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    Dreams - Exercises

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    Phạm Hồng Nhung
    This document contains a summary and analysis of the poem "Dreams" by Langston Hughes. It begins with identifying information for a class assignment. The poem uses imagery like a broken-winged bird and a barren snow-covered field to convey the hopeless feeling of losing one's dreams. It emphasizes the importance of holding onto dreams through repetition. The themes are the significance of hope and the bleakness of losing faith. Dreams represent hope and motivation to achieve one's goals.

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    Dreams - Exercises

    Uploaded by

    Phạm Hồng Nhung
    433 views2 pages
    This document contains a summary and analysis of the poem "Dreams" by Langston Hughes. It begins with identifying information for a class assignment. The poem uses imagery like a broken-winged bird and a barren snow-covered field to convey the hopeless feeling of losing one's dreams. It emphasizes the importance of holding onto dreams through repetition. The themes are the significance of hope and the bleakness of losing faith. Dreams represent hope and motivation to achieve one's goals.

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    This document contains a summary and analysis of the poem "Dreams" by Langston Hughes. It begins with identifying information for a class assignment. The poem uses imagery like a broken-winged bird and a barren snow-covered field to convey the hopeless feeling of losing one's dreams. It emphasizes the importance of holding onto dreams through repetition. The themes are the significance of hope and the bleakness of losing faith. Dreams represent hope and motivation to achieve one's goals.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    433 views2 pages

    Dreams - Exercises

    Uploaded by

    Phạm Hồng Nhung
    This document contains a summary and analysis of the poem "Dreams" by Langston Hughes. It begins with identifying information for a class assignment. The poem uses imagery like a broken-winged bird and a barren snow-covered field to convey the hopeless feeling of losing one's dreams. It emphasizes the importance of holding onto dreams through repetition. The themes are the significance of hope and the bleakness of losing faith. Dreams represent hope and motivation to achieve one's goals.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    Date: 14/5/2021

    Class: TAN111.1
    Full Name: Pham Hong Nhung

    Dreams by Langston Hughes


    Directions: Read and annotate the poem. Then, respond to the questions that follow.

    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.

    ~ Langston Hughes

    1. What is the message of this poem?


    There are two meaningful message in the poem. The first one is that everyone
    should hole tightly theirs dreams and never let go. The second one is one’s life will be
    bleak and hopeless without dreams.
    2. What is the tone of the poem?
    The tone of the poem is somewhat hopeless and sad.
    3. Identify figurative language in the poem. How does the figurative language enhance
    the overall idea or message of the poem? Cite evidence to explain your answer.
    - Langston Hughes mainly uses imaginary, metaphor and repetition in this poem.
    - Imagery is a description that employs any of the five senses of sight, sound, touch, taste,
    or smell. Hughes uses imagery to convey what it sounds like to possess one's dreams to
    die or, in other words, to become hopeless. Hopelessness is an abstract concept, so
    Hughes wants us to be able to emotionally feel what it is like through concrete images. He
    creates two metaphors to carry his images.
    - In the first metaphor he compares hopelessness to a "broken-winged bird." This raises
    our compassion as we imagine an innocent creature suffering and dragging around on the
    ground, unable to fulfill its destiny. We can see this, and it is a cruel, disturbing picture. In
    the second, he compares hopelessness or loss of dreams to a "barren field / Frozen with
    snow." This is both a visual image and a "touch" image, as we can feel the chill of the
    scene. This shows that hopelessness makes people suffer the emptiness of their souls.
    - The repetition is also successfully used by Hughes. He repeats the sentence “hold fast to
    dreams” twice, which indicates that “dreams” can be something that we can touch and
    hold tightly. His purpose is to emphasize the importance of dreams in one’s life. Dreams
    are the hope, motivation helps them move forward and achieve success in life.

    4. What is the theme of the poem? What words or lines develop the theme? Cite
    evidence to explain your response.
    The poem “Dream” can be analyzed with two themes: the importance of hope and
    losing faith. Whereas, the importance of hope is a major theme in the poem. Hughes
    advises his readers to hold their dreams close by repeating “hold fast to dreams” twice.
    Dreams are signs of hope - the hope that things in life can be the way we want and the
    hope that we can make our dreams into reality. It's clear that Hughes believes hope is
    very important that makes life more bearable and happier. Without it, life isn't as good.
    Losing faith is another theme reader should consider. Hughes indicates that losing
    dreams will make life like a “broken-winged bird” and “a barren field, snow weather”.
    It is bleak and unable to move forwards if you lose faith and do not have dreams to
    help guide and motivate you.
    Thus the themes of the poem play a role as instructions to the readers to hold fast to
    dreams and to keep striving to make them happen, regardless of obstacles along the
    path.

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