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Dream Variations
and peace. His dancing implies his desire to reject the
POEM TEXT expectations of white society, while his resting at night
represents the importance of finding a sense of home within
1 To fling my arms wide the Black community. This speaker's dream, then, is a dream of
dauntless Black selfhood in the face of an oppressive world.
2 In some place of the sun,
3 To whirl and to dance The speaker dreams of dancing throughout the "white day" of
dominant white society, openly and vibrantly expressing
4 Till the white day is done.
himself in spite of racism and oppression. The speaker's
5 Then rest at cool evening
depiction of the daylight as "white" conveys the harsh glare or
6 Beneath a tall tree oppressive gaze that white society casts on the Black speaker.
7 While night comes on gently, This description also subtly suggests that white society owns
8 Dark like me— the day.
9 That is my dream! Yet the speaker refuses to defer to this "white day" and the
oppression it represents. Instead, he dreams of "fling[ing] his
10 To fling my arms wide arms" open wide in a gesture of freedom and defiance, joyfully
11 In the face of the sun, dancing in the sun's "face"—or in the face of white society as a
12 Dance! Whirl! Whirl! whole. The energy and openness of the speaker’s dancing
13 Till the quick day is done. suggest that he defies the racist norms of white culture. He
14 Rest at pale evening . . . refuses to make himself small in the face of white standards and
15 A tall, slim tree . . . white oppression.
16 Night coming tenderly Though the speaker imagines defying the "white day," the poem
17 Black like me. also suggests that he seeks a place away from the glare of the
day—a place where he can find safety and a sense of belonging.
Ultimately, the speaker finds this in the night, which is "Black"
as he is. This night, which the speaker says is "Black like me," can
SUMMARY be read as representing Black community and identity. Within
this community, the speaker is no longer scrutinized for his
I dream of spreading my arms wide somewhere in the sunlight, Blackness. Instead, he is simply seen as "me," as who he is, and
of spinning and dancing until the day's bright, white light is over. can rest in a sense of shared identity and experience. The
Then I would relax in the refreshing cool air of evening, "gentl[eness]" and "tender[ness]" of this night suggest that the
underneath a big tree, while night softly arrived, a night as dark Black community offers the speaker comfort, safety, and relief.
as I am. That's my hope and my vision! Importantly, though, in the poem’s second "variation" on the
I dream of spreading my arms wide, right in front of the sun. I speaker’s dream, the speaker imagines also being able to rest
would dance, spin, and spin some more until the short day was "at pale evening." This suggests that the speaker imagines a
over. I would rest in the dimly-lit evening underneath a big, society in which he can find freedom and rest all the time. The
slender tree. Then night would gently arrive, a night that is word "pale" connects the evening to the earlier image of the
Black just like I am. "white day." The speaker hopes for a time when he can "rest"
always, even alongside white people, without fear of racist
violence, scrutiny, and discrimination.
THEMES
Where this theme appears in the poem:
RESISTING RACIST OPPRESSION • Lines 1-17
In "Dream Variations," a Black speaker dreams of
dancing all through the "white day" before resting in
a night as "dark" as he is. Metaphorically speaking, the "white BLACK ART, JOY, AND SURVIVAL
day" represents the racist society in which the speaker lives; While the speaker of "Dream Variations" envisions a
the speaker is dreaming of a time and place free of such life free of racial oppression, he also dreams of ways
discrimination, in which he can find a sense of joy, belonging, to survive the oppression that currently exists. The poem

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suggests that the speaker's art—both his dancing and the art of would do this “[i]n some place of the sun.” This second line
this very poem itself—helps him get by in a racist society and suggests that he yearns for “some place” on earth—some place
imagine a better future. Art, the poem implies, is a powerful “under the sun,” as the saying goes—where he could experience
force through which the speaker comes to a deeper sense of this freedom and ease. The alliter
alliterativ
ativee sibilance of /s/ sounds in
Black community, identity, and joy. “ssome” and “ssun,” as well as the assonance of /uh/ sounds in
The speaker makes it through the "white day" and the both words, lends his longing a gentle music.
oppression it represents by dancing, whirling around until the LINES 3-4
day is "done." This joyful, energetic movement suggests that he
turns to vibrant artistic expression to survive and thrive in a To whirl and to dance
racist world. Till the white day is done.
The speaker's dancing also shifts the focus of the poem away Still in his dream, the speaker imagines how he would “whirl"
from the "white day" and the white society it represents, and “dance” until the “white day is done." This freewheeling
instead centering the speaker’s experience and creativity. This dance evokes the liberated openness the speaker dreams of
suggests that the speaker’s art, his creative expression, allows experiencing. The anaphor
anaphoraa of “to,” which repeats from the first
him to retain a sense of autonomy and freedom. And notice line of the poem and appears here twice (“T To whirl and to
how, in the second of the poem’s "variations," the speaker dance”) creates a momentum that mirrors the energy of the
changes the phrase "white day" to "quick day." This suggests speaker’s dancing.
that as the speaker continues to dance—as he becomes more This anaphora also creates par parallelism
allelism between the poem’s first
deeply immersed in both his dream and his art (and the poem at two lines and lines 3 and 4, which make up the poem’s opening
hand)—he can envision a time free of white dominance, in quatr
quatrain
ain. Both the first line and the third lines of this quatrain
which white culture no longer owns the day at all. The speaker’s begin with the word “to” and describe some action the speaker
artistic joy, then, creates a sense of possibility, vision, and hope. dreams of taking (“To fling my arms wide,” “To whirl and to
dance”).
Where this theme appears in the poem: This parallel structure creates a sense of patterning in the
poem, yet also calls attention to what changes within the
• Lines 1-17
parallelism: in the poem’s third line the speaker describes two
actions (whirling and dancing) instead of just one (flinging open
his arms). This shift speeds the poem up and gives it a sense of
LINE-BY
LINE-BY-LINE
-LINE ANAL
ANALYSIS
YSIS urgency, making the speaker's dance seem more and more
energetic.
LINES 1-2
This increase in urgency and momentum leads the speaker to a
To fling my arms wide crucial moment in the poem, when he describes the day as
In some place of the sun, “white.” This whiteness could be the harsh white light of the sun
The poem's title lets the reader know that the poem will be at midday, but it also clearly alludes to oppressive white society.
about the speaker’s "dream"—a vision of the life he most wishes That “white day” can be read as a metaphor for white culture as
for. But this will also be a poem with "variations": slightly a whole: the speaker dreams of “danc[ing]” and “whirl[ing]” to
different versions of this dream. The word "variations" get through this “day,” or to survive the racist white society all
immediately connects the poem to the musical traditions of jazz around him. The fact that the speaker imagines surviving this
and the blues—genres that work with themes and patterns, as "white day" through dancing—a form of art—suggests that it is
well as variations on these themes. That connection to musical the speaker's art that sustains him.
traditions born in the Black community links the speaker’s In these lines, alliter
alliteration
ation connects the /t/ sounds in “T To” and
dream to Black art and identity. “T
Till,” the /w/ sounds in “wwhirl” and “w white” and the /d/ sounds in
The poem will borrow stylistically from these musical forms, “d
dance” and “d done.” Subtly, this alliteration reinforces the idea
too. The blues often use lightness, humor, and syncopated that the speaker’s dancing helps him to get through the “white
rhythms to convey painful experiences, and the poem will do day,” since in each case, the first word in the alliterative pair
the same. The speaker will envision a future of freedom, connects to the speaker’s actions (“tto whirl” and “tto dance”),
lightness and ease, while simultaneously hinting at the pain of and the second word (“[tt]ill,” “wwhite,” and “dday”) relates to the
his current reality, in which he can only dream of this possibility. “white day”—what the speaker dreams of surviving.
In the poem’s opening lines, the speaker begins to describe this This fourth, end-stopped line of the poem (“Till the white day is
dream. He imagines himself “fling[ing]" his arms “wide” in a done”) ends the first quatrain, and also establishes the poem’s
gesture of openness and freedom. Then, he describes how he rh
rhyme
yme scheme
scheme. Within the quatrain, “sun” rhymes with “done,”

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setting up a rhyming pattern that follows an ABCB structure. scheme, readers the stanza should end after the word "me,"
This rhyme scheme creates a sense of evenness and steady with the conclusion of its second quatr
quatrain
ain. Yet this quatrain
pacing—a pattern that the poem will go on to repeat and contains an additional line—making it technically a quintain, or
transform. a five-line stanza: the speaker goes on to say, of everything he
has just described, “That is my dream!”
LINES 5-6
The long /e/ sound in “drea
eam” connects this line musically to the
Then rest at cool evening preceding four lines, each of which also contains a long /e/
Beneath a tall tree sound in its closing syllable ("tree," "gently," "me"). The
After dancing through the “white day,” the speaker imagines continued assonance of long /e/ sounds fills these lines with a
finally being able to “rest,” in the “cool evening.” The image of sense of music. The lines simply sound good and harmonious,
the “cool evening” contrasts with the harsh, white glare of the reflecting the fact that the speaker has finally found a place of
day, suggesting that the speaker dreams of finding some space belonging and rest within this dark night when it arrives.
of reprieve, away from the oppressive gaze of white society. This pattern also marks a shift away from the ABCB structure
These lines also shift the poem away from the par parallelism
allelism that at the poem’s opening, suggesting that the poem has moved
drove the first four lines, implying that the speaker, too, has into a different kind of music—a variation on the very structure
shifted away from that established pattern and the energy of it set up. This "extra" line also echoes jazz or blues music.
his dancing, to a place of comfort and relief. Instead of strictly following a pattern or theme, it keeps
The speaker envisions finding this place of relief “Beneath a tall extending and varying its own rhythmic structure.
tree.” The alliter
alliterativ
ativee /t/ sounds in “ttall” and “ttree,” combined Finally, the last line of the stanza reaffirms that everything the
with the consonance in “restt” call attention to this image. At the speaker has described here is, in fact, his “dream.” This
same time, the tree perhaps subtly alludes to a history of affirmation conveys the sense of hope and possibility within the
violence that is the opposite of the relief and peace the speaker poem, as the speaker envisions a life of freedom and self-
imagines: the image of the “tall tree” might evoke the history of expression, free from the strictures and threat of white society.
lynching and other brutal acts of violence against Black people. At the same time, the line reminds the reader that this is only a
In the speaker’s dream, though, he is alone in this natural space, “dream,” a hope the speaker has that is beyond his current
and the tree has become a place not of terror and violence, but reality. The line conveys both the speaker’s dream and the pain
of peace and relief. of his reality at once.
These lines continue the rh rhyme
yme scheme established by the
previous four. Yet where the first four lines followed an ABCB LINES 10-11
rhyme scheme, the sounds at the ends of these two lines are To fling my arms wide
very similar. The assonance of the long /e/ sounds in “eevening” In the face of the sun,
and “tree
ee,” in fact, creates an effect close to slant rh
rhyme
yme—almost The speaker begins to describe the second “variation” of his
a DD rhyme—suggesting that the poem has begun to subtly dream. The first line of this stanza directly repeats the first line
change the pattern it has set up. of the poem, as the speaker dreams of “fling[ing] [his] arms
LINES 7-9 wide.” This par
parallelism
allelism lets the reader know that the speaker is
describing the same dream that he described in the first stanza,
While night comes on gently, but now in a slightly varied form. This repetition also brings the
Dark like me— reader back to the image that opened the poem, of the speaker
That is my dream! throwing open his arms in a gesture of openness and freedom.
The speaker envisions how, while resting underneath the tree, Line 11 (“In the face of the sun”) then reveals the first slight
night would gradually and “gently” fall over the scene. This shift within this “variation” on the speaker’s dream. In the first
night, the speaker says, is “Dark like me.” stanza, the speaker had imagined opening his arms in “some some
This “darkness” contrasts with the “white day” mentioned in line place of the sun.” This line conveyed the speaker’s longing for a
4 and suggests that the night, too, can be read metaphorically
metaphorically. place where he could experience such self-expression and ease.
If the “white day” represents the oppressive white society that Here, though, the speaker imagines opening his arms in “the the
the speaker must survive, the “night” can be read as face of the sun.” This conveys a kind of joyful defiance of the sun
representing the Black community within which the speaker and the “white day,” as well as the oppressive society this “white
finds a place of safety, belonging, and shared identity. The fact day” represents.
that the speaker describes the night’s darkness as a simile (it's The word “face” also creates an internal rh
rhyme
yme with the word
dark like him) reinforces this sense of shared identity. “place” from the first stanza. This rhyme calls attention to the
According to the pattern the poem has set up via its rhyme difference between the two words, suggesting that rather than

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searching for such a place where such freedom might be As in his first “variation” on his dream, the speaker imagines
possible, the speaker now envisions himself flinging his arms resting at the end of the day, underneath a tree. Since this
open right in front of the sun, regardless of where he is. This stanza has proceeded in the same order as the first stanza (the
varied version of the speaker’s dream, then, subtly shifts the speaker imagining opening his arms in the sun, then dancing,
poem’s mood from a longing for freedom to a joyful, resistant and then resting), the poem continues to make use of
enactment of this freedom within the poem itself. par
parallelism
allelism and patterning. These two lines, though, once again
include important changes—a.k.a. "variations"—from their
LINES 12-13 earlier versions.
Dance! Whirl! Whirl! First, while in the first stanza the speaker described this part of
Till the quick day is done. his dream using complete grammatical phrases (“Then rest at
The speaker continues to describe this new variation on his cool evening / Beneath a tall tree”), here he imagines this
dream. As in the first stanza, he envisions himself dancing and moment in a sequence of two sentence fragments, each of
spinning about until the day is over. Yet these two lines include which ends with ellipses: “Rest at pale evening… / A tall, slim
several important changes from their earlier iterations. tree…” After the momentum and increased energy in the
First, instead of envisioning his dancing with the slower and preceding lines, these ellipses slow the poem down, creating a
more paced “[t]o whirl and to dance,” here the speaker kind of pause or rest like the one the speaker describes within
describes the dance through three one-word commands: the poem itself.
“Dance! Whirl! Whirl!” he says. These short, staccato At the same time, the imagery in the lines changes. Instead of
sentences, intensified by the repetition of “Whirl!” suggest that the evening being “cool,” it is now “pale,” a word that
the speaker is, in the dream, dancing with even more energy, interestingly recalls the description of the day as “white.”
and also that in a way he is already dancing within the poem. Perhaps this shift suggests that in the speaker’s dream, he can
The next line is closer to its earlier version from the first stanza, now rest anywhere, including in an evening that is “pale” or
but also includes an important change. Where before the metaphorically connected with white society. This shift
speaker imagined dancing “[t]ill the white day is done,” here he suggests that the speaker dreams of a life free of racial
reimagines the day not as “white” but “quick.” This removal of discrimination and segregation, where he can rest and find
the word “white” implies that in the speaker’s dream, white peace and safety no matter where he is.
society is no longer dominant and no longer “owns” the day; The speaker also now describes the “tall tree” from the first
instead, the day is just a day, that passes quickly through the stanza as a “tall, slim tree.” Note the consonance of /t/ and /l/
speaker’s dancing. sounds, with the /l/ of “tallll” repeating in “sllim,” and the /t/ of
The poem reflects this idea of quickness and speed through its “ttall” repeating in “ttree.” This consonance helps to convey the
rhythms. The first two lines of this stanza have the same natural grace and beauty of the tree, further distancing it from
number of syllables as the first two lines in the prior stanza. The associations with historical violence, and suggesting that in the
third line of the second stanza (“Dance! Whirl! Whirl!”), speaker’s dream, the tree is a place of comfort.
however, has only three syllables. By contrast, the third line of LINES 16-17
the first stanza has five syllables (“To whirl and to dance”). This
shift in line length—which also corresponds with the poem Night coming tenderly
dropping the anaphor
anaphoraa of “to” that appeared in the first Black like me.
stanza—speeds the poem up. The poem has begun to not just The speaker again imagines night arriving while he rests under
describe but also to embody the speaker’s dream through the a tree. Where before he described the night as coming “gently,”
energy of its rhythm and music. here he depicts it as arriving “tenderly,” a word that is close in
meaning to “gently” but suggests an even greater degree of
Several poetic devices also add to the poem's musical quality.
comfort and care. This line is shorter than its earlier version
Alliter
Alliterativ
ativee /d/ sounds connect “D
Dance,” “dday,” and “d
done,”
(the speaker has omitted the words “while” and “on”). Yet in this
reinforcing the idea that the speaker dances through the day,
new version, the speaker seems to not only imagine night
and until the day is over, to reach a place of greater comfort and
peace. Consonance of the /l/ sound in “Whirll” and “Tillll” also arriving; it is as though, within the moment of the poem, night is
convey this idea, suggesting that through the art of his dancing, “coming” closer to him, and actually approaching.
the speaker is able to reach the point when the day is at an end. As at the end of the first stanza, these lines end with assonant
long /e/ sounds, creating rhymes between “tree ee,” “tenderlyy,” and
LINES 14-15 “mee,” as well as a slant rh
rhyme
yme with “eevening.” This again adds
Rest at pale evening . . . music and emphasis to these lines, and thus to the speaker's
A tall, slim tree . . . vision at the end of the poem.

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In the poem's final line, the speaker describes the night as
“Black like me.” Earlier in the poem, the speaker described the POETIC DEVICES
night as “Dark.” This shift in language is important, as the
speaker asserts his Black identity directly for the first time in METAPHOR
the poem. And here, importantly, is where the poem ends. Metaphor is an important part of in “Dream Variations.” First,
Rather than mentioning, as he did at the end of the first stanza, the speaker describes dancing through the “white day” until it is
that this is the “dream,” the speaker stops at the moment that over. The fact that the speaker describes the day as “white”
the “Black” night actually does arrive— suggesting that in a way, suggests that the day is a metaphor for white society as a
the dream is alive and real through the poem itself. whole. The Black speaker envisions himself surviving life within
this racist white society through his art—his dancing.
By contrast, the speaker welcomes the night, which is “Dark”
SYMBOLS and “Black like [him].” The night, then, can be read as a
metaphor for the Black community, in which the speaker finds a
DANCING sense of safety, belonging, and shared identity.
The speaker’s dancing symbolizes joy and freedom. The speaker extends both of these metaphors throughout the
The speaker dreams of finding “some place” where he poem, as he refers to both the “day” and the “night” in stanzas 1
can be free under “the sun,” and in this place, he imagines and 2. But the poem also subtly changes these metaphors. In
himself dancing with gleeful abandon, "whirl[ing]" and spinning. the second stanza, though the speaker imagines dancing
through the day, he no longer describes the day as “white”;
This dance doesn't just express freedom, but also a kind of
instead, it is “quick.” At the same time, the night (and he himself)
exuberant resistance. The speaker dances through the “white
change from “Dark” to “Black.” These subtle changes imply that
day” and then in “the face of the sun.” In other words, his dance
as the speaker comes to a stronger sense of his identity, and a
defies the day and the racist white society that day represents.
stronger sense of belonging within the Black community, the
The speaker's dancing also represents art more broadly. The dominant white society holds less power over him.
poem suggests that it is through his creative art—his
dancing—that the speaker is able to survive the "white day" and
Where Metaphor appears in the poem:
reach the Black night, and the Black community and safety that
it represents. • Line 4: “white day”
• Lines 7-8: “While night comes on gently, / Dark like
Where this symbol appears in the poem: me—”
• Line 13: “quick day”
• Line 3: “To whirl and to dance” • Line 14: “pale evening”
• Line 12: “Dance! Whirl! Whirl!” • Lines 16-17: “Night coming tenderly / Black like me.”

THE TREE SIMILE

On one level, the "tall tree" the speaker imagines The speaker uses two memorable similes to describes the
resting under simply symbolizes the natural world. night: first, that it is “Dark like me,” and then that it is “Black like
Alone under this tree, the speaker is free from the social me.” These similes suggests that the "Black" night is a time of
constructs that lead to segregation and racism. freedom and release: the "white day" is a time of work and
effort, but night is restful and peaceful.
The tree also evokes the vitality of the speaker’s dream and
implies that his dream will continue to grow until it becomes a The speaker's similes emphasize the sense of belonging, shared
reality. In this way, the poem reclaims the tree as a symbol of life. identity, and likeness he feels with the night—and by extension,
with the Black community that this night represents. The
The image of a tree might evoke lynchings, gesturing to the
similes also suggest that while the night is like the speaker, the
terrible history of white violence against Black Americans. But
“white day”—and the white society it represents—are unlike the
through his dream, the speaker transforms the tree into a
symbol of rest, safety, beauty, and hope for a better future. speaker. In other words, while the speaker can never find a
sense of complete belonging within a dominant white society,
he can "rest" in the "Dark" of night, of his community.
Where this symbol appears in the poem:
These similes appear at the end of both stanzas—and thus at
• Lines 5-6: “Then rest at cool evening / Beneath a tall the end of the poem as a whole. This placement calls attention
tree” to the similes and emphasizes the speaker's newfound sense of
• Lines 14-15: “Rest at pale evening . . . / A tall, slim tree . . .” joyful comfort. By ending with the simile “Black like me,” the

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poem conveys the speaker's relief at finding himself at home in whole, as each part of the dance seems to lead into the next.
the world, and emphasizes how this dream of freedom is Parallelism also works on a larger scale in the poem. The second
inextricably connected to a sense of identity and belonging in stanza has a very similar structure to the first—even opening
the Black community. with lines that are very nearly identical to the poem's first:

Where Simile appears in the poem: To fling my arms wide

• Line 8: “Dark like me” In the face of the sun,
• Line 17: “Black like me.”
Each stanza then moves in the same way, with the speaker first
dreaming of “fling[ing]” his arms open in the sunlight, dancing
ANAPHORA
until the day is over, resting under a tree, and experiencing
Anaphor
Anaphoraa appears throughout “Dream Variations,” creating comfort and relief at night. Many of the lines in the second
rhythm and emphasis and evoking the energy of the speaker's stanza are close to direct repetitions. All this parallelism links
wild, whirling dance. these two versions of the speaker's "dream"—and calls
Most notably, the speaker repeats the word “to” at the attention to their differences.
beginning of lines 1 and 3 (“TTo fling,” “T
To whirl”) and also at the For instance, instead of the longer and slower line “To whirl and
beginning of the third line’s second clause (“toto dance”). This to dance,” this line’s second iteration uses three quick
anaphora gives the poem momentum as the speaker begins to exclamations: “Dance! Whirl! Whirl!” This shift speeds the
describe his dream. Anaphora here conveys the energy urgency poem up and also suggests that the speaker not only dreams of
of the speaker’s dance. dancing, but is in a sense "dancing" through the poem itself,
It makes sense, then, when the anaphora drops away toward feeling its joyful rhythm.
the end of the first stanza, when the speaker imagines himself Other slight changes in the second stanza shift the poem’s
resting as night arrives. Here, his attention shifts from his own rhythms. For instance, line 14 in the second stanza repeats the
actions to his gorgeous, peaceful surroundings. idea of resting beneath a tall tree, but ends with ellipses,
The poem's anaphora is also tied to its broader par
parallelism
allelism. making this moment of rest seem elongated: both the speaker
Both stanzas start with a version of the same phrase: and reader pause and take a breather.
These rhythmic changes connect to the poem to the musical
To fling my arms wide traditions of jazz and the blues. Both of these genres begin by
In [...] sun, introducing themes or patterns, and then shift and change
those patterns. In its “variations,” the poem creates a kind of
This patterning links the two "Dream Variations"—but it also blues song on the page.
highlights what's different in the poem’s second variation on the
dream. The poem shifts away from its use of anaphora in the
Where P
Par
arallelism
allelism appears in the poem:
second stanza and generally speeds up, suggesting that the
speaker is more immersed both within his dance and the dream • Lines 1-8
itself. • Lines 10-17

Where Anaphor
Anaphoraa appears in the poem: JUXTAPOSITION
• Line 1: “To” The poem uses juxtaposition to highlight the difference
• Line 3: “To,” “to” between the “white day,” which represents dominant white
• Line 10: “To” society, and the “night,” which can be read as representing the
Black community.
PARALLELISM The poem juxtaposes day and night not just through their
whiteness and blackness, but through the speaker's actions,
The poem's par
parallelism
allelism is an important part of its structure,
comparing how the speaker gets through the white day—which
allowing the speaker to build these two "Variations" on his
is by dancing—with how he finds relief with the arrival of night.
dream.
This juxtaposition emphasizes the difference between the
When the speaker describes his dream of dancing in the first dominant white society, which the speaker must survive
stanza, he does so through a sequence of infinitives: “To fling,” through his art, and the Black community, in which the speaker
“To whirl,” and “to dance.” This parallelism ("To + verb related to finds a sense of shared identity and safety.
movement") emphasizes the energy and vibrancy of the
As the poem goes on, it also plays with these juxtapositions. For
speaker’s dream. It also suggests that this dream is unified and

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example, in the second stanza, the speaker describes the END-STOPPED LINE
evening as “pale,” an antonym of “Dark,” which described the The poem uses end-stopped lines to manage its pacing, to
night in the first stanza. Since “pale” is closer to “white,” the create rhythm, and to draw attention to important moments.
speaker shifts the terms of the poem here, suggesting that he
dreams of resting not only in the night that is “Black like [him]” End-stops here often mark moments of special emphasis. The
but also in a time or place more closely aligned with white first stanza, for example, is almost evenly divided into two
society. In other words, the speaker dreams of a time in which sentences: the first ends when the white day is "done" in line 4,
racism and segregation no longer exist. and the second ends with the speaker's "dream"—marked with
an emphatic exclamation point. These end stops draw attention
both to the finality of the white day's end and to the beauty and
Where Juxtaposition appears in the poem:
excitement of the speaker's dream. The emphatic dash in line 8
• Lines 1-4 makes that effect even stronger:
• Line 5
• Lines 7-8 While night comes on gently,
• Lines 10-13 Dark like me——
• Line 14 That is my dream!
• Lines 16-17
That dash both connects the "dream" to what has come before
IMAGERY and sets it apart, giving the speaker's joyful cry its own space.
The poem's imagery makes the speaker’s dream vivid and The second stanza moves differently. Here, an exclamation
palpable. point ends “Dance! Whirl! Whirl!” in line 12. This enthusiastic
The speaker imagines dancing in the sunlight until the “white end-stop conveys the wild energy of the speaker’s dancing.
day” is over. This image conveys the harsh bright light of the That energy runs into drawn-out pauses in lines 14 and 15:
day—and, by extension, the cruel gaze of the white society it
represents. His dance under that sun isn't just a dance, but an Rest at pale evening . . .
energetic "whirl" that suggests his joyful defiance. A tall, slim tree . . .
Then, the speaker envisions himself resting in the “cool
evening” underneath a “tall tree” until night arrives “gently” and These languorous ellipses slow the poem down dramatically
“tenderly.” Here, the evening isn't cold, but deliciously "cool," before its ending, when the speaker imagines the night
and the tree isn't just tall but "slim" and graceful. These images approaching, “Black like me.” All of these shifts in pacing build
of bodily comfort and the beauty of nature contrast with the toward the poem’s conclusion, and the relief the speaker finally
glare of that "white day," and tangibly evoke the speaker's relief finds in the approaching night.
at the arrival of the night, which represents his feeling of
security and acceptance in the Black community. Where End-Stopped Line appears in the poem:
The speaker often uses images taken from the natural world • Line 4: “done.”
here, imagining the freedom and ease he feels when he is alone • Line 8: “me—”
in nature. This natural imagery implies that racism and white • Line 9: “dream!”
supremacy are social constructs. In his dream, alone in nature, • Line 12: “Whirl!”
the speaker can be free of these oppressive social constructs • Line 13: “done.”
and experience belonging and safety. • Line 14: “evening . . .”
• Line 15: “tree . . .”
Where Imagery appears in the poem: • Line 17: “me.”

• Line 4: “white day” ALLITERATION

• Line 5: “cool evening”
• Line 6: “tall tree” “Dream Variations” uses alliter
alliteration
ation throughout to create
• Lines 7-8: “While night comes on gently, / Dark like music and meaning. For example, in the first stanza, sibilant
me” alliteration connects “ssome” and “ssun,” communicating the
• Line 14: “pale evening” speaker’s longing for “some place” under the “sun” where he
• Line 15: “tall, slim tree” can experience such freedom and openness.
• Lines 16-17: “Night coming tenderly / Black like me.” Then, alliteration helps to convey how the speaker’s dancing
allows him to survive the “white day.” In lines 3 and 4, the poem
creates alliterative clusters, between “w
whirl” and “wwhite,” and

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“d
dance,” “d
day,” and “ddone.” In each of these clusters, the first
word in the grouping (“w whirl,” “d
dance”) relates to the speaker’s • Line 9: “dream”
actions, his dancing. The second (and third) words in the • Line 10: “fling”
clusters (“wwhite,” “d
day,” and “d
done”) have to do with what the • Line 11: “face”
speaker is surviving by dancing: the white day, and the white • Line 13: “Till”
society it represents. • Line 14: “pale”
• Line 15: “tall,” “slim”
This alliteration creates a kind of dance within the poem,
• Line 16: “tenderly”
evoking how the speaker survives life in this racist society and
• Line 17: “Black,” “like”
reaches the “night” where he can belong. The poem emphasizes
this sense of belonging through another instance of alliteration,
as /d/ sounds connect “[dd]ark” and “ddream”: the speaker’s ASSONANCE
dream, this alliterative moment suggests, is of finding this kind The poem uses assonance to connect words together and to
of comfort and community in the “[d]ark” night and the Black create layers of meaning. For example, long /a/ sounds connect
community that it represents. “plaace” and “daay” in the first stanza. These long /a/ sounds
reappear in the second stanza, with the pairing of “faace” and
Where Alliter
Alliteration
ation appears in the poem: “daay.” This assonance calls attention to what shifts in the
speaker’s second variation on his dream. In the second
• Line 2: “some,” “sun” iteration, the speaker doesn’t just long for “some place” where
• Line 3: “whirl,” “dance” he can open his arms wide. He envisions doing this in “the face”
• Line 4: “white,” “day ,” “done” of the sun—and implicitly, in the “face” of the white day and
• Line 6: “tall tree” white society as a whole. The poem’s assonance, then, calls
• Line 8: “Dark”
attention to the subtle change in the poem’s tone tone, as it shifts
• Line 9: “dream”
from longing to defiance and resistance.
• Line 10: “fling”
• Line 11: “face” The poem also uses sequences of assonant long /e/ sounds at
• Line 13: “day,” “done” the endings of both stanzas. These long /e/ sounds appear in
• Line 15: “tall,” “tree” “eevening,” “tree
ee,” “mee,” and “drea
eam” in stanza one, and then in
• Line 16: “tenderly” “eevening,” “tree
ee,” and “mee” in stanza two. These assonant line
endings create an effect close to rhyme, even though only “tree”
CONSONANCE and “me” are full or exact rhymes in both cases. In each of these
moments of the poem, though, the long vowel sounds create a
Much like alliter
alliteration
ation, consonance creates music and sense of pause and continuity, conveying the speaker's peace as
contributes to the poem’s meaning. evening rolls in.
For instance, in the second stanza, consonant /l/ sounds
connect “flling,” “whirll,” and “[t]illll.” This consonance helps to Where Assonance appears in the poem:
emphasize the fact that the speaker is dancing, and “fling[ing]”
his arms open until (“till”) the “white day” is over. Then, later in • Line 2: “place”
the stanza, /l/ sounds appear again, linking “palle,” “tallll,” and • Line 4: “day”
“sllim,” and then “tenderlly,” “Bllack” and “llike.” Here, the • Line 5: “evening”
consonant soft /l/ sounds communicate the comfort and relief • Line 6: “tree”
the speaker finds with the arrival of evening. These repeated • Line 8: “me”
soft sounds, which contrast with the hard /t/ and /d/ sounds of • Line 9: “dream”
“whitte day,” also convey the “gentle[ness]” and “tender[ness]” of • Line 11: “face”
the arriving night. • Line 13: “day”
• Line 14: “evening”
• Line 15: “tree”
Where Consonance appears in the poem: • Line 17: “me”
• Line 1: “fling”
• Line 2: “place”
• Line 3: “whirl” VOCABULARY
• Line 4: “Till”
• Line 6: “tall,” “tree” Variations () - A slightly different version of something. The
• Line 7: “night,” “gently” poem's title, then, means that the speaker will describe two
• Line 8: “Dark” different versions of his dream.

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Fling (Line 1, Line 10) - To energetically throw something. In There are also a couple of moments in the second stanza when
the poem, the speaker means that he throws open his arms. the meter uses three stressed syllables in a row, like "Dance
Dance!
Whirl (Line 3, Line 12) - To spin around quickly. Whirl
Whirl! Whirl
Whirl!" or "A tall
tall, slim tree
tree." That break from the pattern
of two stresses per line gives these "variations" a little extra
Pale (Line 14) - Light-colored, the opposite of dark. energy.

RHYME SCHEME
FORM, METER, & RHYME The poem's rh rhyme
yme scheme shifts to reflect its meaning. The
first four lines of the poem ("To fling [...] is done") begin with a
FORM
steady pattern, which goes like this:
“Dream Variations” doesn't follow a traditional form, but its
ABCB
shape is still important to its meaning. First, the poem is written
in two stanzas. These stanzas correspond to the “variations” of This pattern sets up the expectation that the second half of the
the speaker’s dream: in each stanza, the speaker recounts his stanza will follow a similar back-and-forth rhyme scheme.
dream in a slightly different way. Instead, though, the last five lines of the stanza go like this:
Within each stanza, the lines are grouped into rhyming DEFEG
quatr
quatrains
ains. But the first stanza ends with an additional line While there are only two true rhymes here ("tree" and "me"), all
(“That is my dream!”). the ending words here are connected to each other through
This shape helps the poem build toward its meaning and assonant long /e/ sounds: “eevening,” “tree
ee,” “gentlyy,” “mee,” and
ending. Where the first stanza ends with the speaker's cry that “drea
eam.” This sequence of long vowel sounds at the end of the
everything that he has just described is his “dream,” the second stanza creates a sense of lengthening, rest, and pause,
stanza ends without this extra line. The poem ends simply by matching the speaker's description of his delicious relaxation
describing the arrival of a night that is “Black” like the speaker, "at cool evening."
suggesting that the speaker has made his dream a reality The poem’s second stanza works in a similar way, and even uses
through the poem itself. many of the same rhyme words as the first stanza, building to
The poem also plays with forms taken from the Black musical the same gentle concluding rhyme on the words "tree" and
traditions of jazz and the blues. Both of these genres of music "me." In both of these "Dream Variations," rhyme helps the
work by introducing themes and patterns, and then swerving speaker come to a gentle rest, at ease and "rhyming" with his
away from these patterns to create new variations. In the surroundings.
"variations" of its two stanzas, the poem does something similar
with its rhythms, language, and sounds: for instance, "To whirl
and to dance" in line 3 transforms into an exuberant "Dance! SPEAKER
Whirl! Whirl!" in line 12. These jazzy riffs on a theme reflect the The speaker of “Dream Variations” remains unnamed, but the
speaker's visions of creativity, belonging, and shared identity in reader still learns a lot about him. The speaker is Black and
the Black community. dreams of being free of the strictures and segregation of an
METER oppressive society—of living a life of freedom and self-
expression.
"Dream Variations" is mostly written in dimeter, or lines with
two metrical feet. For example, the first two lines read: Importantly, too, the speaker is an artist: in his “dream,” he
imagines getting through the “white day” by dancing. This
To fling | my arms wide exuberant art form brings the speaker, ultimately, to the
In some place | of the sun peaceful night and the Black community that it represents.
All of these qualities make it possible to read the speaker as
In the first line, “To fling” is an iamb
iamb: a metrical foot that goes Langston Hughes himself. A leader in the Harlem
da-DUM
DUM. Then, “my arms wide” is an anapestanapest, which goes Renaissance—a Black art movement that emerged from New
da-da-DUM
DUM. The second line is made out of two anapests (“In York City in the early 20th century—Hughes was a poet,
some place” and “of the sun”). In spite of these different kinds of novelist, and playwright who explored the Black American
feet, the lines sound rhythmic and balanced because each uses experience.
two stressed syllables. The movement between iambs and The Harlem Renaissance championed a distinctly Black art, free
anapests feels a lot like the “dance” the speaker describes. A lot from the dominant white aesthetic in American culture.
of the lines in the poem work this way, moving back and forth Similarly, the speaker of “Dream Variations” dreams of finding
between iambic and anapestic dimeter. relief, comfort, and shared identity within the Black

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community—and among Black artists. Ideas Hughes worked with in "Dream Variations" also appear in
That said, because the poem leaves the speaker’s identity open- his later work. For example, his 1951 collection Montage of a
ended, he can also be read as an everyperson, whose "dream" is Dream Deferred uses dreams as an image for Black Americans’
the dream of many Black Americans: a vision of freedom, collective hopes for freedom and equality.
belonging, and safety, free of white oppression. The Weary Blues, including “Dream Variations,” had a profound
effect on American literature, as other Black writers explored
Hughes's jazz and blues aesthetic and embraced a distinctly
SETTING Black poetics. The last line of the poem (“Black like me”) also
provided a title for a famous nonfiction work of the same name
The setting of “Dream Variations” is the speaker’s dream. The
by American journalist John Howard Griffin. Griffin, who was
speaker imagines finding a place in "the sun” where he can open
white, deliberately darkened his skin to be perceived as Black
his arms wide in a gesture of freedom. He imagines dancing in
and traveled through the segregated American South. He
the sunlight until the “white day” is over and then resting
documented the hatred and violence he experienced in Black
underneath a “tall tree” in the evening. Finally, the night arrives,
Lik
Likee Me
Me, which was published in 1961.
and it is "Dark" and “Black” as he is, offering the speaker
comfort and relief. HISTORICAL CONTEXT
All of these details create a peaceful outdoor setting in which In the early 20th century, millions of Black Americans migrated
the speaker can express himself freely. In nature, the poem from the South to cities in the North, Midwest, and West,
suggests, the social constructs of racism and segregation don’t seeking a better life—a movement known as the Great
exist. At the same time, this imagined beautiful, natural setting Migration. These migrant populations faced pervasive
suggests another setting: the oppressive reality in which the discrimination and segregation, and a combination of state-
speaker currently lives, from which he dreams of this other sanctioned racism and violence pushed them into poorer
world. Although this setting isn’t described within the poem, it neighborhoods. Harlem, in New York City, was one such
is implicitly present, the oppressive backdrop against which this neighborhood.
dream of freedom comes into relief.
In the 1910s and 1920s, Black artists, writers, and musicians
Finally, the “night” in the poem is a setting in its own right. Since who had migrated to Harlem created what is now known as the
the night is “Black,” it can be read as representing the Black Harlem Renaissance: an outpouring of art, music, and literature
community, in which the speaker finds comfort, relief, and a that explored Black Americans’ experience and forged a
sense of shared identity and vision. distinctly Black aesthetic. Defying the harsh conditions they
lived in, these artists expressed a vision for a different future:
not one of assimilation to white culture, but of embracing Black
CONTEXT culture and creating art for a Black audience.

LITERARY CONTEXT The poem “Dream Variations” expresses much of the hope and
feeling of this movement. The speaker imagines surviving the
“Dream Variations” was originally published in Langston “white day”—the dominant white society—through his art. In
Hughes’s first poetry collection, The Weary Blues, which came the last line of the poem, he embraces his identity through a
out in 1926. This collection explores aspects of Black American night that is “Black like [him],” suggesting that he finds relief,
experience and draws on the traditionally Black musical safety, and autonomy in a shared Black identity—just what the
traditions of jazz and the blues. In fact, Hughes was known for artists of the Harlem Renaissance aspired to.
writing what is now called "jazz poetry," playing on these
genres' rhythm and music. He even envisioned the poems being
performed to music in Harlem jazz clubs. MORE RESOUR
RESOURCES
CES
“Dream Variations” and The Weary Blues came out of the
Harlem Renaissance, an early-20th-century Black art EXTERNAL RESOURCES
movement that flourished in the New York City neighborhood • The Jazz Aesthetic — Read about the jazz aesthetic that
of Harlem. Hughes was a Harlem Renaissance leader; in his Hughes pioneered: a form of poetry that draws on the
1926 essay, “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,” he musical traditions of jazz and the blues. (https:/
(https:///poets.org/
outlined the need for Black artists and writers to embrace te
text/brief-guide-jazz-poetry
xt/brief-guide-jazz-poetry )
Black life and culture in their work, instead of aspiring to a
• Smithsonian Article on Black LikLikee Me — Learn about Black
white aesthetic. “Dream Variations” reflects this vision, as the
Like Me, the 1961 nonfiction work by John Howard Griffin
speaker imagines finding rest, comfort, and shared identity in
that takes its title from the last line of "Dream Variations."
the Black community. In the book, Griffin, who was white, documents his

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experiences traveling through the segregated American • I, T
Too
oo
South while passing as Black. • Let America Be America Again
(https:/
(https://www
/www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/black-
.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/black- • Mother to Son
lik
like-me-50-y
e-me-50-years-later-74543463/)
ears-later-74543463/) • Night FFuner
uneral
al in Harlem
• The Ballad of the Landlord
• A Biogr
Biograph
aphyy of Langston Hughes — Learn about Langston • Theme for English B
Hughes's life and work in this biographical article from the • The Negro Speaks of Riv
Rivers
ers
Poetry Foundation. (https:/
(https://www
/www.poetryfoundation.org/
.poetryfoundation.org/ • The WWeary
eary Blues
poets/langston-hughes)
• The WWeary
eary Blues — Learn more about The Weary Blues,
the 1926 collection that included "Dream Variations," in HOW T
TO
O CITE
this essay by contemporary American poet Kevin Young.
(https:/
(https:///poets.org/te
poets.org/text/langston-hughess-weary-blues)
xt/langston-hughess-weary-blues) MLA
LITCHARTS ON OTHER LANGSTON HUGHES Little, Margaree. "Dream Variations." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 12
POEMS Jun 2020. Web. 4 Jan 2022.
• Cross CHICAGO MANUAL
• Da
Daybreak
ybreak in Alabama
Little, Margaree. "Dream Variations." LitCharts LLC, June 12, 2020.
• Democr
Democracy
acy
Retrieved January 4, 2022. https://www.litcharts.com/poetry/
• Dreams
langston-hughes/dream-variations.
• Harlem

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