"Does it dry up / like a raisin in the sun?" (Lines 2 and 3)
This poem is fairly easy to understand simply because it is so short. It is only 11 lines, but each of those lines packs a punch. There are a total of 5 similes beginning with the word "like" in this poem, and they all address a "dream deferred." The word deferred is accompanied by a negative connotation in my mind, but atleast I understand the general meaning of it. The most difficult interpretation that is to be made in this poem is to decide to which type of dream this poem is referring. Is it an actual dream that one has zero control of, the kind that is directed by one's subconscious in the glorious moments of slumber? Or is it a conscious dream? A dream that one desires and strives for all the time? It really doesn't matter. According to this poem, they will both die the same descriptive (thanks to the similes) way. The similes are all negative and - frankly - disgusting. Apparently, a deferred dream will never result in anything good. Thank you, Hughes, for this warning never to defer a dream.
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