Dreams Deferred

Dreams Deferred The poem, “A Dream Deferred,” by Langston Hughes, accurately and descriptively portrays the attitudes of African American people during the mid 1900’s. Hughes expresses the possible responses of African Americans to their dreams being deferred by means of metaphors and similes. The first thing the reader needs to do to understand this poem is find out what a dream deferred means. Deferred means to put something off or to postpone it. In this …

…Dream Deferred,” because it speaks about the black community of Harlem’s dreams and their frustration at not gaining economic and social equality. However, if an individual should read this poem not knowing about its background they could conclude that it was meant for all types of dreams that are deferred. Because of Hughes’ usage of metaphors and similes, “A Dream Deferred” reaches a wide range of audiences and provokes critical examination of his similes.