Please help me understand this short poem...?

Question:A Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes
Harlem
What happens to a dream deferred?
does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
or fester like a sore-
and then run?
does it stink like rotten meat?
or crust and sugar over-
like a syrupy sweet?
maybe it just sags
like a heavy load
or does it explode?

what do you think the speaker is suggesting with these verbs?
why do you think the italicized lines are given special attention?
are they connected in anyway?
what might the speaker be suggesting by emphasizing these two lines? [the two line are "Harlem" and " Or does it explode?"
thanks sooo much

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: A Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes
Harlem
What happens to a dream deferred?
does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
or fester like a sore-
and then run?
does it stink like rotten meat?
or crust and sugar over-
like a syrupy sweet?
maybe it just sags
like a heavy load
or does it explode?

what do you think the speaker is suggesting with these verbs?
why do you think the italicized lines are given special attention?
are they connected in anyway?
what might the speaker be suggesting by emphasizing these two lines? [the two line are "Harlem" and " Or does it explode?"
thanks sooo much

the verbs are: dry, fester, stink, crust, sags, explode.

all are negative (at least in its contexts). so the author is tryin got demostrate the negative effects that is cause by "deffering a dream". in other words a dream is meant to lived, not forgotten. people put off their dreams and they rot inside of them. ("rotten meat")

the author is making some kind of connection between harlem and its deffered dreams. you have to know what harlem is and probably the authors connection with harlem.
It is a part of new york, generally not a very nice part of new york. there are a lot of black people in that area as well.
"or does it just explode" maybe the author is saying that harlem has put off all its dreams (of change maybe?) and therefore is purposing the question will its lack of living its "dreams" will make it explode, destroy its self.

the most expressive and dramatic part of the poem is the part italizied so you can say something about that.

Well in general it's about how a person feels when they can't achieve their dreams. Different ways of feeling like pain, bitterness, regret.
The italicized lines make it more political...he is suggesting that Harlem itself may explode, as in a riot.

I will not do homework for you. Sorry. If you read this it would take you less time to figure out what it means than it would take waiting for someone else to do it for you.

On the literal level -- someone is awakened in the middle of a dream -- and the dream disappears ... does it show up elsewhere or disappear.

On a poetic level, the dream could be any person's desires -- to be president, to be a writer, to be a wizard, whatever...
When these dreams are not achieved, do they wither away or explode either literally or with new ideas.

The dream of peace, forever elusive, always just a little bit further -- but never achieved.

Every one has dreams of making a success of them self, to write great poetry, be a rapper, excel in sports, go to Mars.
Do people have dreams of working in a prison, or working on a garbage truck?
Kids get older, get married too young or just have a bunch of kids all over the neighborhood that they have to support.
Suddenly they are a little bit older and their dream of being a rapper does not put groceries on the table, or pay the rent. They have to defer, put off their dreams.
What do those dreams smell like...That is what this poem is about.
You can figure out the rest.