ENGL1102: A Symbolic Analysis of Langston Hughes's Poem 'Harlem'

This essay provides an analysis of Langston Hughes's poem "Harlem," focusing on the theme of a 'dream deferred' and the various symbols used to represent this concept. The analysis explores how the poem reflects the aspirations of African-Americans and the potential consequences of unfulfilled dreams. Symbols such as a raisin drying in the sun, a festering sore, and rotten meat are examined to illustrate the potential outcomes of postponing dreams, including loss of value, resentment, and eventual decay. The essay concludes that Hughes effectively uses these symbols to convey the emotional and social impact of deferred dreams, suggesting a potential for explosive consequences.

Brittani Hazell
Ms. Parks
ENGL1102
10 March. 2019
Analysis of Poem "Harlem” by Langston Hughes
Introduction
“Harlem” is the poem written by Langston Hughes. It is about a “Dream Deferred”,
which means a dream that has been long postponed. It is about the dreams African-Americans
have for equality, freedom, opportunity, dignity and success. Although, the poem does not
provide a specific example of the ‘dream deferred’, it does provide various symbols relating to a
dream deferred. In “Harlem,” the narrator uses symbols to define a dream deferred. Therefore,
this essay will discuss various symbols in Hughes’s poem that symbolises a dream deferred or a
dream that has been postponed and has lost its significance.
Analysis of ‘Harlem’
Harlem is the poem written by Hughes, which reflects the life of African-American
people living in the United States. The poem represents the dreams and aspirations of African
Americans and explores the potential consequences that may occur when a dream is not fulfilled.
The poem explains that in life, people have certain expectations for themselves in how they want
to live their lives. The main theme of the poem is about a dream ‘deferred’ and so, the author has
used many symbols to explain what could happen to a dream ‘deferred (Jordan 888). In "Harlem

(A Dream Deferred)", Hughes also uses powerful sensory imagery to show the emotions of a
deferred dream and what happens when a quest is not fulfilled (Watson 158).
Hughes starts his poem with the question “what happens to a dream deferred?”. He has
asked this question to the people whose dreams do not materialise. Therefore, the first symbol
from “Harlem” is “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” (Line 2 and 3). This symbol compares
an unfulfilled dream to a grape that has lost its juice under the sun. The author is explaining that
a dream deferred is like a raisin that has dried up under the sun and has become useless (Manuel
79). The symbol of the dried-up raisin is also used to symbolise that like a dried-up raisin, a
dream deferred could perhaps become useless and may lose its value and so it will not serve its
purpose in a person’s life. With the symbol of the sun, the author is relating that time is
significant because a dream deferred is also related to time. Therefore, a dream that is postponed
or deferred, will go through the process of evolution and may not remain as important to a person
as it once was.
Another symbol of a dream deferred that the author has used in “Harlem” is that of a
wound that has not yet healed. The sentence reads, “Or fester like a sore-and then run?” (line 4
and 5). The image this symbol creates is stronger than a raisin. This symbol compares a dream
with a kind of resentment that continues to grow. If a person wants a wound to heal, it can only
be healed if it dries up. However, if a wound were fester and run this means the wound has
become infected and will get worse if not treated (Manuel 81). Therefore, the author draws a
similarity between an unhealed wound and a dream deferred, and thus symbolises a wound to
define a dream deferred. It also symbolises that like with any untreated wound, it will become
infected and become worse. A dream deferred is the same and will not go away and with time it
may become more intense (Hughes 45).

A wound that will not heal, will eventually get worse and will also smell bad. Therefore,
the author asks another question that is “Does it stink like rotten meat?” (line 6). With this
question the author tries to define a dream deferred with the symbol of rotten meat. There could
be two important interpretations of this symbol. First, is that a dream deferred can result in
bringing out the worst in people and second, is that a delayed realization of a dream can also
result in making it less attractive (Hughes 5). Another interpretation of this symbol is that
deferring a dream may also lead to dissatisfaction and restlessness and may lead to criminal
activity (Steele 75).
Conclusion
The main idea behind this essay is to conduct an analysis of the poem “Harlem”, and to
identify that in this poem, the narrator uses symbols to define a dream deferred. This essay has
identified that the author has used various symbols to define a dream deferred, which is a dream
or aspiration that has been postponed for a long time and through the course of time, has lost its
meaning and purpose. Hughes cleverly used these symbols to explain how a dream deferred
could potentially erupt like an explosion.

Works Cited
Hughes, Langston. "A dream deferred." Adventures in Reading, 1951. Print.
Hughes, Langston. "Harlem." Selected Poems of Langston Hughes, 1994. Print.
Jordan, Glenn. "Re-Membering the African-American Past: Langston Hughes, Aaron Douglas
and Black Art of the Harlem Renaissance." Cultural Studies 25.6 2011: 848-891. Print.
Manuel, Carme. "Mule Bone: Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston's Dream Deferred of an
African-American Theatre of the Black Word." African American Review 35.1 2001: 77-
92. Print.
Steele, Shelby. A dream deferred: The second betrayal of Black freedom in America. Harper
Collins, 2009. Print.
Watson, Steven. The Harlem Renaissance: Hub of African-American Culture, 1920-1930. New
York: Pantheon Books, 1995.