The Full Text of “Dreams”
1Hold fast to dreams
2For if dreams die
3Life is a broken-winged bird
4That cannot fly.
5Hold fast to dreams
6For when dreams go
7Life is a barren field
8Frozen with snow.
The Full Text of “Dreams”
1Hold fast to dreams
2For if dreams die
3Life is a broken-winged bird
4That cannot fly.
5Hold fast to dreams
6For when dreams go
7Life is a barren field
8Frozen with snow.
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“Dreams” Introduction
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“Dreams” Summary
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“Dreams” Themes
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The Necessity of Dreams
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Dreams”
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Lines 1-2
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die -
Lines 3-4
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly. -
Lines 5-6
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go -
Lines 7-8
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
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“Dreams” Symbols
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The Broken-Winged Bird
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The Frozen Field
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“Dreams” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Metaphor
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Alliteration
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Assonance
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Repetition
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Enjambment
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“Dreams” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Fast
- Broken-winged
- Barren
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- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Dreams”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Dreams” Speaker
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“Dreams” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Dreams”
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More “Dreams” Resources
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External Resources
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The Poem Out Loud — Watch Dr. Christopher Emdin of Columbia University read "Dreams" aloud and explain what the poem means to him as an educator.
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"Dream Variations" at the Academy of American Poets — Read another famous Hughes poem about dreams, one that engages with racial divisions and describes the speaker's own liberating dream.
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Jazz Poetry — A brief guide to the innovative style that Hughes and other Harlem Renaissance writers developed in their work.
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"How Langston Hughes’s Dreams Inspired MLK’s" — Read about connections between Langston Hughes's poetry and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s oratory, including his 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech.
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The Harlem Renaissance — Learn more about the cultural and artistic movement Hughes helped pioneer.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Langston Hughes
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