Figurative language

Poem: Dream defered by Langston Hudghs

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 sagslike a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

The first Stanza of the poem conveys a general idea.

Hughes uses a lot of vivid imagery or figurative language inside the poem to create pictures in the reader's mind. He also uses words such as "fester," "stink," "rotten," and "crust" to show the negative aspects of dreams deferred, and even the physical pain and deferring dreams can cause.

The image of the poem is central to the theme and impact the poem creates and Hughes uses the imagery as one of the most important aspects of the work. I believe that he uses this imagery as figurative language by making comparisons to dreams to the reality of what happens when they are not true or do not come true.

In his poem, it gives an impression that "sore which is festered" of reality is far away from the dream of equality he depicts so much with simile, personification and hyperbole, and that indicates how Hughes manages to blend figurative language into the poem effectively and for the most impact.

In, "A Dream Deferred," Langston Hughes uses similes to show the importance of dreams, "Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun." This symbol means that a dream that is disintegrating and dying like a raisin left out in the sun. Another example of a simile is, "Does it stink like rotten meat" and they all shows the exaggeration of the poem.

I felt that this poem is a gateway between reality and dream. It shows that his desperate calling for dreams and the truth that dreams will not come alive and you have to face the reality. As mentioned before, he also uses figurative language wisely to persuade people. That is why i like this poem.