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“Children’s Rhymes” by Langston Hughes (1926)
While Hughes doesn’t explicitly mention race in “Dreams,” his speaker in “Children’s Rhymes” directly addresses the racial dynamic of dreams. The speaker—a Black child—grasps that white people have hopes that Black people lack. As the speaker quips, “I know I can’t / be President” (Lines 4-5). The poem also touches on immobility when the speaker states, “We know everybody / ain’t free” (Lines 9-10). The adversity doesn’t defeat the speaker. They challenge the prejudiced status quo and, arguably, hold onto their dreams.
“Harlem” by Langston Hughes (1951)
In “Harlem,” dreams continue to symbolize hope. Instead of a metaphor, Hughes uses a series of unbecoming similes (a comparison using “like” or “as”) to highlight how “a dream deferred” (Line 1) negatively impacts a person's life. The images are as disquieting as the illustrations of the hurt bird and frozen field: There’s a dry raisin in the sun, a festering sore, and a pile of rotting meat. Conversely, Hughes’s speaker allows for mobility. The dream might “explode” (Line 11) on its own and take off despite the repression.
“The Crazy Woman” by Gwendolyn Brooks (1960)
The 20th-century poet and novelist Gwendolyn Brooks subverts “Dreams.
By Langston Hughes
Children’s Rhymes
Langston Hughes
Cora Unashamed
Langston Hughes
Harlem
Langston Hughes
I look at the world
Langston Hughes
I, Too
Langston Hughes
Let America Be America Again
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Me and the Mule
Langston Hughes
Mother to Son
Langston Hughes
Mulatto
Langston Hughes
Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life
Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston
Not Without Laughter
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Slave on the Block
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Thank You, M'am
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The Big Sea
Langston Hughes
Theme for English B
Langston Hughes
The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain
Langston Hughes
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
Langston Hughes
The Ways of White Folks
Langston Hughes
The Weary Blues
Langston Hughes
Tired
Langston Hughes