"Dream Deffered"

"Dream Deffered"
Langston Hughes

Obviously a big fan of figurative language, Langston Hughes uses a variety of similes in order to emphasize his point in "Dream Deferred." The similes are woven into rhetorical questions that help to illustrate what happens to an abandoned dream, the author's main theme. The repitition of the figurative language serves to impress the physical image of a dying dream. This image, however, is very negative and thus causes the reader to view the defferment of a dream as negative. Or the dream cam simply "sag like a heavy load" over the head of the dreamer and burden him with the loss of his opportunity (Hughes).
The poem possesses a very negative theme and ultimately is very depressing until the last phrase of the writing: "Or does it explode?" (Hughes). It is italicized ultimately to draw attention to it. This rhetorical question causes the reader to consider a possibly more positive reaction to a dream put on the sideline. One day, the accumulation of all the feelings toward the once fervered dream resurface in an explosion of passion. Although this could also have a negative connotation, I consider this to be positive because it allows for the realization of oneself and for the release of negative energy stored within oneself.