Dreams are aspirations that people hope to realize in their lives. They are a reason that drives life to achieve goals. When trying to achieve these goals, people can do anything. But what happens when a dream is postponed? A dream put aside can frustrate a person in the most profound way. It tends to permeate their thoughts and becomes an unshakable burden. In the poem "Harlem", Langston Hughes, through literary technique, raises strong themes through short language. The poem begins with a question: "What happens to a dream deferred?" The speaker of the poem is unnamed at this point. Not knowing the speaker, the question is strengthened, as the dream deferred represents the dreams and desires of all people within the African American community -verse, helps lift the silence after the question, allowing readers to open their minds . To answer the initial question, the speaker asks six additional questions. The six questions posed also have indefinite answers, but the speaker uses imagery to suggest the impression of the dream deferred. These images are the raisins, the putrid sores, the rotten flesh, the sweet syrup and the explosion. Along with these objects described in a state of decay, the dream is similarly represented with the words "drying". "," "stinks," "stinks," and "sags" sum up the harsh, sad tone of the dream. These images and tones represent the point of view of those who speak of the dream deferred and of Harlem. The first answer to the initial question “What happens to a dream deferred” is another question: “Does it dry up like raisins in the sun?” Comparing the dry, wrinkled texture of raisins to the juicy, smooth texture of grapes creates a... medium... of desperation. This, for any community, is a great burden to bear in the last line of the poem, the speaker uses a word of destruction: “explode.” The choice of diction does not portray the dream in the common sense of the term as paradises. The dream leaves only a sense of bitterness and desperation just like the impression the speaker has about Harlem. The shape of this destructive line also symbolizes the state of the questions that were asked previously: when Harlem will not be able to heal its sores and wounds , it will explode all at once through riots and protests Furthermore, the use of italics the last line can emphasize the gravity of a dream deferred, in this case of the African American community. This last line increases the intensity of the situation.