A Raisin in the Sun Group

Question:

deshon
deshon
Student
College - Junior

What is the literary device of "A Raisin in the Sun" and "Harlem"?

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Posted by deshon on Monday April 6, 2009 at 2:15 PM and tagged with a raisin in the sun, harlem, literary device.

Answers:

  1. eabettencourt
    eabettencourt Teacher
    High School - 10th Grade

    Lorraine Hansberry uses Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem" as an epigraph to her play "A Raisin in the Sun."  An epigraph is when an author chooses to place a quote or poem, etc. by another author that serves to introduce a theme in the work.  For instance, "Harlem" is filled with metaphors and similes about what happens to a dream deferred (at one point, the speaker asks if it dries up like a raisin in the sun).  Hansberry, therefore, uses an allusion to Hughes' poem as her title, and also adopts the theme of the poem as the theme of her play.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/raisin-sun/

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    Posted by eabettencourt on Monday April 6, 2009 at 5:43 PM