Mother to Son

Mother to Son
Langston Hughes
Well, son, I’ll tell you:
Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
It’s had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor-
Bare.
But all the time
I’se been a-climbin’ on,
And reachin’ landin’s,
And turnin’ corners,
And sometimes goin’ in the dark
Where there ain’t been no light.
So, boy, don’t you turn back.
Don’t you set down on the steps.
‘Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.
Don’t you fall now-
For I’se still goin’, honey,
I’se still climbin’,
And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair



Title – The meaning of the title is a mother telling her son something that is valuable.

Paraphrase – Mother is telling her son that her life was not a crystal stair. It had splinters, torn up boards, and places with no carpet on the floor. She also tells her son what she did to overcome it and that her son, too, should not give up.

Connotation – In this poem there are listings in stanzas four through six and nine through thirteen. The mood of the poem is inspiring because in the poem the mother is telling her son how she overcame the difficulties in her life and that her son can do it too. There is also a repetition in stanzas two and twenty. “Crystal stairs” here serves as a metaphor, which author is meaning a pleasant, happy life.

Attitude - The tone of the author is sincere.

Shifts – There are two shifts in stanzas seven and fifteen. In stanza seven it shifts from the mother telling her son about her hardships to how she overcame it. Then in stanza fifteen, it shifts from the mother telling her son how she overcame it to how the son should overcome his difficulties in life.

Theme – The main theme of this poem is that life is going to be difficult, but just because it is difficult, we should not give everything up but to overcome the difficulties.

The Lamb

Little Lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?
Gave thee life, and bid thee feed,
By the stream and o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing, woolly, bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice?
Little Lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?

Little Lamb, I'll tell thee,
Little Lamb, I'll tell thee.
He is called by thy name,
For He calls Himself a Lamb.
He is meek, and He is mild;
He became a little child.
I a child, and thou a lamb,
We are called by His name.
Little Lamb, God bless thee!
Little Lamb, God bless thee!



Title : I think it is about a lamb
Paraphrase : This poem talks about a guy telling a lamb who created it.
Connotation : there is rhyming; simile; personification.
Attitude: Author is sincere and objective
Shifts: There is one shift starting in the tenth stenza.
Theme: It tells us that we are the children of God, and He also called himself a lamb, and came down to us in the look of human.

Love and a Question -Robert Frost

A stranger came to the door at eve,
And he spoke the bridegroom fair.
He bore a green-white stick in his hand,
And, for all burden, care.
He asked with the eyes more than the lips
For a shelter for the night,
And he turned and looked at the road afar
Without a window light.

The bridegroom came forth into the porch
With, 'Let us look at the sky,
And question what of the night to be,
Stranger, you and I.'
The woodbine leaves littered the yard,
The woodbine berries were blue,
Autumn, yes, winter was in the wind;
'Stranger, I wish I knew.'

Within, the bride in the dusk alone
Bent over the open fire,
Her face rose-red with the glowing coal
And the thought of the heart's desire.

The bridegroom looked at the weary road,
Yet saw but her within,
And wished her heart in a case of gold
And pinned with a silver pin.

The bridegroom thought it little to give
A dole of bread, a purse,
A heartfelt prayer for the poor of God,
Or for the rich a curse;

But whether or not a man was asked
To mar the love of two
By harboring woe in the bridal house,
The bridegroom wished he knew.


-I love this poem because it's such a heart-melting poem.
It got me thinking of my responsibilities as an individual.
Life could be lonely at times and people we meet in our lives
are not related to us. There is one in a million chance of meeting the person next
to you right now. It made me wonder of the friends that i have next to me and
how much they mean to me because it's almost like a miracle to have them
here.