I was excited about this blog post assignment because it is slightly different from the other ones we have done. Langston Hughes is one of the most influential and infamous poets of the 20th century. I can confidently say most of us have encountered one of his poems throughout our school career. One of his most famous poems is “Harlem,” a poem that was not part of our assignment; he was able to touch many of our minds.
“Dreams” was a similar poem, and it serves as inspiration. Hughes encourages the reader to hold on to their dreams and not let go of them because life is bleak without dreams. The poem that really touches me, though, is “Theme for English B.” When the teacher tells him to write and let the page come out of him, it is encouraging to the reader, but he then explains his life. It is so important to see his narrative in this poem. It touches on the complexity of race and society. A poem that describes so much is so important for people to read, especially white people. It is interesting to note that the narrator says that the assignment will not fully represent him.
I as well was very excited to read Langston Hughes for our homework assignment. I thought that “Dreams” was really inspiring to me. The line “For if dreams die / Life is a broken-winged bird/ That cannot fly,” really drives at the point that life is close to nothing without dreams.
“Dreams” is an amazing poem especially when the reader considers what Langston Hughes’ dream was. Hughes as a civil rights activist dreamed of a world of equal rights. My interpretation the poem is that Hughes is saying while black people have lived in subjugation to white society for much of their history, hopes and dreams were a huge driver of their continued perseverance. He believes that clinging to those dreams of equality was the most important part of black people ultimately attaining equal rights under the law. It is interesting to see that Martin Luther King Jr. also used the idea of dreams within his “I Have a Dream” speech to convey his belief in equality.
I like the meaning behind the poems you described here. One of the most important things about a poem is that it is inspiring and incites some sort of meaning to the reader. I think you did a very good job breaking down this poem and describing how you interpreted it.