Harlem by LH- RITS Intro

“Harlem” by Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

TONE:
The similes, images,
and punctuation all
work together to
share a message
with the audience.
As we combine
these elements
together, we can
start to hear the
tone, the emotional
energy, that a poem
has to give.

Collectively, these are the images Hughes uses in his poem. On the
next slide, let’s discuss some of the possible tone words that could be

used to describe the poem.