The poem uses two metaphors to explain how important it is to hold fast to one's dreams. Each stanza states that, in the absence of dreams, life becomes something unpleasant. In the first stanza, if one allows one's dreams to die, the poet states that life will become "a broken-winged bird that cannot fly." The metaphor extends to a symbol: Birds often symbolize hope, freedom, and joy. If a person stops dreaming--stops pursuing the things that make him or her excited, happy, and fulfilled--then that person's life will lack hope and will not result in a feeling of soaring happiness.
In the second stanza, the poet uses a metaphor to compare a life without dreams to a "barren field frozen with snow." A barren field does not produce a crop, and crops don't grow in the winter. Again, the metaphor suggests a symbol: Crops represent fruitfulness or productivity in one's life--accomplishing things one can be proud and which enrich the lives of others. Someone who lets his or her dreams go is going to be unproductive in life. That person will have no motivation to do good things to benefit himself or others.
The poem also personifies dreams, suggesting they can "die," as if they are living things. "Hold fast" implies that dreams are tangible and can be physically held on to, so this is also a metaphor. Letting dreams "die" or "go" means losing out on the possibilities that one could have attained by holding onto those dreams.
Langston Hughes' short eight-line verse is packed with figurative language emphasizing how important dreams are to one's life.
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