Dreams Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes

Name/Block/Date:

“Harlem” (“Dream Deferred”) and “Dreams”, by Langston Hughes

Harlem

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?

Dreams

Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That canot fly.

Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow.

(a)Consider the following themes: dream, disillusionment, poverty and frustrations. (b)Identify the use of similes and metaphors in the poems.

Discuss and answer the following questions about" Dream Deferred": 1 List the verbs used to indicate what can happen to "a dream deferred." 2 What does the mention of Harlem imply about the subject of this poem? 3 With what kind of dream do you think the poem is concerned? Identify five similes in the poem. What do you think the speaker is suggesting in each simile? 4 Interpret the last line. Why people need to feel they can fulfill their dreams?

Discuss and answer the following questions about "Dream": 1 To what does the speaker compare life in the first stanza? 2 Interpret the metaphors. What does each suggest about life? 3 Restate in your own words the advice that this poem offers. The American poet Name/Block/Date:

Delmore Schwarts once wrote," In dreams begin responsibilities." How might Hughes interpret this statement? Base your answer on the poems you have just read.

Assignement- Individual Poem: Write a poem reflecting your attitude toward "dreams". Base your understanding of the dream on Hughes's poems. Due by 4/7 ~Extra points for artistic accompaniment… song? art? dance? spoken word?