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Langston HughesA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
“Harlem” begins with a direct reference to a primary theme: dreams. Specifically, it asks “What happens to a dream deferred?” (Line 1). Using the indefinite article “a” instead of the definite article “the” widens the scope of the exploration.
Dreams in the poem are, in part, individual hopes held by people living in Harlem. But readers who can identify with the disappointments of blocked or delayed dreams may certainly see themselves in the poem, too.
Most specifically, the poem explores a collective dream for justice and an end to racial inequality. Titling the poem “Harlem” makes that clear even when it is read as a work separate from the book length Montage of a Dream Deferred.
Hughes’s poem examines one of the most cherished pieces of the American mythos: the American Dream and its promise that prosperity is achievable for anyone. Bigger, brighter, better futures for Americans and their children is a major part of the dream. “Harlem” asks what happens when the American Dream is made inaccessible to so many of its citizens. The poem exposes rot in the foundation.
Hughes’s poem explores change. Each of the possible effects of thwarted dreams involves transformation. Raisins dry into dust, healthy tissue develops sores, good meat turns rotten, and sweets become unpalatable.
By Langston Hughes
Children’s Rhymes
Children’s Rhymes
Langston Hughes
Cora Unashamed
Cora Unashamed
Langston Hughes
Dreams
Dreams
Langston Hughes
I look at the world
I look at the world
Langston Hughes
I, Too
I, Too
Langston Hughes
Let America Be America Again
Let America Be America Again
Langston Hughes
Me and the Mule
Me and the Mule
Langston Hughes
Mother to Son
Mother to Son
Langston Hughes
Mulatto
Mulatto
Langston Hughes
Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life
Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life
Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston
Not Without Laughter
Not Without Laughter
Langston Hughes
Slave on the Block
Slave on the Block
Langston Hughes
Thank You, M'am
Thank You, M'am
Langston Hughes
The Big Sea
The Big Sea
Langston Hughes
Theme for English B
Theme for English B
Langston Hughes
The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain
The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain
Langston Hughes
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
Langston Hughes
The Ways of White Folks
The Ways of White Folks
Langston Hughes
The Weary Blues
The Weary Blues
Langston Hughes
Tired
Tired
Langston Hughes
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