By considering the poetic description of the living conditions of African Americans, my intent is to offer an analysis of the poet’s social lens to understand his vision of the American Dream for his people and how he addressed some of the most pressing social issues of his time. The theme of the American Dream and the possibilities for the black man to reach and accomplish this dream were recurrent in Hughes’s poetry, while the tension between the realities of the black experience and the unrealized dream provided the dynamic of his writing. Both collections were, indeed, largely shaped by the impact of the transformation of black music as well as the hopes and dreams of African Americans. Read about how Langston Hughes influenced Martin Luther King, Jr., including the influence of 'Harlem.In his collection of poems entitled Montage of a Dream Deferred (1951) Langston Hughes observed and gave an original restitution of the historic evolution of African-American culture, a theme he reverted to again in 1961 with Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz. Langston Hughes and Martin Luther King, Jr. Learn more about the Harlem Renaissance from the History Channel. Read Langston Hughes’s 1926 essay “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain.'

Listen to Langston Hughes read 'Harlem.'įull Text of 'The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain'

to Langston Hughes, which includes a reference to a performance of Lorraine Hansberry's play “A Raisin in the Sun.' Read a letter from Martin Luther King, Kr. Read more about 'Harlem' in this essay by Scott Challener at the Poetry Foundation.

What happens to a dream deferred quote