Essay Questions

Discuss the significance of the repeated lines "That is my dream!" and "Black like me" in the poem.

In the poem, Hughes repeats two lines: "That is my dream!" and "Black like me." These lines are pivotal in underscoring the poem's central themes of aspiring for greatness and understanding one's racial identity. By repeating "That is my dream!" at the end of each stanza, Hughes emphasizes the intensity and persistence of the speaker's yearning for freedom and equality. After spending their entire lives in chains or brought down by Jim Crow laws, Black people in America have had enough. It also shows the importance of dreaming of a better future free from racism. Furthermore, the phrase "Black like me" reinforces the speaker's pride in their racial identity as a Black person. They are beautiful and strong because of their blackness, not in spite of it. Being black isn't as negative as people of the time the poem was written thought; instead, being Black can be comforting and all-encompassing and good.

How does Langston Hughes use imagery in his poem to move forward the poem's themes?

Langston Hughes' "Dream Variations" is divided into two stanzas, each of which concludes with the narrator's long-held dream of resting beneath a tall tree after a long day. In the poem, there is both daytime and nighttime imagery. The daytime imagery is filled with tremendous energy. For example, the line "To fling my arms wide / In some place of the sun" evokes a sense of yearning for liberation and self-expression in a world that values neither. The contrast between day and night is a metaphor for the struggle against racial oppression, and the dream of equality Black people had before the Civil Rights Act. The nighttime imagery ("Night coming tenderly / Black like me") reflects the desire for acceptance.