ndering of what happens to a dream when it must be postponed or put off. The main body of the poem goes into detail about what happens to the dream. Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Fester like a sore? The whole poem is basically a simile. The author compares this deferred dream to a dried up raisin, a festering sore, rotten meat, syrupy sweetness thats crusty and sugary, a heavy load that just sags, and finally, does it just explode? He uses very good imagery, and Im almost able to see this dream being put off, forgotten about, or deteriorating. Both authors, although using completely different methods, come across very clearly with their main point. While Dickinson is abstract, and Hughes is more concrete with his diction, they both use considerable similes, Hughes more than Dickinson. For example, Hughes uses similes in almost every line of his poem. Dickinson uses only a few, such as as lightning to the children. Dickinson also uses personification, in saying that the truth must dazzle gradually, or using the phrase the Truths superb surprise, referring to the truth as a proper noun, giving it human characteristics. The tone of Dickinsons poem differs from that of Hughess poem in the sense that Hughess poem is inquisitive, while Dickinsons is more commanding. The speaker of Tell all the Truth is saying exactly that- tell all the truth but tell it slant, while the speaker in Harlem is more contemplative, asking what happens to a dream deferred. The imagery of both poems leaves me with solid pictures in my mind. In Tell All The Truth the Truth takes on this certain aura, where you feel that experiencing it would be something wonderful, and it would dazzle you to no end. Also, as mentioned above, Harlem creates the picture of a dream deteriorating, in one way or another. Hughess use of language easily put these images in front of us for us to see....
