“Dreams”, “Hope”, and “Fire and Ice” are merely three examples of how powerful poetry can be in communicating highly valuable truths.
Undoubtedly, Langston Hughes is a talented poet. His work “Dreams” holds the invaluable truth that a life without hopes and dreams is not a gratifying life. Hughes uses suitable metaphors in his poem to declare this message, saying, “For if dreams die / Life is a broken winged bird / That cannot fly” (2-4). This metaphor generates an accurate image in the reader’s mind of life without dreams. A life without dreams is useless and unable to accomplish what it is meant to do, just as a bird with a broken wing cannot fly. Hughes uses this metaphor to stress the relevance of keeping dreams alive. Also, this metaphor uses clear imagery, giving the reader a distinct picture in …show more content…
He creatively describes what feelings are destroying mankind - desire and hatred - by comparing them to simpler things that people can better comprehend - fire and ice. Frost explores the world ending in fire and ice only, showing how strongly he feels that the world will cease to exist either because of hatred or because of desire, not any other reasons. This allows the reader to understand how destructive these two feelings can be. Frost expresses his opinion on fire and desire when he says, “From what I’ve tasted of desire / I hold with those who favor fire” (3-4). He uses a metaphor to compare fire to desire and to say how pernicious fire, and therefore desire, can be. Clearly, fire can burn deeply and dangerously, so this is a perfect metaphor for what could eventually ruin the world. Frost also uses the comparison of ice and hatred to describe the world’s demise when he states, “I think I know enough of hate / To say that for destruction ice / Is also great” (6-8). This exemplifies how Frost believe that hatred could destroy everything just as easily as desire could. People can be cold and freeze others out, like ice, and this isolation theoretically can destroy all bonds of mankind and consequently eradicate everything. Frost uses beautiful and accurate metaphors in “Fire and Ice” to indicate that humans must be cautious of their desire