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Jan 15, 2016 · Undoubtedly one of Langston Hughes’ best-known works, ‘Montage of a Dream Deferred,’ also commonly known as ‘Harlem,’ is a book-length poem. The poem is noted for its musical qualities and its direct depictions of the inequality of the “American Dream.” Hughes refers directly to the people of Harlem.
In “Harlem,” Langston Hughes asks one of American poetry’s most famous questions: what happens to a dream deferred? This question echoes throughout American culture, from Broadway to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches.
‘Harlem’ is a short poem by Langston Hughes (1901-67). Hughes was a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance in New York in the 1920s. Over the course of a varied career he was a novelist, playwright, social activist, and journalist, but it is for his poetry that Hughes is now best-remembered.
- Background of The Poem
- Harlem Summary
- Themes in Harlem
- Harlem Analysis
Literary Context
Harlem Renaissance in literature, music, and art started in the 1910s and 1920s. The writers of the Harlem renaissance are mainly from the community in Harlem. They deal with the problems and everyday life experiences of black people in Harlem. Langston Hughes was one of the leading writers of the Harlem renaissance. The movement sought to explore the black experiences and put them in the center. They attempt to formulate a distinctly black aesthetic instead of following the norms and models...
Historical Context
The historical context of the poem “Harlem” is linked with its literary context. The historical context of the poem is very important to understand the poem. The history of Harlem is involved in the historical context. More than six million African Americans moved to cities in the Midwestern, northern, and western parts of the United States from the rural South during the Great Migration in the early twentieth century. There, the white supremacist violence and state-sectioned racism that incl...
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? The poem opens with the speaker asking questions from the reader/listeners, “What happens to a dream deferred?”Over here, the word “deferred” means postponed. T...
The Cost of Social Injustice
The poem “Harlem is written in 1951, almost ten years before the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Langston Hughes also wrote about the consequences of the Harlem riots in 1935 and 1943. Both of the riots were ignited by the pervasive unemployment, segregation, and the brutality of the police in the black community. In the poem, Langston Hughes deals with this time period of African American history. The very title of the poem “Harlem” places it in a historically immigrant and black neighborhood in t...
The Individual and the Community
The poem “Harlem” can be read and interpreted in two ways. First of all, the deferred dream can be taken as a collective dream of a community. The dream can also be taken as an individual dream. The poem proposes that in the black community, the individual and the collective dreams are connected with each other. Therefore, it is not possible to realize the individual dream without the realization of the collective dream of equality. The obvious can be taken as an account of the deferral of a...
Langston Hughes’s poem “Harlem” mirrors the post-World War II mood of millions of African Americans. When the poem was written, a period of the Great Depression was over; likewise, the great World War II was also over. However, the dream of African Americans was still deferred or postponed. Langston Hughes takes the dream very seriously, no matter ...
Decoding the Meaning Behind Langston Hughes’ “Harlem (Dream Deferred)”: A Literary Analysis. Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem (Dream Deferred)” is a powerful piece of literature that explores the consequences of unfulfilled dreams. In this literary analysis, we will delve into the meaning behind Hughes’ words and examine the themes of the poem.
Harlem resonates with themes of deferred dreams and the emotional and societal impact they bear. By exploring this poem, we delve into a significant piece of literary history that continues to echo today’s discussions about hopes, dreams, and racial inequality.
Meanings of Harlem. The poem Harlem demonstrates not only the ability of the poet to present the dream in sensory experience but also the qualification of the poem to be celebrated as a representative poem of the African American community regarding their ghettoized dreams in Harlem in New York.
