Mother to Son by Langston Hughes
She is attempting to explain
‘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. ‘Mother to Son’ 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.
Explore Mother to Son
1 Langauge 2 Images and Themes3 Summary of Mother
to Son4 Analysis of Mother to Son
Langauge
Langston Hughes has chosen to use anaphora, 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 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.
Images and Themes
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.
In 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.
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
around 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.
Summary of Mother to Son
‘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
too.
You can read the full poem here.
Analysis of Mother to Son
Lines 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,
Life for [her hasn’t] been no crystal stair.
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.
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 the
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’”
Lines 8-13 through the hardships.
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 place 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, there

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