Dreams

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow.

Langston Hughes, 1902 - 1967

The present essay has the aim to advance a personal interpretation about the poem Dreams. In order to write an exhaustive essay, I would like to analyse the two quatrains and try to identify their connotative meaning. In particular, I believe that the main intention of Mr Langston Hughes was to underline the important role of dream in the life of human beings.

Considering the title, it suggests the main topic of the poem; however, it does not reveal the position of the poet. The intelligent reader can make several conjectures about the possible meaning of the poem, one of them might be that the poet believes that dreams are important in life and give them a positive connotation, but at the same time it could be that they only create illusions. From the first line in the first quatrain, the poet underlines the importance of dreams; therefore, it can be said that he gives them a positive connotation. In the second line, there is an interesting metaphor that presents a comparison between a bird with a broken wing and a life without dreams. Wings are essential for birds, as they allow them to fly; at the same time dreams have a crucial role in the life of human beings, if we do not dream and lose hope, existence becomes insignificant. The second quatrain starts with the same verse of the first one, and this might be due to the fact that the poet wants to emphasise the meaning included in it. In addition, there is another important metaphor which highlights that life without dreams is like an arid field with snow. In my opinion, using this metaphor the poet wants to reinforce the idea that dreams are essential in life because without them people cannot be happy and built their future. In terms of sounds, the intelligent reader can easily identify a rhyme between the second and fourth line in both quatrains. It may be interesting to analyse the choice of words of Mr Hughes, in fact there are verbs which a contrasting meaning in each quatrain: die and fly in the first one, as well as go and frozen in the second one.

In brief, I believe that the message of the poet is positive, he underlines the importance of dreams in our lives and how they keep us alive. The use of metaphors is very effective, as well as the choice of key words which create contrasting images in the mind of the reader. To conclude, I would like to say that I agree with the position of Mr Hughes as I believe that dreams are essential in our life and us positive towards the future.