Dreams
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
Summary of Dreams
- Popularity of “Dreams”: This short poem “Dreams” by a popular African American poet, Langston Hughes, first appeared in The World Tomorrow, a poetry magazine, in May 1923. Langston Hughes, after having suffered the pangs of slavery and the worst marginalization due to race, wrote highly memorable anti-discriminatory poetic pieces. This poem, too, is no different. The poem highlights the significance of dreams in one’s life and compares their absence to a disability of a living thing or the barrenness of the land.
- “Dreams” As a Representative of Significance of Dreams: The poet starts with very crispy and brief verses and continues with them until the end, bedecking them with a beautiful rhyme scheme. His lesson to the readers is to hold their dreams close to their hearts and never leave them. The repetition of this verse in both stanzas emphasizes his lesson. He states that if dreams die, it means the bird has broken his wings, and he cannot fly. In other words, he means that if the readers want to do something lofty and excellent in life, they must have dreams, and then they should stick to those dreams. In the second stanza, he repeats the same thing but with a different metaphor. He states that if there are no dreams or dreams are lost. It means life is like a barren field, and it freezes during the snowy season. Nothing grows on such barren lands. Overall, his message is clear that a person must have dreams to achieve something in life to win success.
- Major Themes in “Dreams”: The significance of dreams, success, and achievements are three major thematic strands of “Dreams.” Langston Hughes has beautifully stressed upon the significance of dreams to clarify that achievements in one’s life depend solely on dreams. If a person does not hold dreams fast to him, he cannot win any success. And for that matter, achievements solely rely on dreams, or else life becomes a barren field. He means that when there are dreams, there are successes and achievements, and in the absence of dreams, there is nothing. Therefore, life becomes akin to a barren field or a disabled person or bird.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Dreams
Langston Hughes used various literary devices to enhance the intended impact of his poem. Some of the major literary devices are analyzed below.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /i/ in “Life is a broken-winged bird” and the sound of /o/ in “That cannot fly.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick successions, such as the sound of /d/ in “dreams die” or /b/ in “broken-winged bird.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /f/ and /d/ in “For if dreams die” and in “Hold fast to dreams.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Langston Hughes has used imagery in this poem, such as “Life is a broken-winged bird”, “That cannot fly” and “Life is a barren field.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. The poem shows the use of beautiful metaphors such as “Life is a broken-winged bird” and then “Life is a barren field.” In both examples, Langston Hughes has compared life first to a disabled bird and then to a field that is barren and does not let anything grow in it.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as dreams, birds, and snow to show the journey of life.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Dreams
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction and Tone: Diction means the type of language, and tone means the voice of the poem. The diction of this poem is highly formal and poetic, but the tone is suggestive and positive.
- Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here each stanza is quatrain.
- Repetition: It means to recurrence of some words, phrases, or a line to stress the main idea. The poem shows the repetition of “Hold fast to dreams.” This verse emphasizes the main idea of the dream.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows an ABCB rhyme scheme, and this pattern continues until the end in both stanzas.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are two stanzas in this poem, with each comprising four verses.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful for parents to quote when teaching their kids the significance of dreams in life.
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.