This short poem about dreams is one of the most influential poems of the 20th century, where Langston Hughes asks one of American poetry’s most famous questions: what happens to a dream deferred?
The poem expresses a sense of resilience and defiance in the face of discrimination. The poem captures the speaker’s determination to assert their place and identity in America, despite being marginalized.
“The Negro Speaks of River”, by Langston Hughes, traces black history from the beginning of human civilization to the present.