Langston Hughes’ Harlem is a timeless lyrical poem. It is designed to evoke emotion from the reader using Hughes lived experiences, wherein he conveys them with simplicity. Hughes’ role in the Harlem renaissance enabled him to write this poem; it is a poem that can be used as a primary source for how black enlightenment in Harlem came about. It also tells the story of what happens to an oppressed people who has their “dreams deferred.” The words make up the imagarey and the imagery makes up the symbolism meant to pierce the reader’s attention. The overall concept is utterly graspable, but the deeper meaning and imagery is most revealing in Harlem. Everything about this poem is meant as profound literary device to pierce the reader’s attention. To pierce the reader’s attention, Hughes uses a series of physical images/physical metaphors, created by figurative imagery/figurative language.
From line 1 to line 2, Hughes intentionally leaves a hanging indent between line one and the rest of the poem. Hughes is using a physical image to to drive home the message of his poem. The hanging indent is a physical representation to show what happens to dreams deferred: “they (referenced as ‘it’ in the poem) dry up like a raisin in the sun…fester like a sore…sag like a heavy load…” Dreams, clearly, are the focus of the poem. Therefore, the assertion can be made that only a dream left hanging (literally, Hughes uses a left, hanging indent) is left to “dry up, fester, and sag like a heavy load.” The hanging indent is only part of the physical imagery meant to drive home the sheer symbolism of Hughes’ Harlem.
Between lines eight and nine, Hughes, again, leaves a gap (merely a double space). It is, however, entirely intentional. Lines nine and ten deal with dreams deferred “sagging, like a heavy load.” Therefore, to emphasize that part of the poem and emphasize the effects of deferred dreams, he separates lines eight and nine with a double space, then couples nine and ten by single spacing. Thereby, Hughes creates an image from figurative language to show that a deferred dream, literally, weighs down, in this case, the poem (the poem represents the readers dreams). The effect, then, is meant to reinforce his point and, in doing so, he creates a literal sagging effect; lines nine and ten are literally sagging, like a heavy load, away from the rest of the poem—much like what happens to humankind when our dreams are deferred. Hughes, however, was not finished building physical imagery to assert his meaning.
127 our experts are availableright now
Up to this point, Hughes has left the reader hanging, drying up, festering, sagging like a heavy load—we are dying with the poem; that is, until, the poem explodes like the weight of a deferred dream. “Or does it explode?” is both a graspable image and it contains symbolic meaning: it spells the end and the beginning. The poem, obviously, given the title Harlem, pertains to the Harlem renaissance (the revitalization of ungentrified, black Harlem). Hughes’ intention is deeper, however. It reveals the true nature of the poem: to create a piercing effect. An explosion creates multiple consequences. An explosion creates a ringing, piercing effect on the ears; moreover, it usually results shards of broken glass. Shards of broken glass can be used as a piercing agent/weapon.
The assertion can be made, therefore, Hughes’ uses the figurative nature of the explosion, for which he places emphasis on it (thus the italics), to create both the end and the beginning. It is the end of the poem, literally; it is also represents the beginning of the Harlem renaissance. The words, the imagery, create more imagery, wherein it becomes the symbolic meaning: piercing. The Harlem renaissance is a cultural revolution wherein black Harlem dwellers used a newfound education and articulation (a revolution) to pierce their oppressors—or those who defer their dreams—and create a cultural renaissance. The image of the poem in its entirety, if you outline with a pen/pencil, creates a shard of broken glass.
For something to be piercing, it means it has to be profound. The adjective profound means for something to be insightful, dealing with intense emotion. Hughes’ Harlem, therefore, is piercing. On the surface, it is utterly relatable but still deep. The images of food drying, crusting, festering, are all comprehensible and easily visible. The symbolism, however, is deeper—and the proof lies in the physical creations of Hughes’ words.
Hughes’ irregular rhyming, dashes, and double spaces create a shard of broken glass; they tell a sub-story within the poem about what happens when dreams are left hanging; Hughes’ words create a visual effect of deferred dreams sagging, weighing on the host. The figurative imagery leads the reader into an explosive effect culminating into a shard of broken glass. The reader, for Hughes, should be able to associate the capabilities of a shard of broken glass and what potential consequences coincide with the physical qualities of broken glass: sharp and reflective.
The men and women of the Harlem renaissance were just that: sharp and reflective. The Harlem renaissance was the creation of deferred dreams. They were oppressed, left hanging in the balance, to dry up like the sun, to fester, to sag like a heavy load; that was, until they exploded (with rage, onto the scene and into the limelight). The Harlem renaissance, the explosion of black culture and intellect in Harlem, was the result of the explosion into a sharp, reflective people—a people capable of piercing your senses and demanding respect.
