The widespread disillusionment that plagued humanity in the early 20th century is central to the modernist movement, where new and critical ways of thinking led to an unveiling of ideas about purpose, progress, and stability within society. Welcome to the 2024 Sydney Poetry Convention, where we will be asking, Do I dare disturb the universe? My name is Elise and today as part of our exploration of changing worlds I will be delving into key modernist texts and art which challenge societal attitudes, thus contributing to the pivotal shift in thought during the Modernist era. African American poet Langston Hughes and T.S. Elliot both individually point out the specific disillusionment within these poems, expressing their disillusionment with society …show more content…
A significant figure in the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes, ponders the consequences of the festering frustration which comes with deferred dreams. In his free verse poem, Harlem (dream deferred), Hughes explores various metaphorical ways in which a dream becomes dismissed, referring to the Great American Dream where equality was promised but not delivered. The metaphor Will fester like a sore and then run, envisions a scenario where bitterness comes to light after long concealment, relating to the ways that African Americans have suffered the sores of slavery, injustice and unfulfilled dreams. Hugh furthermore conveys his unrest within civilisation with the metaphorical question, does it stink like rotten meat? The olfactory imagery evokes an unpleasant image in the reader's mind, emphasising the deterioration of a dream. What was crucial has become foul. The contemplation of delayed dreams ends in a climax, intended to leave the reader in hopeful anticipation, with the final line or does it explode? The sudden shift from the poem's negative tone suggests a new direction, relating to the Harlem Renaissance which was an explosion of dreams for the black arts movement. Through the exploration of deferred dreams Hughes challenges the unjust nature of his nation, therefore reflecting
In his poems, Langston Hughes treats racism not just a historical fact but a “fact” that is both personal and real. Hughes often wrote poems that reflect the aspirations of black poets, their desire to free themselves from the shackles of street life, poverty, and hopelessness. He also deliberately pushes for artistic independence and race pride that embody the values and aspirations of the common man. Racism is real, and the fact that many African-Americans are suffering from a feeling of extreme rejection and loneliness demonstrate this claim. The tone is optimistic but irritated. The same case can be said about Wright’s short stories. Wright’s tone is overtly irritated and miserable. But this is on the literary level. In his short stories, he portrays the African-American as a suffering individual, devoid of hope and optimism. He equates racism to oppression, arguing that the African-American experience was and is characterized by oppression, prejudice, and injustice. To a certain degree, both authors are keen to presenting the African-American experience as a painful and excruciating experience – an experience that is historically, culturally, and politically rooted. The desire to be free again, the call for redemption, and the path toward true racial justice are some of the themes in their
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement during the 1920s and 1930s, in which African-American art, music and literature flourished. It was significant in many ways, one, because of its success in destroying racist stereotypes and two, to help African-Americans convey their hard lives and the prejudice they experienced. In this era, two distinguished poets are Langston Hughes, who wrote the poem “A Dream Deferred” and Georgia Douglas Johnson who wrote “My Little Dreams”. These two poems address the delayment of justice, but explore it differently, through their dissimilar uses of imagery, tone and diction.
Hughes, a.k.a. Langston, a.k.a. “Harlem [Dream Deferred]” The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer.
This image is the author’s perspective on the treatment of “his people” in not only his hometown of Harlem, but also in his own homeland, the country in which he lives. The author’s dream of racial equality is portrayed as a “raisin in the sun,” which “stinks like rotten meat” (Hughes 506). Because Hughes presents such a blatantly honest and dark point of view such as this, it is apparent that the author’s goal is to ensure that the reader is compelled to face the issues and tragedies that are occurring in their country, compelled enough to take action. This method may have been quite effective in exposing the plight of African-Americans to Caucasians. It can be easily seen that Hughes chooses a non-violent and, almost passive method of evoking a change. While Hughes appears to be much less than proud of his homeland, it is apparent that he hopes for a future when he may feel equal to his fellow citizens, which is the basis of the “dream” that has been
Langston Hughes uses a profusion of similes in "Harlem" "Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" This simile compares a dream deferred to gross food that has dried up. Similarly, when you give up on your dream, it dries up. "Or fester like a sore?" This simile shows that a dream deferred can be painful, and stay in your thoughts for your whole life. Langston Hughes uses similes to convey his theme in Harlem.
Langston Hughes was an activist for the African-American community and made significant artistic contributions to the Harlem Renaissance throughout his career. In one of his most famous poems, “Harlem [Dream Deferred]”, he addresses the limitations and oppression of African Americans after the Great Depression. Many African Americans dreamed of equality, but often times that dream became neglected and pushed aside. In his poem, Hughes responds to a question about a deferred dream with a series of vivid similes, inquiring what happens to a constantly ignored dream.
It tends to permeate their thoughts and becomes an unshakable burden. In the poem “Harlem,” Langston Hughes, through literary technique, raises strong themes through a short amount of language. The poem begins with a question: "What happens to a dream deferred?” The speaker of the poem at this point is unnamed. By not knowing the speaker, the question is strengthened, as the deferred dream is the dreams and desires of all the people within the African American community.
...ss, representing the truth of the times. The majority of the problems influence only the one dreamer, however, the ending suggests that, when despair is everywhere, it may "explode" and cause social and political uprising. “Harlem” brings to light the anxiety between the need for Negro expression and the opposition to that need because of society’s subjugation of its black populace. His lines confront the racist and unjust attitude common in American society before the civil rights movement of the 1960s. it expresses the belief that black wishes and dreams were irrelevant should be ignored. His closing rhetorical question—“Or does [a dream deferred] explode?”—is aggressive, a testimony that the inhibition of black dreams might result in a revolution. It places the blame for this possible revolution on the domineering society that forces the deferment of the dream.
Langston Hughes was probably the most well-known literary force during the Harlem Renaissance. He was one of the first known black artists to stress a need for his contemporaries to embrace the black jazz culture of the 1920s, as well as the cultural roots in Africa and not-so-distant memory of enslavement in the United States. In formal aspects, Hughes was innovative in that other writers of the Harlem Renaissance stuck with existing literary conventions, while Hughes wrote several poems and stories inspired by the improvised, oral traditions of black culture (Baym, 2221). Proud of his cultural identity, but saddened and angry about racial injustice, the content of much of Hughes’ work is filled with conflict between simply doing as one is told as a black member of society and standing up for injustice and being proud of one’s identity. This relates to a common theme in many of Hughes’ poems: that dignity is something that has to be fought for by those who are held back by segregation, poverty, and racial bigotry.
Hughes, Langston. "Harlem (A Dream Deferred)." Literature and the Writing Process. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X. Day, and Robert Funk. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River. Prentice, 2002. 534.
In the short poem, “Harlem” by Langston Hughes, the speaker portrays a “dream deferred” as limitations African American individual’s faced as well as giving modern day African Americans the inspiration to follow their dreams and aspirations through the use of
“Harlem” by Langston Hughes is a poem that talks about what happens when we postpones our dreams. The poem is made up of a series of similes and it ends with a metaphor. The objective of the poem is to get us to think about what happens to a dream that is put off, postponed; what happens when we create our very own shelve of dreams? The “dream” refers to a goal in life, not the dreams we have while sleeping, but our deepest desires. There are many ways to understand this poem; it varies from person to person. Some may see this poem as talking about just dreams in general. Others may see it as African-American’s dreams.
One of Hughes’ most well known poems, “Harlem”, talks about a dream deferred. Hughes’ main message
This poem displayed the hardships of the African American community by using a series of questions that all have negative connotations. These questions are ultimately ways to answer an even bigger question, “What happens to a dream deferred?”. To answer this question, Hughes starts off by writing, “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” He continues with, “Does it stink like rotten meat?” His final response is “Or does it explode?”
Hughes compassionately states that it is okay to feel lost throughout life, but it is not okay to give up completly. Finally, there is “Harlem”. This poem famously(change) Hughes’s stance on the Harlem Renissance. This poem explains the wonders of what happened to a defrered dream.