An Analysis of Langston Hughes Poetry

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” (King).In his poems, “Dream Deferred,” “Dreams” and “As I Grew Older,” Langston Hughes (1902-1967) considers the importance of dreams. Although these poems characterize the inequality of African-Americans reflected in King’s words, they appeal to any form of oppression. Through his metaphoric language, Hughes convinces us that the loss of our dreams most likely causes us to be different individuals than we would have been otherwise. These compelling poems lay out the consequences of stifled dreams; and on reflection of his poignant words, we can see that when we ignore a person’s potential or his worth as a human being, it is a global loss.

Hughes uses several graphic similes in his poem “Deferred Dreams,” comparing the loss of dreams to”…a raisin in the sun.” Once plump, succulent grapes subtly sweet and near perfection, they — like hope, talent, and possibilities that are suppressed– dry up and become “raisin(s) in the sun.” Moreover, the effect of a person not realizing their potential is like a festering sore which may smell as bad as “rotten meat.” Conversely, his assertion that deferred dreams may “…crust and sugar over/like a syrupy sweet” indicts the necessarily obsequious behavior by some people of color. Because of their position in society, they had to kowtow to white people: “yes, ma’am, yes sir…” The line, “maybe (deferred dreams) just sag like a heavy load,” indicates the oppression of his race. When Hughes asks, “or does it explode,” he is suggesting that the response to this unfair treatment will be an explosion of anger and violence.

Hughes’ poem, “Dreams,” echoes the loss seen in “Dream Deferred,” Here he uses the haunting metaphor of a broken-winged bird that cannot fly to illustrate a life without dreams. Dreams are the impetus that gives us wings to fly and makes life worth living. Hughes wanted all people to imagine what it would be like to be told no, you cannot ever realize your dreams. In his second metaphor, life is a “…barren field/ frozen with snow; here, in this barren field, the broken bird — dreams — goes to die.” This visual of frozen snow conjures up a winter burial. Again this loss can refer to anyone, but more specifically Hughes represented African-Americans in his poetry.

In “As I Grew Older,” the speaker defines the loss of his dreams as a suffocating shadow, a wall that allows no passage. Long ago, when he was young, his dream was “…in front of me-/ bright like a sun.” But this wall became a barrier to his dreams. It was so high that it “rose until it touched the sky.” The wall is a metaphor for circumstances that stand in one’s way – a wall which is so suffocating that as the speaker lies down he only sees the wall and its shadow. But here as not seen in the other two poems, it appears Hughes is sketching a more positive outcome. Whereas in “Dream Deferred,” the loss of dreams can lead to a possible “explosion,” and in “Dreams, “life is a broken winged bird,” here he speaks more positively of wanting to “break through the wall,” and asking for help “to shatter this darkness.” By shattering these inhibiting circumstances – whether they are formed because of race, age, sex, or religion imposed either by self or society, we can “…break this shadow/into a thousand lights of sun/into a thousand whirling dreams/of sun!”

In Hughes era, great strides were being made toward racial equality by many African-Americans- writers including Hughes himself as well as by everyday people such as celebrated Rosa Parks who refused to give up her bus seat. The beloved minister Martin Luther King became the cornerstone of the civil right’s movement with his eloquent oratory skills and compassion. In the final words of his “I Have a Dream” speech, King’s hope is that -“…all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!” Today as Barack Obama has won the democratic presidential nomination, one wonders how Hughes would have viewed this long overdue pinnacle of glory. Perhaps at last one day, when we all “join hands” as King says, our dreams will be realized as they appear “bright as the sun (Hughes)” before all races.