The Full Text of “Harlem”
The Full Text of “Harlem”
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“Harlem” Introduction
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“Harlem” Summary
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“Harlem” Themes
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The Cost of Social Injustice
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-11
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The Individual and the Community
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-11
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Harlem”
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Line 1
What happens to a dream deferred?
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Lines 2-5
Does it dry ...
... And then run? -
Lines 6-8
Does it stink ...
... a syrupy sweet? -
Lines 9-11
Maybe it just ...
... does it explode?
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“Harlem” Symbols
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The Dream
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 1: “dream”
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“Harlem” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Anaphora
Where anaphora appears in the poem:- Line 2: “Does it”
- Line 3: “like”
- Line 4: “Or”
- Line 6: “Does it”
- Line 7: “Or”
- Line 8: “ like”
- Line 10: “like”
- Line 11: “Or does it”
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Allusion
Where allusion appears in the poem:- Lines 9-10: “ Maybe it just sags / like a heavy load.”
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Consonance
Where consonance appears in the poem:- Line 1: “dream,” “deferred”
- Line 2: “Does,” “dry”
- Line 3: “raisin,” “sun”
- Line 4: “fester,” “sore”
- Line 5: “run”
- Line 6: “it,” “stink,” “like,” “rotten,” “meat”
- Line 7: “Or,” “crust,” “sugar,” “over”
- Line 8: “like,” “syrupy,” “sweet”
- Line 9: “just,” “sags”
- Line 10: “like,” “load”
- Line 11: “Or ,” “does ,” “it ,” “explode”
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Assonance
Where assonance appears in the poem:- Line 2: “Does,” “it,” “dry,” “up”
- Line 3: “like,” “a,” “raisin,” “in,” “the,” “sun”
- Line 5: “run”
- Line 6: “Does,” “it,” “stink,” “meat”
- Line 8: “sweet”
- Line 10: “load”
- Line 11: “explode”
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End-Stopped Line
Where end-stopped line appears in the poem:- Line 1: “deferred?”
- Line 3: “sun?”
- Line 4: “sore—”
- Line 5: “run?”
- Line 6: “meat?”
- Line 7: “over—”
- Line 8: “sweet?”
- Line 10: “load.”
- Line 11: “explode?”
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Parallelism
Where parallelism appears in the poem:- Lines 2-8
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Rhetorical Question
Where rhetorical question appears in the poem:- Lines 1-8
- Lines 11-11
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Simile
Where simile appears in the poem:- Lines 2-11
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Imagery
Where imagery appears in the poem:- Lines 2-3
- Lines 4-5
- Line 6
- Lines 7-8
- Lines 9-10
- Line 11
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Enjambment
Where enjambment appears in the poem:- Lines 2-3: “up / like”
- Lines 9-10: “sags / like ”
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“Harlem” 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.
- Harlem
- Deferred
- Fester
- Run
- Load
- Explode
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(Location in poem: )
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Harlem”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Harlem” Speaker
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“Harlem” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Harlem”
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More “Harlem” Resources
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External Resources
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An Essay From the Poetry Foundation — Read more about "Harlem" in this essay by Scott Challener at the Poetry Foundation.
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Letter from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Hughes — Read a letter from Martin Luther King, Kr. to Langston Hughes, which includes a reference to a performance of Lorraine Hansberry's play “A Raisin in the Sun."
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"Harlem" Read Aloud by Langston Hughes — Listen to Langston Hughes read "Harlem."
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Full Text of "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain" — Read Langston Hughes’s 1926 essay “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain."
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The Harlem Renaissance — Learn more about the Harlem Renaissance from the History Channel.
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Langston Hughes and Martin Luther King, Jr. — Read about how Langston Hughes influenced Martin Luther King, Jr., including the influence of "Harlem."
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Langston Hughes
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