LITR 5731:
Seminar in American Minority Literature
University of Houston-Clear Lake, spring 2003
Poetry Presentation Summary
Poetry:
Langston Hughes, "Harlem (A Dream Deferred)"; "Dream
Variations"
Poetry reader / discussion leader: Tomasina Alford
Langston
Hughes was a renowned poet whose fame exploded during the Harlem Renaissance. He became one of the foremost interpreters of racial
relationships in the United States by depicting realistically the ordinary lives
of black people. Many of Hughes’
poems are written in a rhythmical language and have often been set to music.
Hughes was the first black author who could support himself by his
writings. During his career, Hughes traveled to Europe and the Soviet
Union. Because of his political
views regarding the United States, Hughes was accused of being a Communist.
Later, he denounced this accusation in front of a senate committee.
Hughes never married, and this led to the speculations regarding his
sexuality, especially since he associated with many homosexuals.
“Dream
Deferred” expresses his feelings of hopelessness and hardships of AA in Harlem
(the title of the poem was “Harlem” and later renamed “A Dream
Deferred”). Hughes believes the
people have the ability to dream of a better life, but somehow they do not
achieve it because of societal constraints.
This poem emphasizes the idea of dreams being made easily, but never
coming true. The images Hughes uses
in the poem accurately depict what can happen to a person whose dream is put
off.
Speaker:
§
This poem is informal, almost as Hughes is speaking to the reader.
He uses a vast amount of similes, which makes the poem less sophisticated
than “Dream Variations.”
§
The similes used in the poem are considered negative images.
The images he incorporates in the poem are things that have been
neglected:
·
Sensory images:
¨
Visual- “dry up” and “fester”
¨
Smell- “stink like rotten meat”
¨
Taste- “syrupy sweet”
If
a person can not actualize his dream, will it then dry up and fade away into
nothing? But, oftentimes if the
dream remains and dries up, it could shrivel and become damaged.
The person may still remember the gist of the dream, but the true dream
can become distorted. Probably the most profound image in this poem is the image
about a festering sore. If a person
just sits there and never gives the dream the attention it so rightly deserves,
then it can become that irritating sore that never seems to go away.
You will always feel that itch for it and want to fulfill it, but it has
become infected by other things. Following,
a more graphic image comes to light. The
crusting over “like a syrupy sweet” reflects putting on a protective facade
to cover the fact that there is hurt underneath for not fulfilling that dream.
People, especially older people, who never fulfill their dream, let the
dream sag “like a heavy load.” It
becomes such a heavy burden, never allowing the person to accept what they have
to do in life and what they will not be able to do in life.
The only metaphor, a more sophisticated poetic device than a simile, in
the poem deals with the explosion of the dream.
If a person lets the dream sit there and build up tension, eventually the
dream will explode; separating into millions of pieces of ideas and
thoughts—forcing everyone around them to become affected.
All of these images show how a person, especially black people in Harlem,
are kept down in society and unable to fulfill their dreams.
This
poem gained so much attention, that Lorraine Hansberry took notice of its
message and depicted the poem into a now infamous play, A Raisin in the Sun.
In the play, the protagonist acts the images Hughes speaks about in “A
Dream Deferred.” He goes through
the motion of setting aside dreams because of societal constraints.
Responders:
·
This poem is universal, especially after the poem’s title has been
changed from “Harlem” to “A Dream Deferred.”
·
A hope deferred breaks the heart. This
reference can be found in Psalms.
·
The images are so graphic and descriptive.
·
The poem has a nice rhythm; the lines just flow naturally.
·
Although many people interpret the line “Or does it explode?” as a
negative connotation, it was brought up that this line could possibly be a
potential for happiness. Throughout
discussion, it was debated about its negative and positive connotations, and all
agreed this line could be interpreted either way.
“Dream
Variations” expresses the longing to express and enjoy Hughes’s racial
heritage. Hughes uses imagery to
illustrate his dream—that of a “black world.”
The dreamer must hold on to his dream if he is to be alive.
As in “Dream Deferred,” Hughes uses similes, but in addition, he uses
other poetic devices such as repetition, metaphor, personification, and rhyme.
As we read, we see the second stanza is almost an exact repetition of the
first. But, the second stanza reads
in a livelier, more positive melody. In
the first stanza, there is somewhat of an allusion to Frederick Douglass in
reference to resting “beneath a tall tree.”
This poem can also be
universal, but considering the time and place Hughes wrote this poem, it could
surely be interpreted as a “black dream.”
In the poem, Hughes states, “dark like me” and “black like me.”
By these references, it is evident Hughes is trying to get rid of any
lightness or “whiteness” (societal constraints).
To Hughes, night is a time for calmness.
One dreams at night and rests at night.
Too many things are going on and happening throughout the daytime
(whiteness). Sun= white America
Responders:
§
There is a parallelism of the two
stanzas
§
The second stanza has more
excitement. It is evident by the
punctuation. The second stanza also
sound more confident in who the dreamer is.
§
The line “black like me” has
similarities to the last line in “Dream Deferred.”
Responders see this line as have the potential for happiness, as if the
dream has been fulfilled.
Discussion
Question:
What is
the definition of a dream in Hughes’ poems?
Is it acceptance in society? Or,
is it money? What does constitute
as a dream for the AA population?