#6

The central theme of "Dream Deferred" is annoyance with the circumstances of the time period (1930s and '40s) in relation to civil rights. The dream to which the poets is most likely referring is the dream of racial equality. The metaphors he uses in the poems describe different ways that the issue of civil rights could be handled by the country. He begins with several scenarios which could result from waiting to act on people's feelings about civil rights, all of which are bad, but they're not the worst. The second to last stanza describes the current situation with civil rights. It's weighing on the people like a heavy load. The last line describes the worst case scenario by relating it to an explosion. Violence is this worst case scenario.