Beyond Harlem

Jazz, blues, poetry, dance, and musical theater. What do these things have in common? They came about during the Harlem Renaissance. Although one may not notice it without background information and research, much of the music, art, and poetry that influence today’s culture are all derived from the Harlem Renaissance.


After reading “Dream Deferred” by Langston Hughes, I was immediately drawn into the poem through Hughes’s use of vivid imagery, metaphors, and other literary devices. I could relate to the poem because I have had dreams postponed throughout my life. But as I read the background behind the poem, I noticed that although it relates to all people who have goals, there is a specific dream that Langston Hughes was referring to in “Dream Deferred”. The poem is also well known as “Harlem,” which signifies Hughes’s purpose for writing it during the Harlem Renaissance. Before reading the poem, I was not familiar with what the Harlem Renaissance was. By researching the connection and significance of Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance, I and others will be able to learn more about the importance of the era beyond the fact that it was the start of African American poets, writers, and musicians.