In Langston Hughes’s poem “I Dream a World,” the repetition of the word “dream” emphasizes
A. the idea that the action of the poem takes place at night.
B. the notion that Hughes lives in a fantasy world rather than reality.
C. the fact that equality is a desired but seemingly unattainable goal.
D. the belief that dreams often remain unrealized due to oppression.
Answer: C. the fact that equality is a desired but seemingly unattainable goal.
In Langston Hughes’s poem “I Dream a World” the use of the word “dream” in the poem plays an important role in making the poem dream-like since the poet is dreaming of a just world. Hughes an author of The Harlem Renaissance uses this repetition to define the gap of difference between the world he paints and the real world filled with racism and injustice that prevailed during this period.
The dream symbolism in the poem conveys Hughes’s desire for change to happen in the world and for African Americans to be equal to whites in this world. For instance, he cites the dream of having a world in which “man no other man will scorn” or that which will be blessed with love on earth whereas, these visions were distant from the concrete reality of the segregated America that African Americans lived through Hughes’s generation. Yet, by putting these desires into the context of the “dream”, Hughes emphasizes the distance between the society that he lives in and the presumably equal society that he wishes to have, so it means that the dream is painted as rather distant and unrealistic.
This use of ‘dream’ also has a broader reference spanning the African American struggle for civil rights which Martin Luther King Jr. many years later translates to his ‘I Have a Dream speech ‘. Both Hughes and King used dreams to portray an equal role that seems distant but remains relevant and attainable. The repetition in the poem is therefore symbolic of a reminder that the fight for equal rights and dignity continues and hope despite the odds.
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