Langston Hughes Poems
Emily Wang
Hill
English 11H Period 4
27 January 2015
Poems by Langston Hughes
I Dream a World
1. Main idea of the poem?
The main intentions of the poem are presenting a world where blacks are equal to whites.
Langston Hughes wants a world that is fair, without the discriminations or segregations by society’s norms.
2. Tone?
The tone of the poem is filled with hope but also skepticism. The poem rhymes and is very easy to read. The rhymes give off a very light feel throughout the lines. As the poem progresses, you feel that a perfect equal world is actually unrealistic. At the end of the poem, the reader actually feels more in a dream than in the real world, which is why it cannot be necessarily assumed that Hughes, who wants equality, thinks it is possible to live equally.
3. figures of speech? imagery and or word choices?
Langston Hughes uses personification in his poem as he says that love will bless the earth.
As Hughes gives love the human ability to bless things, the poem has a greater impact on the reader. Love will bless the earth regardless of your race or color. Especially during the 1920s, segregation was a relatively large issue. Hughes also uses personification in the word greed as he says, “greed no longer saps the soul”. He refers to the universal soul, which includes both blacks and whites, however, greed has made white men inhumane.
4. is there anything ironic or symbolic?
The comparison between the word joy and the object pearl represents how precious his dream world is. In his dream, joy is present throughout, but in reality, joy is quite rare like a pearl inside an oyster. Greed also symbolizes the racial boundary that segregates blacks from whites. Greed weakens one’s character and represents a flaw in society.
5. how does title relate to the poem?
Hughes dream world is the world he wants to one day have. He believes that it is worth it for blacks to suffer everyday if it means that they will one day be treated
Hill
English 11H Period 4
27 January 2015
Poems by Langston Hughes
I Dream a World
1. Main idea of the poem?
The main intentions of the poem are presenting a world where blacks are equal to whites.
Langston Hughes wants a world that is fair, without the discriminations or segregations by society’s norms.
2. Tone?
The tone of the poem is filled with hope but also skepticism. The poem rhymes and is very easy to read. The rhymes give off a very light feel throughout the lines. As the poem progresses, you feel that a perfect equal world is actually unrealistic. At the end of the poem, the reader actually feels more in a dream than in the real world, which is why it cannot be necessarily assumed that Hughes, who wants equality, thinks it is possible to live equally.
3. figures of speech? imagery and or word choices?
Langston Hughes uses personification in his poem as he says that love will bless the earth.
As Hughes gives love the human ability to bless things, the poem has a greater impact on the reader. Love will bless the earth regardless of your race or color. Especially during the 1920s, segregation was a relatively large issue. Hughes also uses personification in the word greed as he says, “greed no longer saps the soul”. He refers to the universal soul, which includes both blacks and whites, however, greed has made white men inhumane.
4. is there anything ironic or symbolic?
The comparison between the word joy and the object pearl represents how precious his dream world is. In his dream, joy is present throughout, but in reality, joy is quite rare like a pearl inside an oyster. Greed also symbolizes the racial boundary that segregates blacks from whites. Greed weakens one’s character and represents a flaw in society.
5. how does title relate to the poem?
Hughes dream world is the world he wants to one day have. He believes that it is worth it for blacks to suffer everyday if it means that they will one day be treated