Poetry Criticism

Hughes gives to the question What happens to a dream deferred ' are not declarative and the only one which is , maybe it just sags ' loses its significance because it is written without force and does not provide a conclusive answer (Hansen . Hansen also decries Hughes ' usage of stanza breaks . The middle five lines are indented giving more weight to the first line (the question , and the last (the answer , although Hansen feels the middle lines are much more dramatic and should have been given the emphasis . As well , Hansen criticizes the structure

in that the rhyming lines are not placed in logical and thereby lose their musical resonance and the importance of the pairing of oppositions . Hansen sums up the contradictory nature of the poem and its ideas by reiterating the lack of forceful answers , the final answer which is tentative in its assertion , the division of stanzas which remove the importance of pairing opposites , and a failed rhyme scheme in Dream Deferred

While Hansen 's criticism of the work has its merits , there is still an important message regarding racism within Hughes ' poem , one which the author reiterated in many ways . Through the use of imagery , metaphor and similes , many of which are uncomfortable , Hughes airs his frustrations regarding race separations . Often Hughes employed a sardonic tone to get his point across and educate the general public about the effects of racism (Mueller . Even as he began to achieve some fame and acclaim for his literary works , Hughes wanted to be known as one of the more common folk and let others of his race know that he too , experienced their frustrations and anger . To this end , Hughes was quite successful . He , as well as his peers , had all experienced the emotions accompanying a dream which seemed impossible . Although...