# Langston Hughes's most famous lines (with the poem they come from)

"I, too, sing America", "My soul has grown deep like the rivers" and "What happens to a dream deferred?": the most quoted lines of Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes, each with the poem and the year it was published.

- 93 votes · 12 items
- Nov 1, 2021 · B. Johnston
- https://even.best/en/l/5140/langston-hughes-s-most-famous-lines-with-the-poem-they-come-from

## Top 12

1. **I, too, sing America. / I am the darker brother.** (11 · ▲11 ▼0) — "I, Too" (1925).
2. **O, let America be America again — / The land that never has been yet — / And yet must be — the land where every man is free.** (9 · ▲10 ▼1) — "Let America Be America Again" (1936).
3. **What happens to a dream deferred? / Does it dry up / like a raisin in the sun? / Or does it explode?** (9 · ▲9 ▼0) — "Harlem" (1951).
4. **My soul has grown deep like the rivers.** (8 · ▲8 ▼0) — "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" (1921).
5. **I do not need my freedom when I'm dead. / I cannot live on tomorrow's bread.** (7 · ▲8 ▼1) — Montage of a Dream Deferred (1951).
6. **I, too, am America.** (7 · ▲7 ▼0) — "I, Too" (1925).
7. **Let America be America again. / Let it be the dream it used to be.** (7 · ▲7 ▼0) — "Let America Be America Again" (1936).
8. **Hold fast to dreams / For if dreams die / Life is a broken-winged bird / That cannot fly.** (6 · ▲7 ▼1) — "Dreams" (1923).
9. **America will be!** (4 · ▲5 ▼1) — "Let America Be America Again" (1936).
10. **You are white — / yet a part of me, as I am a part of you.** (1 · ▲4 ▼3) — "Theme for English B" (1951).
11. **My motto, / As I live and learn, / is: / Dig And Be Dug / In Return.** (-1 · ▲2 ▼3) — "Motto" (1951).
12. **For poems are like rainbows; they escape you quickly.** (-1 · ▲2 ▼3) — The Big Sea (1940).

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.