In Langston Hughes's poem "Dreams," a "broken-winged bird" is a metaphor for friends holding hands. A life without dreams. A person dying at a young age. Achieving dreams through hard work.

The line is a metaphor for:

B. A life without dreams.

Explanation:

Let's take a look at the poem:

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow.

As we can see above, in the first stanza the author compares life to a broken-winged bird after mentioning the death of dreams. What the author means is that a life without dreams is as purposeless as a bird that cannot fly. Dreams are what makes life worth living, what gives us a sense of purpose. Without them, there is no reason to go on.

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