Share this: Facebook Twitter Reddit LinkedIn WhatsApp Show Everyone life is full of hardships but one must overcome from these hardships to achieve success in life. In the poem, “Mother to Son”, mother is encouraging her son for hard work by telling example of her own life and it can be seen as Litotes and Metaphor in the poem. Every mother wants her child to see as a successful person in her life. Therefore, she tells her child about the pitfalls of life so that her child not does the same mistake. She expects from her child to learn about life from her experience of life. And, this love and care of a mother for her child has demonstrated by Langston Hughes in the poem, “Mother to Son”. Through this poem Hughes wants to convey a message that everyone has to work hard in their life. No matter how difficult is your task but never give up in life. Hughes also wants to convey a message that there is a need of determination and courage in order to win the battle in life.
Get Help With Your Essay If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help! Essay Writing Service“Mother to Son” poem is a dramatic monologue. It means there is only one speaker and that is a mother. Mother gives advice to her child that life is full of hardships but you have to never stop in your life. Mother tells to her child that never sits down or turns back in life just because of hardships. Always keep climbing on the ladder of success. Hughes has used lot of metaphors in this poem to compare life obstacles with other things, for example, “Well, son, I’ll tell you: Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair” Here Hughes has compared life with the stairs because climbing stairs is a exhaustive task and on the other hand climbing on the ladder of success is also a difficult task. Mother tells to her child that the path of the life is no as simple as it looks. It is consist of full of tacks, splinters and stumbling blocks but it doesn’t mean that we should stopped moving ahead. According to some lines of “Mother to Son”, it appears that mother is not well educated and she is still fighting against the hardships of life, for example, “And sometimes goin’ in the dark”. But, she has a better experience of life because she has learned a lot from obstacles in her life. The language in the poem is also not grammatically correct which has good point that it gives a real feeling of mother to son conversation to a reader. Another important factor of this poem is metaphors which has been used to smoothly compare life problems with real life examples, for example, “reachin’ landin’s “, “climbin’on” and “turnin’ corners”. It means that mother is telling to her son that she has faced a lot of problems in her life. Problems were tough like climbing on a mountain but she never give up in her life. Furthermore, mother advices her son that there is a need of determination and courage in life because she knows that her son is also going to face rough times in his life. Therefore, she is preparing him to fight against all hard times and to never ever give up in life, for example, “Cause you finds it’s kinder hard”. The last four lines of poem is a advice to son from his mother that don’t sit or turn back because of your problems, just Keep on marching ahead and never give up. “Mother to Son” poem by Langston Hughes teaches a lesson to those people who get scared of hardships in life. And, loose hopes to overcome from their hardships. This poem demonstrates that if we have strong determination and courage then we can win any race in this world no matter how rough is our way. We are Seven“We are Seven” is a short and nice poem. William Wordsworth opens this poem by asking a question that how much a child knows about death. Wordsworth meets a eight year old girl. Girl has curly hair and beautiful eyes. Wordsworth asks to her that how many sibling you have? She replies seven. Then writer again asks her “where are they?” she says two of them are in Conway, two of them are gone to sea and two of them are in churchyard grave. Then writer says that it means you are five brothers and sisters. She says no we are seven. Then writer gets confused, he asks her again that your two brothers has died then how you have six siblings. Girl says that she spend time with those siblings who are dead. She sits and sings near her sibling’s grave. Then writer thinks that may be child knows about death better than adult people.
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1Well, son, I’ll tell you: 2Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. 3It’s had tacks in it, 4And splinters, 5And boards torn up, 6And places with no carpet on the floor— 7Bare. 8But all the time 9I’se been a-climbin’ on, 10And reachin’ landin’s, 11And turnin’ corners, 12And sometimes goin’ in the dark 13Where there ain’t been no light. 14So boy, don’t you turn back. 15Don’t you set down on the steps 16’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard. 17Don’t you fall now— 18For I’se still goin’, honey, 19I’se still climbin’, 20And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.  Published in 1922, ”Mother to Son” was one of Langston Hughes’s earliest poems. Its simple language and powerful message make it both accessible and meaningful for middle grade students. While it captures the inspiring perseverance of an aging mother, it also hints at the struggles inherent in an unequal society. Ideal for teaching word choice, theme, and poetic structure, “Mother to Son” also pairs nicely with units on the Harlem Renaissance or African American literature.
‘Mother to Son’ by Langston Hughes uses the metaphor of a staircase to depict the difficulties and dangers one will face in life.
‘Mother to Son’ by Langston Hughes was first published in December of 1922 in the magazine, Crisis. It was also included in Hughes’ collection, The Weary Blues, published four years later. This piece is one of his most popular and relatable. Readers of all backgrounds can come to this poem and feel themselves either in the shoes of the child or the mother, or perhaps both. It’s a very emotional piece, one that is meant to a reminder of life’s hardships and an inspiration for the strength needed to persevere through them. Summary‘Mother to Son’ by Langston Hughes uses the metaphor of a staircase to depict the difficulties and dangers one will face in life. The poem contains a mother’s warning to her son about the stairs one is forced to climb throughout life. He must watch out for broken boards, splinters, and tacks. These things are there in order to throw him off. Additionally, she explains that although he might get exhausted or desperate, he is never to turn around or sit down. She is still trudging up the stairs, and he can get too. You can read the full poem here. ThemesIn regards to the theme, a reader can interpret the poem as speaking on the importance of experience and determination. As stated above, the speaker is a woman who is addressing her son. She is attempting to explain to him, through the image of the staircase, what his life is going to be like. No matter how dark or dangerous the stairs get, one must continue “climbin’,” as the mother is. It is also important to consider the historical context of this piece. Hughes was an important member of the Harlem Renaissance, who wrote extensively on the oppression and racism that Black Americans face. With this in mind, the speaker can be seen as a generalized image of an African American mother who wants to explain the troubles her black son is going to face as he ages. Structure and Form‘Mother to Son’ by Langston Hughes is a twenty-line poem that is contained within one stanza of text. Hughes composed the text in free verse. This means that there is no pattern of rhyme or rhythm. That does not mean that the word choices are unimportant. In fact, they are lyrical in nature. This can be seen through Hughes’ thoughtful selection of words that reflect a specific dialect and examples of half-rhyme throughout the text. Literary DevicesLangston Hughes has chosen to use anaphora, dialect, and imagery, as well as other literary devices in ‘Mother to Son.’ Anaphora is the repetition of words at the beginning of lines, as well as just a general repetition of words throughout the poem. Anaphora is clearest in lines 4-6 and 10-12. These lines all begin with “And.” They also build off one another, leading up to moving and poignant statements that say something about the difficulties ahead for the son. A reader should also take note of Hughes’s dialectic choices. He uses shortened versions of words such as “reachin’” rather than “reaching” and “landin’s” rather than “landings.” This has the effect of making the verses more song-like. It also speaks to the narrator’s own background and might lead one to assume this person is uneducated. She is a working-class woman who is speaking frankly and on her own terms. One of the most important images of this piece is that of the crystal stair. Hughes uses the staircase as an extended metaphor to represent the hardships that life presents. His speaker describes how the staircase is not “crystal.” It is instead dangerous, torn up, and covered in “tacks” and “splinters.” She also speaks on the way the staircase turns, and the “landings” one eventually reaches along the way. Analysis of Mother to SonLines 1-7
In the first section of lines, Hughes begins with the speaker addressing her son. The first words, “Well, son, I’ll tell you:” sets up the conversation as informal but also important. She clearly has something she needs to tell him, and it isn’t going to be easy. The main thing that the mother wants to tell her son is that,
She is contrasting her own life against one that is easy to progress through (or up). In her case, moving forward represents a staircase with “tacks” and “splinters” protruding from the wood. The wood is also torn up in places, entire boards missing. It is dangerous to live her life, and more often than not, each step presents something new to fear. The fact that boards are missing from the staircase speaks to the lack of support she received or to the missing links in her own understanding of what she should do next. The last lines add to the already painful and at times scary, staircase she has described. Of the boards that do remain on the stairs, and the landings she will come to in the next lines, some of those do not have “carpet.” Again, she is describing the poor conditions she has had to deal with and what a struggle it has been, and still is, for her to live. Lines 8-13
Despite all of the things mentioned in the first seven lines, the speaker is still moving forward. She wants to make sure that, above all else, this is the lesson her son learns. “All the time” she has been struggling, she has also been “a-climbin’ on” up the metaphorical stairs of her life. To describe the different periods of her life, she inserts landings into the staircase. These are places the stairs might take a turn, or she might be able to rest. Whenever she reached these “landin’s” she went ahead and turned the corner. The speaker was not afraid of what might be on the other side, even when she was entering into the “dark.” This is another character trait she is hoping to pass on to her son. Even though she knows how bad things can be, she is unafraid, or at least strong enough, to face them. Not only are the places she is forced to go dark, but there has also has never been any light there. This means that either she is the first one there or one of many who have seen the same darkened corridors of life. Lines 14-20
In the final stanza of ‘Mother to Son,’ the speaker directly addresses her son again. She uses the word “boy” to call his attention and make sure he is still listening to her. The mother tells her son that no matter what he might be going through, now or in the future, he cannot “turn back.” There is nothing down the stairs that will help one make it past an obstacle ahead. She also tells him not to “set down on the steps.” Any hesitation or fear will only make the situation worse. He needs to persevere, especially past these most difficult parts. The speaker also warns her son against “fall[ing].” The stairs must be handled carefully as there are broken boards, tacks, and splinters to avoid. These obstacles, not of one’s own making, are only emphasized by those brought on by one’s choices. The staircase becomes more and more difficult, depending on how one handles their own life. In the last three lines, the speaker reiterates that even though life is hard, she is still going. She is “still climbin’” through the hardships. Similar PoetryReaders who enjoyed ‘Mother to Son’ should also consider reading some of Hughes’ other best-known poems. These include ‘Dreams,’ ‘I, Too, Sing America,‘ and ‘The Negro Speaks of Rivers.’ In the latter, Hughes utilizes a speaker who describes the history of the world through what he’s seen alongside rivers. It is one of Hughes’ best-loved poems. in ‘I, Too, Sing America,’ the speaker asserts his Americanism in the face of those who look down upon the Black population in the United States. He is equal among all people in his country. In ‘Dreams,’ Hughes highlights the value of dreams and how important it is to nurture them if one wants to “fly” above the rest of the world. |
What is the lesson of the poem Mother to Son
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