Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes was the most popular and versatile of the many talented black writers connected with the Harlem Renaissance, he wanted to capture the dominant oral improvisatory traditions of black culture in written form .
Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri, and in childhood, since his parents were separated, he lived mainly with his maternal grandmother. He did, however, reside intermittently both with his mother in Detroit and Cleveland, where he finished high school and began to write poetry, and with his father, who, disgusted with American racism, had gone to Mexico. In eighth grade, Hughes was selected as class poet, and during high school he was a frequent contributor to his school's monthly magazine. His first professionally published poem, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," appeared in the magazine The Crisis when Hughes was just nineteen years old. After studying for a short time at Columbia University, Hughes spent the next several years writing poetry and traveling the world as a seaman.
Like other poets in this era – T.S. Eliot, Hart Crane, Edgar Lee Masters, and Robert Frost- Hughes had a mother sympathetic to his poetic ambition and a businesslike father with whom he was in deep, scarring conflict.
Hughes resigned himself to entering Columbia University in the
fall of 1921, but he didn’t like it. With one year in studying in Columbia, he decided not to return , but settled in Harlem and looked for work. He soon realized that, for a negro, this was not an easy matter. A Greek truck-gardener finally hired him. But at the end of the season, he had to try his luck elsewhere . A florist took him on as a delivery boy, but this was only to tide him over. For Hughes felt a too-long-denied yearning for adventure rising with him, and the desire to free himself from all the shackles of the past.
The sea was calling him and , beyond it , the ancestral land of Africa. He signed up on a cargo vessel in June 1923, and during the periods spent in port he was able to see something of the west African coast. But, before the hawsers were dropped , he insisted on proving to himself that one chapter of his life had come to an end .
Upon his return from Africa, he signed up on a vessel to Holland. But when it put into port for the second time at Rotterdam in February 1924, he decided to jump ship and make his way to Paris, this being an old dream for him. There, every morning American jazz musicians gathered for a jam session. Then, he went to Northern Italy, travelling with one of his fellow employees. Finally, he found a vessel heading him for New York whose captain let him pay his way by doing minor jobs on board. After a number of calls in Naples, Sicily and Spain, he once found himself in Harlem on November 1924.
His poetry
Like all the Harlem Renaissance writers (many of whom were not Harlemites), Hughes faced many difficulties in writing a self- proclaimed “Negro” poetry. Could or should and individual speak for an entire “race”? If he or she tried to, wouldn’t that speech tend to homogenize and stereotype a divers people? Harlem poets, aware that the audience for their poetry was almost all white, had to consider whether a particular image of black people would help or harm the cause. To the extent that they felt compelled to idealize black folk, their work risked lapsing into racist primitivism. African American writers questioned, too, whether their work should emphasize their similarities to or differences from whites. Hughes response to these problems was to turn his focus from the rural black population toward the city folk. The shift to the contemporary urban context freed Hughes from the concerns over primitivism; he could be a realist and modernist. He could use stanza forms deriving from blues music and adapt the vocabulary of everyday black speech to poetry without affirming stereotypes. And he could insist that whatever the differences between black and white Americans, all Americans were equally entitled to liberty, justice and opportunity
The Rise of Jazz Music
Jazz is a uniquely American musical style created by drawing from both traditional African and popular American music. The earliest versions of jazz featured elements of ragtime, blues, hymns, and even military marches, and appeared in numerous African American urban and cultural centers across the United States in the first two decades of the twentieth century
Langston Hughes derived great inspiration from the everyday scenes and sounds of his surroundings. He was especially inspired by jazz and blues, spending hours in the nightclubs of Harlem and Washington, D.C., listening and writing. “I tried to write poems like the songs they sang on Seventh Street,” he said of his verse. This influence is apparent in much of his work and can be seen clearly in such poems as "The Weary Blues," "Jazzonia," "Harlem Night Club," "The South," and Montage of a Dream Deferred. The poet's relationship to music stretches far beyond the rhythms and images of his poems, however: he also wrote musicals, operas, and cantatas, and he collaborated with several composers and jazz musicians.
His realations with other poets
Hughes cited
Walt Whitman as one of the greatest influences on his poetry. Hughes' poetry, like Whitman's, is prophetic, all-encompassing, and spoken from the heart.In his poems Hughes both implicitly and explicitly responds to the great poet of freedom and democracy,
Walt Whitman.
Like Whitman, Hughes constructs a poem that not only connects the individual to the land, to particular geographical places but also to history and to a distinctive culture, making the poem, like a vehicle by which one flows through one space into another.
Of course, poets have been using the first person for centuries, but Whitman and Hughes both use the lyric “I” in ways unlike other poets. For one thing, the “I” in the poems does not really stand for the literal, biographical human beings Walt Whitman and Hughes. In some of their poems, the poets use the lyric persona to let the individual stand for many, or, to be more precise, to stand for everyone. Whitman lays the groundwork for Hughes; he establishes the ability for the lyric “I” to stand for both the individual and society.
- Both of their poems works not ONLY just on a cultural or spiritual level , BUT also works on apolitical level .
- Also their poems are deceptively COMPLEX . On the surface , they seem easily accessible or even simple . But , in almost every instance , the poem carry a subtext of anger or resistance or outrage . yet , Hughes is able to make his vision palatable to white audiences .
Whitman turns America into a kind of myth. He says in his introduction to Song of Myself that America is itself the greatest poem. Similarly, Hughes elevates the experiences and history of African Americans to the level of myth. Through one of his poems, Hughes suggests that African Americans are themselves a great poem and a masterful epic.
One of Gwendolyn’s “race heroes” was her close friend Langston Hughes. She was greatly impressed by his poem “The Weary Blues”. She paid the highest tribute to Hughes as “the noble poet, the efficient essayist, the adventurous dramatist
who strongly influenced her life and her art.”
Many parallels may be drawn between Brooks and Hughes in their ways of expressing the “Black experience”; these would involve their African heritage and the absorption of blues, jazz and street language into their poetry.
Brooks admired the way in which Hughes befriended younger poets (like herself) and helped to pave the road for their literary successes. Brooks would later pay special tribute to her close friend in a poem entitled “Langston Hughes”.
This poem pleased Hughes very much. The poet describes Hughes as a luminous guide, one who is determined that the American dream should apply to all peoples. He twists away from the bonds of slavery, racism and discrimination. She considered him as a hero while she was appreciating his efforts in leading others to freedom.
Brooks has influenced highly by Hughes, their poetry reflected the distinctive lifestyle of their people. Their poetry became revolutionary, extolling their Blackness and their grief
His Book Montage of Dream Deferred
"What happens to a dream deferred?" That question—one of the most famous lines of poetry to issue from the pen of an American writer—captures the essence of Langston Hughes's 1951 work Montage of a Dream Deferred. In this tightly interwoven collection, the "dream deferred" is the collective dream of the African Americans. Although slavery was abolished nearly a century before, black Americans in the 1940s and 1950s were still not seen as equals in the eyes of the general public nor, often, in the eyes of local and state lawmakers. While white Americans were riding a wave of post-World War II prosperity toward the fulfillment of their vision of the American dream, most blacks were left waiting for their opportunity to join in the country's success.
A montage is an artistic work that consists of smaller pieces of art combined into a unified whole that reveals a larger picture or meaning. This is an accurate description of Montage of a Dream Deferred, which Hughes preferred to think of as a single, book-length poem. Recurring themes and phrases occur throughout the smaller poetic works that make up the book; in fact, the book begins and ends with the same two lines: "Good morning, daddy! / Ain't you heard?”
Montage of a Dream Deferred opens, returns to often, and closes with the idea of dreams deferred. It is present in the "Boogie" poems, as well as several others. Early in the collection is the fiveline "Tell Me," which asks why the narrator's dream has to be deferred for so long
The Poem
A Dream Deferred
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?
Introduction
"Harlem" is a lyric poem that sums up the white oppression of blacks in America.
As a black man in a time period where African-Americans were considered an inferior group of people. People’s dreams and goals would have been difficult to realize.
Langston Hughes aptly expresses his frustrations in his poem, "Dream Deferred." As people read this poem, in any time period, they can relate to the simple universal message that the poet expressed.
Hughes is very expressive in how he feels about dreams he has had and his frustration and the fact that he is unable to pursue or fulfill those dreams.
Langston Hughes was a blues writer who often wrote in rhetoric. this poem in particular is a collection of rhetorical questions in the form of thoughts
The meaning of the title and the poem
The title, "Dream Deferred", is a symbol in itself. It represents the dream of racial equality.
Langston Hughes's poem "Dream Deferred" is basically about what happens to dreams when they are put on hold. Hughes probably intended for the poem to focus on the dreams of African-Americans in particular because he originally entitled the poem "Harlem," which is the capital of African American life in the United States; however, it is just as easy to read the poem as being about dreams in general and what happens when people postpone making them come true.
Hughes suggests that if we put a dream aside for long enough we will loose all hope of it ever being accomplished and, therefore, the dream will essentially die. As a result of this explosion the individual may become depressed, angry or filled with regret. The message behind this poem is that the time is now to accomplish our goals, if we put them aside it is sad but certain they will whither away. This poem does not choose the dream but leaves it up to the reader. The speaker's position is clear that any important dream or goal that must be delayed can have serious negative affects. This poem does not choose the dream but leaves it up to the reader. The speaker's position is clear that any important dream or goal that must be delayed can have serious negative affects.
It is obvious that the poem "A Dream Deferred" is written in three stanzas. The first stanza is longer, and it conveys a general idea, however the second and third stanzas are only two, and one line long, respectively. This places a special emphasis on this part of the poem.
In his poem, Hughes asks the reader to think by posing the question? What happens to a dream deferred?? The question 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 the bad effects of the dreams being postponed.
As we look at each question we find out what those affects are. With each question the speaker offers a possibility of each negative affect.
After reading the poem, we notice that the Lngston talks about three main things
Dreams: He's noticed that many people are deferring their dreams, and he's got something to say about it. As a way of reminding the world of how important dreams are, he offers a series of possible responses to the central question, "What happens when dreams are put on hold?"
Foodstuffs and Domestic Life: As he explores what happens when dreams are put on hold, our speaker uses a series of similes that compare the act of deferring dreams to some foodstuffs like raisins, meat and sugary syrup which shows that dreams are as important and as necessary as eating, cooking.
Violence and Oppression: If a dream is deferred too long, then it could explode into violence. When dreams are ignored, our speaker argues that the consequences can be really bad (even dangerous
Analysis
Line # 1,2,3:
The question Hughes poses in line one, "What happens to a dream deferred?" sets the environment for the plot and symbolism of the rest of the poem.
This symbol means that a dream that is disintegrating and dying like a raisin left out in the sun. The emphasis on the sun is important because it stresses time-we measure time by the sun's movement.
If a raisin is left out in the sun too long, it will inevitably die. The same principle can apply to a dream left in the mind too long. Like a raisin, a dream deferred shrivels up and turns dark because the sun has baked it. Like the raisin, the dream has been on hold for a long-time consequently, it has transformed into something very different than it once was. Here we can see the raisin, which used to be a moist but if a raisin is left in the sun to long it becomes too hard to eat. Similarly, a dream that continues to be postponed won't be the same as the original. This action of drying a raisin under the sun symbolizes a dream.
Line # 4,5:
If the dream does not dry up, maybe it will “fester like a sore— / And then run.” If you have a sore, you want it to dry up so it will heal, but if it festers and runs, that means it is infected and will take longer to heal. The dream that festers becomes infected with the disease of restlessness and dissatisfaction that may lead to criminal activity for those who are deferring the dream.
By comparing the dream to a sore on the body, the poet suggests that unfulfilled dreams become part of us, like scars.
Line# 6:
Does it stink like rotten meat? [Rotten meat smells REALLY BAD]
The speaker asks if the dream deferred stinks “like rotten meat.”
Meat that some people use for food will turn rancid and give off horrible odors if not used within a certain period of time. If the dream is not realized in a timely fashion, it may seem to decay because it dies.
It reinforces the idea that if you leave a dream out too long it will eventually begin to fester and rot like meat. The dream could begin to rot in the person’s mind or heart, which would cause them to become sick.
Line# 7,8:
If you leave pancake syrup or honey unused for several months, and you go back to fetch the bottle, you might find that there is crusty accumulation on the top of the bottle and the contents are no longer usable. Lack of use had formed that crust and delaying the dream could make the dream more difficult to be achieved and this could lead to feelings of depression.
Line# 9,10:
The second stanza is not a question but merely a “maybe” suggestion: maybe the dream-goal just sags like trying to carry something heavy. The dream not realized may become heavy to bear “in the mind” this lead to depression and mental lethargy.
Yet it also seems to relate again to the heavy work that men did during the time from of Hughes' life.
Line# 11:“
Or does it explode?” is the most powerful
line of the poem. It is separated from the other lines of the poem and italicized, adding emphasis to it visually. The concept of a dream exploding is a powerful conclusion of what could happen to the poet's or reader's dreams if they are pushed aside or unable to be pursued. The poet returns to the question again. If all the other possibilities of a deferred dream are bad with some worse than others, then the last possibility is the worst. "Or does it explode" it doesn’t literally mean your going to randomly explode. It can mean does it explode as in never come true and go away. Or it can mean does it explode as in come true and explode in a happy way bringing a force that pushes us to accomplish that dream that for so long has seemed unreachable.
In short
Hughes never says what happens, he merely takes a thought path in order to explore the potential choices. Dreams are good to shoot for, but don’t let them ruin your life trying to fulfill them. Someone who does not accomplish his/her dream can struggle and suffer a lot and then be destroyed by it.
A very good Interpretation
This poem means whatever the reader wants it to mean. At a literal level, the poem is so simple that it is almost impossible to find the "hidden meanings."
Perhaps this poem is the progress of blacks' life in America. First they burned under the sun (i.e. in the fields/like the raisin) then they posed a problem and rebelled (a sore and rotten meat) It could be referring to the rancid smell of the dangling lifeless bodies. then they were given civil rights and were happy (sugary sweet), but then they felt the burden of segregation (a sagging heavy load), and, although Langston Hughes did not write this poem with Dr. King in mind, the explosion would be the blacks becoming fed up with their situation and doing something about it
Main themes
In "A Dream Deferred" the theme
is not to put dreams aside, or you are going to have bad and negative effects.
Frustration: frustration characterized the mood of American blacks. The Civil War in the previous century had liberated them from slavery, and federal laws had granted them the right to vote, the right to own property, and so on. Hughes is clearly affected by inferiority. The narrator asks whether a dream becomes a dried-up fruit, a running sore, rotten meat, or a sweet that crusts and sugars over. He also asks whether the dream sags or explodes. All of these tropes enable to reader to see and smell the frustration of American blacks
Figures
Metaphor and Simile: Each question in the first stanza uses simile: “like a raisin in the sun,” “like a sore,”like rotten meat,” “like a syrupy sweet.” The second stanza which is not a question but a suggestion also uses simile “like a heavy load.” The last stanza uses metaphor, “does it explode?”
Symbols: The words and phrases, ?Or fester like a sore?(4), and ?Or crust and sugar over?(7) are both symbolic of the hard manual labor that African-Americans had during the early 1900 they worked hardly in the cotton and sugar fields, or with crops.
"A Dream Deferred" uses a dried up raisin to symbolize a broken dream.
“Sun” used to symbolize the time. We measure time by the suns movement.
Alliteration: An alliterating d appears in the first two lines, and an alliterating s in Lines 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9.
Structure and Techniques
"Harlem" consists of eleven lines broken into four stanzas.
The first question is, in fact, a question, introducing the theme of the poem. The following questions, however, are rhetorical. Their answers are obvious to the reader. Rhetorical questions have power because the reader (or listener, in the case of a speech) makes the connection between question and answer for himself. Also, Hughes' rhetorical questions create a catalog of powerful, disturbing similes, concluding suddenly with the implication of violence or destruction in the single final line.
Hughes describes the dreams failure with all five senses: you look at a raisin; you feel a sore; you smell rotten meat; you taste sugary sweet; and you hear it explode.
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. This irregularity gives these lines a jagged edge, like the edge of a shard of broken glass, enabling Hughes's message to lacerate its readers.
Although the poem does not imitate any format used by previous poets, it does exhibit regularities, including the following:
In each line except Line 7, the last syllable is stressed.
Six of the seven sentences in the poem are questions.
All of the sentences except the first and the last contain similes using like.
An alliterating d appears in the first two lines, and an alliterating s in Lines 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9.
Line 3 rhymes with Line 5; Line 6 rhymes with Line 8; Line 10 rhymes with Line 11.
Lines 4, 7, and 11 begin with or.
Lines 3, 8, and 10 begin with like
Form
Free Verse, Irregular Meter
Free, free, free! Six questions and one very meek declarative sentence compose the bones of this poem – it's a poem built of questions, and questions makes us think of uncertainty and the quest for knowledge.
The rime scheme
The rhyme scheme for "A Dream Deferred" is ABCDCEFEGHI.
Line 3 rhymes with Line 5; Line 6 rhymes with Line 8; Line 10 rhymes with Line 11.
Style
Hughes uses an irregular meter in the lines of "Harlem." That is, he stresses different syllables in each line and varies the length of each line. Together, the varied line lengths and meter create a sense of jagged, nervous energy that reinforces the poem's themes of increasing frustration.
Language
The poem by Langston Hughes uses symbolism, description, and figurative language.
Every line in this poem has a figurative, not literal, meaning and relates precisely to his experience in New York.
Tone
The tone is serous.
The overall tone of the poem is overwhelmingly negative but yet it manages to send a positive message.
Mood
At the beginning of this poem the mood that accompanies a dream deferred is a questioning one that begins a search for definition. This mood induces the reader to reflect upon the meaning of a dream deferred, preparing them for its development.
The feelings those accompany the theme range from foreboding to anger to gloom, creating a sense of each in the reader.
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