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**Time for another Lit. Term!

THEME--The main idea or "take-away" in a piece of literature, film, etc.

Example: The theme of many superhero films is "Good triumphs over evil."

**Time to Practice: Reread both poems. See if you can identify the theme in each. Discuss with a partner.

“HARLEM”
-- Langston Hughes
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?



We Real Cool

by Gwendolyn Brooks---1959

THE POOL PLAYERS.
SEVEN AT THE GOLDEN SHOVEL.

We real cool. We
Left school. We

Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We
Die soon.



When you have identified the THEME in each poem, write approximately 15 lines comparing and contrasting the themes in the poems. Upload your answer in the textbox below, or write it on paper and turn it in.







PLEASE HELP I NEED HELP LIKE RIGHT NOW THIS IS DO NOW!

User Ben Ruijl
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1 Answer

5 votes

Answer:

The theme in the first poem is that dreams and hopes do not simply fade away but live on in small things. The theme in the second poem is about the ephemerality of youth and the lengths we will go in order to fit in. Hope this helps.

Explanation:

User Coglialoro
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4.1k points