Harlem” and A Poet’s Notebook

A Poet’s Notebook

Harlem by Langston Hughes 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 sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode? Why is this stanza isolated? Scholars suggest that this stanza refers to the growing Civil Rights Movement that took flight in the years after the poem was written. The Civil Rights Movement was an explosion of activism that addressed racial discrimination and sought to secure equal rights for Black Americans. Look at how Hughes emphasizes the question in this first stanza by rhyming “sun” with “run.” He compares the image of a raisin drying up with that of an oozing, festering sore. What are the contrasts between those two images? This stanza follows the same technique as above. The rotting of meat is contrasted to something syrupy sweet. How do those images make you feel? Notice how this is the only line in the poem that does not pose a question. It is different than the final stanza both in structure and in style. This suggests the weight of a burden, while the final line suggests an explosion.