Dream Deferred

Langston Hughes

While reading "Dream Deferred", by Langton Hughes, there were a a few things that struck me. First, I noticed repetition in the layout. There was repeated use of question marks and similes. Another thing I noticed is that the last like of the poem: "Or does it explode?" (Hughes), is a metaphor rather than a simile. While I initially did not understand this poem, after talking it over with some peers, I came to the conclusion that the poem was about The Civil Rights Movement. The dream is the African American dream of equality. They have been set aside, and treated poorly for so long, that they finally explode, and fight for their rights. After a bit of research into the poem, it appears it is also named "Harlem". This seems to show that the poem is about the oppression of the African American population, coming up to the Civil Rights Movement.