Exploring Deferred Dreams: A Stylistic Analysis of Langston Hughes’ Poem ‘Harlem’

This paper presents a comprehensive stylistic analysis of Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem”. Utilizing a qualitative descriptive approach through stylistic analysis, the study examined the poem across four linguistic levels: phonological, graphological, morphological, and lexico-syntactic. Phonological analysis highlights the use of rhyme, rhythm, and sound devices like alliteration, consonance, assonance, rhyme, and imagery and sound patterns emphasizing their role in conveying urgency and frustration. Graphological examination considers punctuation, capitalization, stanza form, lineation, and spatial organization of the poem, illustrating how they contribute to the poem’s interpretive ambiguity. Morphological analysis investigates Hughes’ deliberate word choices and their resonance with the African American experience and deferred dreams. Lexico-syntactic analysis explores sentence structures and the poem’s symbolic language to reveal its commentary on social inequality and aspiration. This study contributes to the broader field of literary studies by providing the value of stylistic analysis in uncovering the depth of Hughes’ artistic expression and the enduring relevance of “Harlem” in contemporary discourse on race and dreams.