Essay on ‘I dream a world’ by Langston Hughes

Poetry worth sharing uses language artfully, moves readers emotionally, and illuminates powerful and relevant ideas. A poem that perfectly conveys these ideas is the poem, ‘I dream a world’ by Langston Hughes.

The poem ‘I dream a world’ is about a perfect world the poet dreams of. A world where life is fair to everyone and the poem addresses some serious ongoing problems. The reason Langston Hughes's poem should be studied by students is that it educates students about how damaging racism can be, and how people are being treated as if they are lesser. That we live in a world where not everyone is free to make their own choices.  Addressing these issues helps people understand that even though some are living a nice life, the world isn’t perfect. The poem also moves readers emotionally, for some, it might make them upset or might  motivate others to make a difference  

Langston Hughes uses language to move readers emotionally as the poem confronts ongoing problems that impact many people's lives. This is evident when the poet writes “Where wretchedness will hang its head”  The effect of using personification if this quote is to paint a more relatable picture in the reader's head, an image of wretchedness dying out or being killed. This adds to the picture of Langston Hughes' perfect world.

Furthermore, Hughes suggests that happiness is important. For example, the poem states “And joy like a pearl.” Hughes is using Smillie as a way of saying that joy is precious and valuable like a pearl. Many people who own a pearl wish to keep it looking as new and nice as possible, making sure it doesn't get lost or ruined. This connects to the idea of happiness or joy being something very important. It should be something people value and not take for granted. Therefore, Hughes' poem should be shared and known,  as it demonstrates how language can be used to move a reader emotionally. It not only uses language in a simple understandable way but also affects a reader's emotions and how they see the world.

Additionally, Hughes' poem should be shared with the world as it sheds important light on the ongoing issue of people's needs not being met, like having simple hygiene or food. For example, in the poem, he wrote “Attends the need of all mankind” He uses imagery as a way of painting a picture in the reader's mind. An image of no one having to struggle to survive but of what they need being easily accessible. Like having clean water, or enough food to feed their family.

Moreover, Hughe writes “Black or white,/Whatever race you are”. This suggests to the reader that racism shouldn’t be something that happens constantly or at all.  Binary opposition is used in this quote. The use of this technique is to show skin colour can’t categorise a person and they should be discriminated against because of it. Therefore, Hughes' poem is worth sharing as it uses language that shows the importance of happiness and how race shouldn't define what you do or how people treat you.

It should be acknowledged that good poetry worth sharing uses language artfully, moves readers emotionally, and illuminates powerful and relevant ideas. This is evident in Langston Hughes's poem ‘I dream a world’ which focuses on problems such as hunger and having no rights and touches on racism.  Most importantly, Langston Hughes's poem moved me emotionally, it made me feel upset as it showed me how sad and unfair the world is. I realised we need to start making a change in the world and help make Langston Hughes' dream world a reality. For this reason, I ask you to read and share Langston Hughes's poem as it uses language artfully, moves readers emotionally, and illuminates powerful and relevant ideas.