Dream VariationsTo fling my arms wide
In some place of the sun, To whirl and to dance Till the white day is done. Then rest at cool evening Beneath a tall tree While night comes on gently, Dark like me- That is my dream! To fling my arms wide In the face of the sun, Dance! Whirl! Whirl! Till the quick day is done. Rest at pale evening... A tall, slim tree... Night coming tenderly Black like me. |
Analysis
Hughes presents the reader with two stanzas that look and sound very similar, but are, in fact, opposites. In the first stanza Hughes tells about how he wants to live in relaxation and peace, dancing, playing games, and "rest at cool evening beneath a tall tree while night comes on gently." He dreams of living a carefree life without the burden of racial discrimination and persecution. However, reality is the cruel opposite. He must work non-stop, quickly as though he is dancing and whirling about, and at the end of the day, he is weak and needs rest, but the desire is incomplete. There is no tall tree to sit under in the city. The existence of the burdens of racial inequality will still bear down upon him the next day.
The tone in the first stanza seems lighthearted from the glorious visions Hughes has for his perfect life, but diminishes in the second stanza to a weak and vulnerable tone, as though the purpose for living at the time had, itself, diminished as well. However, the tone starting out as joyous and light hearted gives the reader the idea that although the narrator is miserable, he still had hope for a better future. There is still a time when he will be able to "to fling [his] arms wide in some place of the sun to whirl and to dance till the white day is done."
The lack of an identified narrator gives the poem a sense of universality, as though these thoughts could come from anyone in the African American community, and gives the sense that this it is not only the narrator that conjures these thoughts, but the thoughts of many. The use of first person allows a personal connection between the narrator and the reader as though the narrator is someone conveying his joys and sorrows. It allows the reader to feel empathy for the narrator because the use of first person pronouns make the reader read the poem as through he or she is this persecuted African American. A third person point of view would not have the same effect on the reader, for now the reader can shrug off the words because there is no personal connection to empathize with.
The poem follows an end rhyme scheme of ABCBDEEE ABFBDEEE, and is typical of a blues style poem. The theme of despair and struggle common among blues poems coincides with Hughes's Dream Variations as he tells of the struggles of African Americans in American society and the troubles they face in a racist society. However, he deviates from the pattern of making a statement in the first line, a variation of that statement in the second, and an ironic alternative in the third. Hughes makes his main point and variations on that point in the first stanza and the ironic alternative in the second stanza. The vague word choice in his sentences makes the reader have to analyze the poem deeper to catch the true meaning behind Hughes's words. The slight change in the words in the second stanza makes the two seem identical at first, but upon deeper analysis, it is discovered that the first and second stanzas are actually opposites: the first telling of his glorious dreams for the future and the second the dull dreary life the narrator currently lives.
The tone in the first stanza seems lighthearted from the glorious visions Hughes has for his perfect life, but diminishes in the second stanza to a weak and vulnerable tone, as though the purpose for living at the time had, itself, diminished as well. However, the tone starting out as joyous and light hearted gives the reader the idea that although the narrator is miserable, he still had hope for a better future. There is still a time when he will be able to "to fling [his] arms wide in some place of the sun to whirl and to dance till the white day is done."
The lack of an identified narrator gives the poem a sense of universality, as though these thoughts could come from anyone in the African American community, and gives the sense that this it is not only the narrator that conjures these thoughts, but the thoughts of many. The use of first person allows a personal connection between the narrator and the reader as though the narrator is someone conveying his joys and sorrows. It allows the reader to feel empathy for the narrator because the use of first person pronouns make the reader read the poem as through he or she is this persecuted African American. A third person point of view would not have the same effect on the reader, for now the reader can shrug off the words because there is no personal connection to empathize with.
The poem follows an end rhyme scheme of ABCBDEEE ABFBDEEE, and is typical of a blues style poem. The theme of despair and struggle common among blues poems coincides with Hughes's Dream Variations as he tells of the struggles of African Americans in American society and the troubles they face in a racist society. However, he deviates from the pattern of making a statement in the first line, a variation of that statement in the second, and an ironic alternative in the third. Hughes makes his main point and variations on that point in the first stanza and the ironic alternative in the second stanza. The vague word choice in his sentences makes the reader have to analyze the poem deeper to catch the true meaning behind Hughes's words. The slight change in the words in the second stanza makes the two seem identical at first, but upon deeper analysis, it is discovered that the first and second stanzas are actually opposites: the first telling of his glorious dreams for the future and the second the dull dreary life the narrator currently lives.