"A Dream Deferred"
Langston Hughes
This poem is composed almost entirely of rhetorical questions. Most obviously, an impact of the rhetorical questions is that, instead of providing a theory, the poem searches for a conclusion. To open the investigation, Hughes asks, "What happens to a dream deferred?" (Hughes). Afterward, Hughes refrains from convincing the reader of any of his suppositions. Instead, he seeks an answer from the reader.
Through a succession of six analogies (five questions and one guess), Hughes develops a general idea and then questions it. In the first four similes, he composes the degrading of valuable objects. Before that raisin dried in the sun, it was a grape; before that sore developed, it was smooth skin; before the meat spoiled, it was a potential steak; before that sweet crusted, it was a delightful treat. However, Hughes then shifts focus from an item with lost beauty to inhibiting luggage that may or may not still retain its value.
Still, Hughes leaves the reader with a question proposing that an abandoned dream might explode. Even though explosions typically cause great destruction and harm, a new element of direct action is provided. If the explosion causes destruction, unlike in the other analogies, a new energy would be taken causing direct outcomes. If the explosion is an explosion of initiative, then the effect of the abandoned dream is positive.
Throughout the poem, Hughes journeys with the reader to discover the effect of dreams deferred. Both progress through the idea that such dreams degrade and inhibit. However, Hughes ends the poem with the suggestion that, even when one deserts a dream, the dream will still directly impact the person for better or worse.
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