The poem, "Dream Deferred", which was written by Langston Hughes, described the trials that minorities in that time period went through. Hughes uses heavy symbolism and imagery in this poem. The dream he discussed in the poem wasn't going anywhere at the time of his writing of the poem. In the poem, "Dream Deferred", the author uses a significant amount of symbolism to express the dream of racial equality.
The question Hughes ask the reader in line one, "What happens to a dream deferred?" sets up the plot and symbolism of the rest of the poem. As Hughes answers the question, he asks if a dream deferred dries up like a raisin in the sun. This symbol means that a dream that is disintegrating and dying like a raisin left out in the sun. If a raisin is left out in the sun too long, it will die. The same idea can apply to a dream left in the mind too long. The environment will kill the dream if it is left alone for a lengthy period of time. It will wither up and die, just like the raisin in the sun. The raisin is a dehydrated grape, lacking water, and life, when Hughes compare dreams to raisins he means that without dreams a person is almost dead.
Hughes continues to make his point through the symbols of inanimate objects as the poem goes on. In addition, all of the symbolic statements except the final one are similes. In lines four and five, the statement, "Or fester like a sore--And then run?" is extremely symbolic. The visual picture of a sore festering and then finally breaking open and running shows that an unaccomplished dream bothers and irritates everyone. Similar to how the scab is dried up extra weight lost dreams still sit in ones mind. Further use of symbolism in line six, "Does it stink like rotten meat?" A dream that is left out too long without the proper care it needs will start to stink like meat left out of the refrigerator.
The final line, "Or does it explode?" is representing an explosion like a bomb.
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Yet, it is hard to talk about poetry. ... Thus, defining poetry is not an easy task. ... Poetry is the deepest expression of thought and feeling. ... Cummings defines poetry emphasizing its impact upon a man. "Poetry is feeling - not knowing or believing or thinking."" ...
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