “Or does it explode”.
The dream or life goal of a human being is central to what makes the human a valuable
member of society. However, if the person whose dream is deferred loses all hope, he might
“explode” with his despair. In brief, having to postpone one’s deepest desires can lead to
destruction.

In still another final trait, reading and rereading the poem enable us to notice that
Langston Hughes has applied a rich figurative language and a sympathetic tone, a tone of
despair, doubt, anger, and hatred. For this reason, to back up his poem and transmit the harsh
state he lived in to the readers, the poet uses many figures of speech including: alliteration:
“Or crust and sugar over like a syrupy sweet”, simile: “like a raisin”, “like sore”, “like rotten
meat”, “like a syrupy sweet”, “like a heavy load”, metaphor: “does it explode?”, “Maybe it
just sags”, also anaphora: the repetition of the words: “like”, as well as “does it”, and then
imagery: “raisin in the sun”, “fester like a sore-and then run”, “stink like rotten meat”. In
short, the language of the poem sounds frank and practical; it indeed implies, through its tone,
that the dream which is not realised in a timely fashion may seem to decay because it dies.

All in all, if all the other possibilities of a deferred dream are bad with some worse than
others, then the last possibility is the worst. If someone’s dream is unreachable and his hope is
oppressed, he might commit suicide, homicide—or both. “A Dream Deferred” is a poem full
of questions which receive no answers; these rhetorical questions reflect the situation of a
human mind within a world where all dreams are deferred or, otherwise, exploded.