HSC English

NCTB Textbook
English for Today

Unit: 2 (Dreams)
Lesson: 2 (Dreams Poems)

Dreams
Langston Hughes

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1
 Dreams
Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

2
Wing: ডানা
Broken-winged bird: ডানা-ভাঙ্গা পাখি
Barren: বন্ধ্যা, খনষ্ফলা, অনুববর

Theme:
The theme of the poem is importance of dreams in human life, and the plight when
dreams are shattered. The speaker talks about the importance of dreams in life.
He compares life without dreams with a broken-winged bird. As a broken-winged
bird cannot fly, life with shattered dreams also suffers and cannot enjoy the
freedom of flying in the sky. He also compares this life with a barren field. A
barren filed cannot produce any crop. Similarly, human life becomes ‘frozen with
snow’, and cannot bear any fruit either when dreams are gone.