Mother to Son

BY LANGSTON HUGHES
1) Well, son, I’ll tell you:
2) Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
3) It’s had tacks in it,
4) And splinters,
5) And boards torn up,
6) And places with no carpet on the floor—Bare.
7) But all the time I’se been a-climbin’ on,
8) And reachin’ landin’s,
9) And turnin’ corners,
10) And sometimes goin’ in the dark
11) Where there ain’t been no light.
12) So boy, don’t you turn back.
13) Don’t you set down on the steps
14) ’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.
15) Don’t you fall now—
16) For I’se still goin’, honey,
17) I’se still climbin’,
18) And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
Questions to answer on a sheet of paper.
1) What is this poem about? Think about this as the THEME as well - which is the
"universal message" of the poem that everyone can understand.

2) What does the metaphor “crystal stair ” in line 2 refer to?

3) What is being described in lines 3 through 6?

4) What happens at the end of the poem and what does the ending reveal about the
speaker?

5) What are the strongest images that are present to the reader in this poem in your
opinion? Remember that creating images in our minds from what we read is a good
reading strategy to understand the text.

6) Consider all the words Hughes uses that relate to things. What images
can be seem from these particular words and why does Hughes pick these
particular things as symbols in this poem ?

7) Repetition occurs in lines 4,5,6 and 8,9,10. What word is repeated and
how does that one word contribute to the overall message?

8) How does the speaker view life overall?

9) In lines 10 and 11, what EMOTIONAL feelings do you get?

10) What words in this poem does Hughes use to convey a sense of defeat?

11) What words does Hughes use to convey a sense of hope?

12) Where in the poem does it seem the attitude of the speaker or tone
changes? What line indicates this shift?