Poem "harlem" Case

Poetry is known for its unusual forms and Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem” has a very unusual form. It is an eleven-line poem, but all of its lines but one is a question. In “Harlem,” Langston Hughes is asking a question seemingly about Harlem, but in the course of the poem the question is never answered.  With that, Hughes writes a poem that really lingers in the reader’s mind, which was surely his intention. Langston Hughes was born in the 20th century. Many of his poems have the theme of racism and its dark impact on the lives of African-Americans, and "Harlem" is not an exception. His “Harlem” poem is really a poem about American society and the question at hand is what will come from America’s racism.

The poem, however short, is heavy with imagery. Every line calls up a vivid image or experience in the reader's mind.  "Does it dry up / like a raisin in the sun?" (2-3). Here he uses simile to compare deferred dreams to a raisin drying in the sun. He goes on to ask if a deferred dream festers like a sore, offering that image, or if it crusts over, offering another image. Though there is alliteration in the poem, it is more influenced by the use of simple rhyme. In lines 4-5, he uses simile to compare deferred dreams to a festering, bleeding sore. “Or fester like a sore - / And then run?” In line 6, he uses simile to compare deferred dreams to rotten meat. “Does it stink like rotten meat?” The image of rotten meat is not a pleasant one, and it's one that calls to our sense of smell. In lines 7-8, he uses simile to compare deferred dreams to sugary things that have crusted over that calls to our sense of taste. “Or crust and sugar over - / like a syrupy sweet?” In lines 9-10, he uses simile to compare deferred dreams to heavy loads that sag. “Maybe it just sags / like a heavy load.” He harnesses the power of imagery as he wonders whether deferred dreams sag like a heavy load. This image makes