Dreams Shared by Two Modern Poets in the 20th Century: T. S. Eliot’s Totemic-Mosaic Dream and Langston Hughes’s Dream Deferred

Abstract

This paper compares and contrasts the portrayal of dreams in T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land and Langston Hughes’s “Harlem (2).” Eliot’s totemic-mosaic dream reflects the disillusionment and division of modern society where dreams are broken and disconnected, symbolizing spiritual decay in the aftermath of World War I. Eliot presents a world in which the meaning is blurred and the possibility of renewal has disappeared through divided images and mythical hints. In contrast, Hughes’s “Harlem (2)” explores the consequences of deferred dreams, especially those of African Americans who crave equality and justice. Using vivid and concrete images, Hughes describes the emotional and social damage caused by unfulfilled aspirations, suggesting that deferred dreams should “dry up,” “fester,” or “explode.” Hughes presents a more dynamic and collective deferred hope that can eventually lead to social upheaval, while Eliot’s vision is about passive despair and spiritual collapse. In the end, this paper emphasizes the destructive power of dreams in which is achieved by neither poet. The author argues in this paper that Hughes’s dream is rooted in social context and potential for change, whereas Eliot’s dream reflects a wider existential crisis in a divided post-war world.