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.