"Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes

While reading “Dream Deferred,” a poem by Langston Hughes, I became caught up on a certain line. That line was “Or does it explode?” (Hughes). That question is, strangely enough, an answer to a previously posed question about what ensues when a dream is deferred. Usually, when one puts off a dream or does not act upon it, it is usually forgotten about and never put into action. When I first read this poem, I assumed this first opinion after assuming that that last line meant that the poem would disappear or be destroyed, as those are the verbs I usually associate with explode. However, as I pondered that phrase once again, I began to grasp that the word “explode” might not have a negative connotation in this poem and to Hughes after all. When a metaphorical explosion occurs, it can also mean that they have taken off, or in other words, gathered lots of attention. Perhaps, in this poem, that is what Hughes was attempting to relate to his readers. All similes in the poem involve unpleasant or disgusting prospects, yet explosion leaves room for a more open, positive interpretation. Hughes very well might be telling his readers that if a dream gets pushed out of the way and set on the back burner, it is not always destined for doom. Rather, that burner can heat a dream up until it explodes and carries with it a great impact.