I like this poem. When I read this poem the meaning to me is that he is trying to say that do not give up on dreams, life without a dream is a waste. he says " Hold fast to dreams, For if dreams die" meaning that life is incomplete without dreams. It can relate to other people that gave up their dreams or goals.
I like how it compares broken dreams to a broken winged bird that cannot soar and be free. It asks the reader to grasp on to your dreams and persevere because without them our life is as cold as a barren field of snow.
Langston Hughes is a giant in the realm of Jazz poetry. It's a pleasure to witness his effect reach out to other students this semester as well. Hughes has much more intricate and impressive poetic work, however, and while it's important to take into account the period of when this was written, it is nevertheless an all-too-simplistic ditty that does not truly represent the literary weight and significance of the rest of his repertoire. Genuine to be sure, but lacks substance that would come so effortlessly from one of 20th century poetry's greats.
Langston Hughes was a revolutionary using his poetic medium to bring social, racial and political hierarchies to the forefront of discussion during a very contentious time period. For me this poem talks about being an optimist versus being a pessimist. The optimist will never let go of their dreams while the pessimist will quickly give up on their dreams being forever relegated to this "barren field". At this time for the black community, in Harlem specifically, it was easy to be a pessimist based on their unfortunate circumstance. This was a motivational poem urging the black community to come together under the shared idea of having dreams to better themselves and by process their neighbourhood. Cool poem really enjoyed it.
Reading through all these comments do make the poem a little more thought provoking. The more I read about this author the more I can see where he is coming from with what his trying to say. Seems to have a little more weight when knowing the background. Him having a firm understanding of what it is to keep a dream might be because of his relationship between segregation of racial is very much alive. Great poem, thanks for sharing!
I really like this poem for it brings the message of holding on to your dreams as it makes life warm and alive. Nothing much else to say, straightforward but deep.
This is a simple poem but the message gets across. I like how the poet uses the repeating technique to reinforce the meaning. The rhyming aspect of it also makes the poem more fun. The theme of dreams is a topic that many people can relate to and thus, connect truly to what Hughes is saying.
The topic of dreams is always very mysterious. Despite its mysteriousness though, many people are able to connect as a lot of us have dreams ourselves. It's a simple poem with a nice rhyming scheme. The message is easily understandable.
I like this poem. When I read this poem the meaning to me is that he is trying to say that do not give up on dreams, life without a dream is a waste. he says " Hold fast to dreams, For if dreams die" meaning that life is incomplete without dreams. It can relate to other people that gave up their dreams or goals.
ReplyDeleteI like how it compares broken dreams to a broken winged bird that cannot soar and be free. It asks the reader to grasp on to your dreams and persevere because without them our life is as cold as a barren field of snow.
ReplyDeleteLangston Hughes is a giant in the realm of Jazz poetry. It's a pleasure to witness his effect reach out to other students this semester as well. Hughes has much more intricate and impressive poetic work, however, and while it's important to take into account the period of when this was written, it is nevertheless an all-too-simplistic ditty that does not truly represent the literary weight and significance of the rest of his repertoire. Genuine to be sure, but lacks substance that would come so effortlessly from one of 20th century poetry's greats.
ReplyDeleteLangston Hughes was a revolutionary using his poetic medium to bring social, racial and political hierarchies to the forefront of discussion during a very contentious time period. For me this poem talks about being an optimist versus being a pessimist. The optimist will never let go of their dreams while the pessimist will quickly give up on their dreams being forever relegated to this "barren field". At this time for the black community, in Harlem specifically, it was easy to be a pessimist based on their unfortunate circumstance. This was a motivational poem urging the black community to come together under the shared idea of having dreams to better themselves and by process their neighbourhood. Cool poem really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteReading through all these comments do make the poem a little more thought provoking. The more I read about this author the more I can see where he is coming from with what his trying to say. Seems to have a little more weight when knowing the background. Him having a firm understanding of what it is to keep a dream might be because of his relationship between segregation of racial is very much alive. Great poem, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI really like this poem for it brings the message of holding on to your dreams as it makes life warm and alive. Nothing much else to say, straightforward but deep.
ReplyDeleteThis is a simple poem but the message gets across. I like how the poet uses the repeating technique to reinforce the meaning. The rhyming aspect of it also makes the poem more fun. The theme of dreams is a topic that many people can relate to and thus, connect truly to what Hughes is saying.
ReplyDeleteThe topic of dreams is always very mysterious. Despite its mysteriousness though, many people are able to connect as a lot of us have dreams ourselves. It's a simple poem with a nice rhyming scheme. The message is easily understandable.
ReplyDelete