What's the effect of the food imagery?
The use of food
imagery in the Langston Hughes poem Harlem,
adds a visceral effect that reinforces his description expired
dreams. The poem opens with the line “what Happens to a dream
deferred?'(1). This establish that the rest of the poem will address
that question in some way. Lines like "like a raisin in the
sun"(3), "stink like rotten meat"(6), and "crust
and sugar over---"(7) use imagery of various food items to
exploit the fact that most food reactions are extremely strong in
people's minds. This occurs because of humans automatic relation of
disgust with rotten, expired, or unwanted foods. When Hughes relates
the expiration of dreams with the expiration of food, the imagery of
rotten meat and crusty sweets becomes a powerful poetic tool. The
disgust created by this tool is used by Langston Hughes to add a
deep-wired response of disgust with expired dreams.
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