Dylan's "The Times they are a Changing," Hughes' "Harlem: A Dream Deferred," and Auden's "The Unknown Citizen" all investigate the themes of human goals, and the impact of society upon these goals. Hughes' poem provides an analysis of how the deferment of life goals by society can result in great destruction to both the individual and society. Auden's poem also looks at the loss of life goals, this time through the overarching control of a mechanized, soulless state and conformity. In contrast, Dylan's lyrics provide hope for the realization of dreams and hopes through social change. In his poem, "Harlem: A Dream Deferred," Langston Hughes investigates the theme of the destructive impact of deferring dreams. In his first sentence, Hughes sets up a rhetorical question, "What happens to a dream deferred?," and then sets about determining the effect of life goals that are delayed or put off. Clearly, Hughes wants to impart the idea that any life goal that is delayed gives a negative outcome. Further, his inclusion of the word Harlem in the title is indicative that the poem reflects the destruction of life goals in the African-American community that is symbolized by Harlem itself. Hughes' poem describes the effect of life goals that must be put off until society changes, and laws and institutions are ready to accept African-Americans. Until the time that an African-American's goals can be fulfilled, Hughes'...
Dreams may simply wither and "dry up," they may lie dormant under the surface and "fester like a sore," become putrid "like rotten meat" or simply become unusable due to lack of use, and "crust and sugar over." Perhaps the most interesting of the alternatives is the implied violence in Hughes' last stanza, where he suggests that unfulfilled goals may "explode." Here, it can be interpreted that Hughes is clearly warning larger society about the inherent danger in subjugating the hopes of an entire class of people, who may "explode" with anger or frustration. Alternatively, Hughes may be speaking on an individual level, and suggesting that unfulfilled dreams can result in an individual "exploding" with despair, and committing an act of self-destruction.
Thomas/Updike Compare/Contrast The Fight for Life in Dylan Thomas' "Do not go gentle into that good night" and John Updike's "Dog's Death" Death has proven to be an inspiration for many poets and has been written about throughout history. These poets look at death from differing perspectives and many have argued that it should be fought against while others are more submissive to the concept. In "Do not go gentle into that
Shelley and Smith's Ozymandias Compare/contrast In Ways of Seeing, John Berger (1972) claims, "When we 'see' a landscape, we situate ourselves in it. If we 'saw' the art of the past, we would situate ourselves in history." Berger proposes that sharing ones experiences is dependent on that individual's perspective. Two poets that are able to demonstrate how perspectives may differ after experience the same event are Percy Bysshe Shelley and Horace
Langston Hughes and James Baldwin Compare/Contrast Music plays a major role in much of the literature that came out of the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was an American cultural movement that aimed to celebrate African-American culture through literature, art, and other intellectual and artistic means. One of the musical styles that was influential in literary works of Langston Hughes and James Baldwin was the blues. This musical style rose out
Growing Up A Quest for Knowledge and Answers with Plenty of Lessons Learned The two works of literature to be examined here are the short story "The Stolen Party" by Liliana Heker and the poem "Hanging Fire" by Audre Lorde. These pieces detail the struggles, fears, successes and implacable worries of childhood. In them, one sees reflected one's own childhood, as the pieces are quite innocent and straightforward in their description. The
T.S. Eliot and Paul Verlaine The late nineteenth century Symbolist movement in literature was first identified as the primary origin of twentieth century Modernism by Edmund Wilson, in his 1931 work Axel's Castle: A Study in the Imaginative Literature of 1870-1930. Wilson's study ranges widely enough to cover the Modernist prose of Proust and Joyce in addition to the experimental prose-poetry of Gertrude Stein, but he makes a particularly strong case
Tupac Sahkur's Poetry Compare and Contrast Tupac Shakur's Poetry For most people the life of Tupac Shakur, symbolizes one of tremendous talent and tragedy. Where, he was gunned down in the prime of his career, because of a rival dispute that occurred with another record label and their artists. This was a part of the violent culture and image that he embraced. ("Rap Star Tupac Shakur Dies" 62 -- 64) As
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