Introduction
“Dreams” is a short poem by the American novelist, poet, and social activist Langston Hughes. The author encourages one to be hopeful and practice perseverance and endurance in every life challenge. Hughes persuades readers to keep their hopes as several challenges accompany life without dreams through its expression and personal emotion.
The poem emphasizes the value of dreams and how they may give people a sense of hope and purpose. The audience comprehends that a hopeless life is not worth living, a text vividly explained through the poem “Dreams.” However, the reader understands that the speaker advises keeping the dreams by giving the negative impacts of acting astray. Generally, the poet uses symbolism, metaphor, repetition, and personification to make central themes such as vulnerability, hope, the importance of dreams, dying hope, and desperation more comprehensible.
Symbolism: Dreams as Direction and Vulnerability
Hughes uses symbolism to help the audience understand vulnerability as a primary theme in the poem. Symbolism refers to using words, phrases, and things to create meaning to something more profound than the apparent meaning. Hughes reminds the readers to hold fast to their dreams (Hughes Stanza 1, Line 1). The phrase implies that life would be pointless and purposeless without dreams and that dreams offer people direction and meaning. Correspondingly, in the poem, Hughes equates life to a broken-winged bird incapable of flying (Hughes Stanza 1, Lines 3 and 4).
Typically, birds fly when they are free. Henceforth, the broken-winged bird is a symbol in the poem that highlights the vulnerability of a lack of freedom to an individual’s dreams. Subsequently, the poet uses another significant symbol, the “barren field” (Hughes Stanza 2, Lines 3). Ideally, the symbol points out the situation of living without dreams. It depicts a life that has no future in it. Thus, by incorporating symbolism in his creation, Hughes helps the readers easily understand the importance of embracing dreams to overcome vulnerabilities and incapacities.
Imagery: A Dying Hope Made Visible
Hughes also uses imagery to bring out the dying hope, a central theme in the poem. Imagery refers to the figurative language used in poetry to emphasize something. The poet writes that life is a barren, snow-filled field (Hughes Stanza 2, Lines 3 and 4). Usually, fields are associated with opportunities, and by looking at them as “Barren” and “Frozen,” or snow-filled, the poet brings about the meaning of life without hope.
Therefore, “Barren” and “Frozen” in the poem are images showing life without a chance of thriving. The word “frozen” conveys a chilly, solitary winter feeling, adding to the sadness of a life without dreams. For readers, a life without dreams may seem hollow and vague. Using imagery, the poet assists the reader in cultivating the values of incorporating dreams to fight a grim future, particularly hopelessness.
Additionally, Hughes uses imagery in the phrase, “Life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly” (Hughes Stanza 1 Lines 3 and 4). The image in the phrase showcases the image of an individual with the ability and potential to fly but who has challenges in life. The image of a bird with a broken wing conveys a sense of helplessness. Subsequently, the picture of it not being able to fly reveals a dying hope in life.
Therefore, the imagery portrays the concept that dreams are like wings that give us the potential to fly. Hence, without them, or if the situation shuts down, they cannot fly or make a significant move in our lives. Generally, a life devoid of dreams is made more tangible to the readers by using vivid, accurate imagery that contrasts life with a broken-winged bird and a barren field.
Metaphors: The Lifelessness of Lost Aspirations
Hughes also uses metaphors to illustrate the importance of having dreams as a vital theme in the poem. Metaphor means comparing two things without using “like” and “as.” Hughes writes that when the dream stops, life becomes a barren field (Hughes Stanza 2 Line 3). The metaphor of “a barren field” evokes thoughts of a desolate, ruined landscape while conveying how the absence of dreams erodes life’s vitality and optimism. It brings the idea of the significance of dreams precisely, as life without dreams is bitter.
Additionally, life is compared to a living substance that needs to be cultivated, and dreams nourish the beauty of life. It encourages the reader to understand the value of having dreams in life, as life without dreams is at risk of bearing no good fruit. The metaphor in the “Dreams” poem context is significant in emphasizing the effectiveness of having a dream and the benefits of pursuing it, even if many challenges are incurred. Henceforth, dreams are essential as they make a promising reality for people rather than escaping the truth that will cost them later. Generally, Hughes skillfully illustrates the devastation that a lack of aspirations brings to people’s lives by using metaphors to create a visual impression.
Repetition: Emphasizing Urgency and Persistence
In the poem “Dreams,” the poet uses repetition to emphasize the theme of hope. Repetition refers to using the exact phrase or word multiple times in the poem. “Hold fast to dreams” (Hughes, Stanza 1, Line 1). By telling the readers what to do explicitly, the imperative syntax creates an authoritative, admonitory tone. The quotation serves as a refrain and is repeated in the next stanza. Through repetition, Hughes effectively conveys that individuals should never abandon their dreams. In addition to expressing haste by pressuring the audience to act, the word “fast” also conveys the speaker’s admonishment to hang onto their dreams.
The idea helps the reader to take a stand after reading the poem. Hence, this encourages readers to remain conscientious and authentic to their dreams. Subsequently, from the phrase repeated in the poem, the reader concludes that the poem’s main idea is to appreciate one’s dream. The poet conveys that possessing a dream is crucial, so holding onto it and aiming to accomplish it is essential. Hughes uses a strong language structure and vocabulary to convey a sense of urgency and advice to the readers while also painting a vivid picture of life without dreams.
Personification: Breathing Life into Dreams
Finally, the poet uses personification to showcase desperation as an essential theme. The poet writes, “For if dreams die, Life is a broken-winged bird” (Hughes, Stanza 1, Lines 2 and 3). Personification implies the initiation of human qualities to non-living things. In the poem, the dream is given a human personality, “die. “The writer associates a dying dream with a broken-winged bird to bring about the desperation one receives from failure to have dreams in life.
Moreover, the poet deploys personification to emphasize the significance of avoiding the sense of feeling hapless in life that comes with the feeling of not possessing the ability to achieve our goals and pursue life inspiration. Hughes, who noticed the sparkle amid a moment of despair, wanted to ensure that no one missed their dreams. Therefore, personification in the poem gives readers a sense of power and life that rejuvenates their strength to work hard and fulfill their purpose in life. Ideally, personification emphasizes that people’s actions and influence can cost us profoundly, depending on how we use them.
Conclusion
In sum, Langston Hughes makes key themes like vulnerability, hope, the value of dreams, and desperation understandable by using symbolism, metaphor, repetition, and personification. By incorporating these poetic devices, the reader recognizes the opinion of “Holding onto dreams,” no matter the challenges that we go through as individuals. Moreover, the poem signifies the effectiveness of dreams in our lives, emphasizing that having a dream provides a sense of hope and purpose.
Ideally, having a dream is not enough to make a better life, and people must be motivated and work hard to meet the inspired goals they have set in life. Readers, especially those in modern culture, can still identify with the concept the poem communicates, even though it is written with a specific audience in mind who is on the verge of giving up their hopes as its intended audience. Henceforth, a comprehensive reading of the poem is significant since it brings us to the true meaning of life, accompanied by meaningful dreams.
Work Cited
Hughes, Langston. “Dreams.” Eggplant. Web.