In this poem, Langston Hughes uses vivid imagery and figurative language to explore the theme of deferred dreams. The speaker employs a series of rhetorical questions to convey the different possible outcomes of a dream that is put on hold or delayed.
Through the use of similes and metaphors, the speaker compares a deferred dream to a raisin drying up in the sun, a sore festering and running, rotten meat that stinks, or syrup that crusts over. These comparisons evoke a sense of decay, stagnation, and bitterness. The language used in these comparisons emphasizes the negative consequences of not pursuing one's dreams.
The final lines of the poem suggest that a deferred dream may eventually lead to an explosive or violent outcome. This image of a dream exploding conveys a sense of pent-up frustration and anger resulting from unfulfilled aspirations. Overall, the speaker's use of language in this poem effectively conveys the emotional weight and consequences of abandoning or delaying one's dreams.
How does the speaker employ language in the advancement of themes in poem.
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?[1]
1 answer