Dream Deferred
By: Langston Hughes

In this poem, Langston Hughes questions what happens when we put off a dream.  Does it eventually just go away?  Or is it possible for it to occur later?  Hughes gets his purpose across with the use of literary techniques, such as rhetorical questions, similes, and rhymes.  All of these are weaved throughout the poem, and they make his short poem carry a much deeper meaning.  The rhetorical questions cause readers to consider what does happen to dreams that are put off.  The similes are very descriptive and make readers really understand the possibilities.  Hughes uses the similes "like a raisin in the sun," "like a sore," "like rotten meat," "like a syrupy sweet," and "like a heavy load."  All of these similes are unique and cause readers to think more deeply about Hughes questions.  In addition to these techniques, Hughes uses rhymes.  Lines 3 and 5 complement each other by rhyming the words "sun" and "run."  Lines 6 and 8 do this with "meat" and "sweet."  Also, lines 10 and 11 are a couplet, ending with "load" and "explode."  I think that Hughes did this to emphasize his rhetorical questions.  By rhyming lines, he keeps readers engaged and interested in his poetry.