Comparing And Contrasting Two Poems Essay Sample

In the following essay, a comparison and constrasting of the two poems "Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes and "From the Dark Tower" by Countee Cullen. Both poems were written during the Harlem Renaissance. Therefore, it is easy to find similarities between the two poems. The two poems share a similarity in the topic of a harsh and bleak life. While, on the other hand, they depart fairly quickly as "From the Dark Tower" progresses. Cullen specifically writes to one group of people: black people. When it is easily understood that Langston simply wrote to a broader audience — people in general. Langston's purpose was to share his own experience with dreams, good or bad. "From the Dark Tower" is about the need of segregation for black people in order to 'heal'.

First, in the poem "Dream Deferred," Langston ponders thoughts of dreams that are crushed, forgotten, and abandoned. He wonders about their outcome, their effect, most likely from his own personal experiences. Such deferred dreams "fester like a sore" in Langston's vivid description, which can be interpreted as a festering sore which affects the surrounding skin, meaning the broken dream of a person, traps and engulfs them in a dark, lackluster life. Apart from this, Cullen's poem details brilliantly a harsh living standard, one that is not inhabitable for life, one that seems to fester. Both poems share similar thoughts on bleak lives and their effects.

While the two poems, "Dream Deferred" and "From the Dark Tower," have some similarities, they also have many differences. In Langston's poem, he ponders the effects of broken dreams. On the other hand, Cullen mentions his people tending to their wounds alone. Cullen states that they, as a people, need to move on, no longer wait for help and surrender their natural human freedoms. Cullen writes that they don't need the light (white people), rather they will find their strength and tend to their problems in the night (together). Apparently, to the thought of segregation. It seems that Cullen wanted to urge his people, black people, to unite and abandon the land they were brutalized on, leaving for a better place. Therefore, the main difference that can be taken from the two short poems is that Langston wanted to write about his experience dealing with broken dreams and his own worries about them for people in general. On the other hand, Cullen makes a controversial statement (even at the time) regarding the total segregation of black people.

Finally, in the poems "Dream Deferred" and "From the Dark Tower," Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen spoke about a regretful and dreary existence. While Cullen's poem is slightly larger and more intricate, regarding the topics of life and liberation. For Langston's poem, it is shorter and revolves around a single topic: the pondering thoughts of a dreamer. After reading and analyzing, we can come to the conclusion that both authors wanted the readers to have completely different thoughts and takeaways from their material. For Langston, it is clear that a life without the chance to dream is not worth living. Furthermore, for Cullen, he believed in the small chance for his people to finally live, to perhaps be able to have a dream, a life, and liberty.