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The theme of this poem is "Hold onto your dreams, because without them life is nothing". This is shown in the quote, "Hold fast to dreams / For when dreams go / Life is a barren field / Frozen with snow." (Hughes,  6-8). This quote is saying that when one doesn't hold fast to their dreams, life is boring and dreary. The meaning of this poem is to show the true power of dreams and to show how much dreams can impact one's life. This is shown in the quote, "For if dreams die / Life is a broken-winged bird / That cannot fly." (Hughes, 3-5). This quote means that when dreams are lost, one's life cannot truly take flight and become something great. This poem was published in the year 1929. During this time, Harlem (the city Hughes lived in) was going through the Harlem Renaissance. This is apparent in the poem, seen in the line "Hold fast to dreams," (Hughes, 1). During the Harlem Renaissance, the African-Americans of Harlem were looking to express themselves and their dreams through their art and poetry, and this poem is telling them to always hold onto those dreams. The structure of this poem seems to be free verse, as there isn't any specific meter to it but it is still rhythmical.

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The theme of this poem is to show how much America can improve on equality and shed light on discrimination.
"O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe." (Hughes 5-8)
The tone of this poem is angry and upset. The mood is powerful and a sense of disappointment or shame. This poem was written during The Great Depression where opportunities have become even more slim for the minorities. Hoping it would open the eyes of people that many of the people who are struggling are the backbone of the country and helped built it, yet they are treated as worthless saying the American Dream is dying. "And yet must be—the land where every man is free.
The land that’s mine—the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME—
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again." (Hughes 61-67).
The subject of this poem is the American people, discussing injustice that the public is facing. Repetition, stanzas, and rhyme are used to create the poem.

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Symbolism is taking somethings literal quality away and replacing it with a more symbolic meaning.
"Beaten yet today—O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.
Yet I’m the one who dreamt our basic dream"( Hughes 34-36)
The pioneer is a Symbol for America because they represent the creators of "the land of the free."
Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in stressed syllables containing dissimilar vowel sounds.
"Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one’s own greed!"(Hughes 23-27)
The word Of and Grab is used multiple times in a row.
Simile is a comparison of two things using the words like or as to compare.
"From those who live like leeches on the people’s lives"
Uses the word like to compare how people take from others harmfully but don't care, like how leeches take blood from other living things for their own benefit. (Hughes 51)
Personification is a person, animal, or object regarded as representing or embodying a quality, concept, or thing.
"For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly."(Hughes 2-4)
Dreams can not physically die and life cannot fly or fly in general, also life can't have wings because it is not a physical object its a description or meaning.
Metaphors are a comparison without using like or as.
"For when dreams go
Life is a barren field"(Hughes 6-7)
Hughes is comparing a dead dream to an empty field. Life would be nothing without dreams and aspirations.
Idiom a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words.
"Hold fast to dreams" (Hughes 5)
The idiom is to keep a hold of your dreams for they can easily be lost.

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Hughes, Langston. "Let America Be America Again." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, 25 Oct. 2016. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.

Hughes, Langston. "Dreams." PoemHunter.com. PoemHunter, 03 Jan. 2003. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.

History.com Staff. "Harlem Renaissance." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.

"Langston Hughes." Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 27 Jan. 2015. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.

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Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

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Langston Hughes was born James Mercer Langston Hughes in Joplin, Missouri on February 1st, 1902. His parents divorced shortly after he was born, and his father moved to Mexico and his mother moved around to different places. Hughes was raised by his grandmother until she died when he was a teenager, and after that he moved in with his mother. While living with his mother, they moved to several different towns and ended up in Cleveland, Ohio. Once in Cleveland, Hughes began to write poems. After graduating high school in 1920, Hughes spent a year in Mexico with his father and wrote some poems while he was there. When he returned to the United States in 1921, he went to Columbia University, during this time he also took part in the Harlem Renaissance, before quickly dropping out in 1922. After he dropped out, he worked at different jobs in New York. He also worked on a boat and got to see Africa and Spain while working there. Once he quit his job on the ship in 1924, he moved to Paris for a short time to continue writing poetry.  Hughes returned to America later in 1924 and worked different jobs which were all inspirations for his poems. Hughes' first successful novel was titled Not Without Laughter and was published in 1929.
On May 22nd, 1967, Hughes sadly passed away due to prostate cancer. His funeral, rather than having spoken eulogies, had jazz and blues music as a tribute to his poems.

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By: Kealani Espinda &        Olivya Egilmez

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By: Kealani Espinda &        Olivya Egilmez

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"Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be. Let it be the pioneer on the plain Seeking a home where he himself is free. (America never was America to me.) Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed— Let it be that great strong land of love Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme That any man be crushed by one above. (It never was America to me.) O, let my land be a land where Liberty Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe. (There’s never been equality for me, Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.”) Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark? And who are you that draws your veil across the stars? I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek— And finding only the same old stupid plan Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak. I am the young man, full of strength and hope, Tangled in that ancient endless chain Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land! Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need! Of work the men! Of take the pay! Of owning everything for one’s own greed! I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil. I am the worker sold to the machine. I am the Negro, servant to you all. I am the people, humble, hungry, mean— Hungry yet today despite the dream. Beaten yet today—O, Pioneers! I am the man who never got ahead, The poorest worker bartered through the years. Yet I’m the one who dreamt our basic dream In the Old World while still a serf of kings, Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true, That even yet its mighty daring sings In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned That’s made America the land it has become. O, I’m the man who sailed those early seas In search of what I meant to be my home— For I’m the one who left dark Ireland’s shore, And Poland’s plain, and England’s grassy lea, And torn from Black Africa’s strand I came To build a “homeland of the free.” The free? Who said the free? Not me? Surely not me? The millions on relief today? The millions shot down when we strike? The millions who have nothing for our pay? For all the dreams we’ve dreamed And all the songs we’ve sung And all the hopes we’ve held And all the flags we’ve hung, The millions who have nothing for our pay— Except the dream that’s almost dead today. O, let America be America again— The land that never has been yet— And yet must be—the land where every man is free. The land that’s mine—the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME— Who made America, Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain, Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain, Must bring back our mighty dream again. Sure, call me any ugly name you choose— The steel of freedom does not stain. From those who live like leeches on the people’s lives, We must take back our land again, America! O, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me, And yet I swear this oath— America will be! Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death, The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies, We, the people, must redeem The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers. The mountains and the endless plain— All, all the stretch of these great green states— And make America again!"

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1902-1967