The Harlem
The poem was written by Langston Hughes in 1950 and it comprises 11 lines Mackay (2007). It derived its title from a neighborhood in New York that became a center of the Harlem Renaissance that the writer was part of in the 1920s. The writer sums up the white oppression of blacks in America by questioning and explaining what could happen if dreams and hope do not come to fruition. He uses literary devices to express his ideas which include similes. The analysis shows similes to answer a question that the poet puts across “What happens to a dream deferred?” (Line1).
Use of similes in the poem
A simile is when a writer uses words like or as and in the poem there are a series of them used to compare a dream deferred to rotting, aging, or burdensome items to put more emphasis on the description and what will become of the dream. Examples of similes include “dries up like a raisin in the sun” (Line 2&3), “festers like a sore” (Line 4 &5), “stinks like rotten meat” (Line 6), “crust and sugar over –like a syrupy sweet” (Line 8&9) and “sags like a heavy load” (Line 9&10). The first four comparisons suggest neglect and abandonment while the last one relates to a burden and by its very nature reflects depression thereby implying that a dream requires hard work, attention, and care for it to be fulfilled.
The poet achieves his intention of projecting the frustrations that the African Americans face by having their dreams delayed, set aside, or dream to attain success by comparing it to ordinary and tangible things that the audience can relate.
References
McKay, C. (2007). A long way from home. Rutgers University Press.