Figurative Language 1- Dream Deferred

"Or does it explode?" line 11

"Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes uses a combination of similes and a metaphor to describe the loss of an aspiration. In each simile, a deferred dream is compared to something unpleasant or with a negative connotation. The similes seem to represent individually negative aspects of a lost dream. The metaphor on the other hand, seems to encompass the similes into one. The metaphor compares the dream to an exploding bomb. When I think of a bomb exploding, I hear the ticks that count down to the explosion. To me, each simile seems to represent one tick, and the metaphor is the explosion itself. I think this makes sense because the metaphor has the most emphasis in the poem. A lost dream is an utter explosion to the person who lost it. The dried raisin, festering sore, rotten meat and heavy load are merely branches that build up the suspense of the ultimate explosion or loss of the dream.