Mother to Son

Q 1. What is the dominant theme of the poem ‘Mother to

Son?’
The dominant theme of the poem ‘Mother to Son’ rests upon the major elements of
courage, determination, struggle, hope and perseverance. The speaker through this
poem highlights the racial oppression faced by the blacks in America. It gives a clear
message to the readers that one must not give up even in the hardest hours of his life.
Difficulties and hurdles are part of life but only those get success who face them with
courage and determination without losing hope. It is the dignity, passion and courage of
a person that helps him in climbing the stairs of hardships and setting the examples for
others to follow. The mother in the poem seems to be quite optimistic in spite of
troublesome life that she has already experienced. She wants her son to keep on
striving hard towards his goal and never look back or give up helplessly. The poem
appears to be sad yet an inspiring one and motivates the readers to believe in hard
work and to nurture hope.
Q 2 What are some literary techniques used in the poem “Mother to
Son"?
Langston Hughes used the literary techniques quite skilfully to represent the feelings
and emotions of a mother and the reality of life. For example:
Extended metaphor is used by the poet to compare the life and struggle of a mother to
a staircase. By using the words “dark" and ”no light” the poet employs the technique of
symbolism. These words symbolize hopelessness in the mother’s life due to critical
circumstances. The imagery of sight is used in the poem . For instance, “crystal
stair”, “no carpet on the floor” , “tacks, splinters and boards torn up". These
images depict a clear picture of tough journey of life. In addition to this, the poet has
also used refrain: ‘Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair’. By repeating this line the
poet wants to emphasize the fact that life is not a bed of roses. It is a journey full of
thorns and rough patches.

Q.3) What is an extended metaphor? How does Hughes use

this literary technique to illustrate the consistent struggle of
a mother in her life?
A metaphor is a comparison between two opposite things. An extended metaphor, is
an author’s use of a single metaphor at length throughout a poem. Hughes compares
the life of a mother to a staircase. The mother says life is not a “crystal stair" which
means that life is not smooth, beautiful and comfortable. Her life is like a “ragged
staircase” which is dilapidated and contains “tacks" , “splinters" and “boards torn
up". It means her life is just a consistent struggle and not an easy path to tread on. She
has passed through many worst circumstances of life but the fact is that she is still
trudging on.
Q 4. Langston Hughes repeats some lines. What function
does it serve in poetry? Explain.
Answer:
In the poem, Hughes repeats some lines. For instance, ‘Life for me ain’t been no
crystal stair’. This is known as refrain. The element of repetition is used by the poet to
add more gravity and put emphasis on the most important idea of the poem. For
instance, by repeating this line the poet wants to emphasize the fact that life is not a bed
of roses. It is not comfortable, beautiful and smooth for all. It is a journey full of thorns
and rough patches. The poet indirectly refers to the trials and tribulations in black
people’s life. Furthermore, the repetition of lines gives a musical quality to the poem .

Q.5) What type of imagery is used in the poem ‘Mother to

Son?’ What does it suggest?
Answer:
The imagery of sight is used in the poem. For example the poet uses an image of
“crystal stair” which immediately gives the impression of climbing on. It refers to
comfort and a smooth journey of life. Similarly, the images of “the floor without
carpet”, “tacks" , “splinters" and “torn up boards” depict the picture of a ragged
staircase. It visualizes the mother’s journey or the uphill climb to a better life. It provides
a view of tough, difficult and miserable life. For example:

‘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.”

Q 6. What is the tone of the poem ‘Mother to Son’? Support
your view with instances from the poem.
The tone of the poem is didactic, plain, colloquial, gritty, instructive, motivational and
optimistic. In this poem, the speaker is expressing her views about the realities of life.
The mother is giving instructions to her son that represents the didactic and instructive
tone. For instance, she says: ‘So boy, don’t you turn back’, ‘Don’t you set down…’,
‘Don’t you fall now.’ While instructing her son the mother motivates and encourages
him too, for the upcoming challenges of life. She inspires him by giving examples of her
own life. She suggests him that you should follow my footsteps no matter what. “For
I'se still going honey, I’se still climbin.”

A. How do you like the poem ‘Mother to Son?’ Write your response
in a short paragraph.
I like the poem mainly because of two reasons; one is the truthfulness of the subject matter of the
poem and secondly the literary devices that are skilfully employed by Langston. I totally agree
with the fact that mothers really struggle very hard for their children and families. They are such
courageous beings on earth that they face all the difficulties, hardships and challenges of life
with determination and strength. In this poem, the way a mother is telling her son the story of her
whole life and side by side giving him advice not to lose hope under any circumstances is really
remarkable.
B. Write an explanation of the following lines with reference to the
context.
Well, son, I’ll tell you:
Life for me ain’t been so crystal stair.
It’s had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor –
Bare.
Reference:
These lines have been taken from the poem ‘Mother to Son’ written by Langston Hughes.
Context:
This poem is all about the struggle of a mother. She is encouraging her son by advising him not
to lose hope and must continue his struggle with patience and determination.
Explanation:
In the opening lines of the poem, the mother is telling her son all about her life, the way she has
spent it so far bearing all the hardships and difficult times with courage and determination. She is
telling him that her life is not a clear and smooth path to tread on. She says that her life is just
like a stair not made of crystal but decorated with sharp nails, splinters and floors with no
carp¹ets at all. With this, she is giving a message not only to her son but to all the readers that we
should not always expect easiness from life but most of the times we have to face unfavourable
situations and obstacles with the courage to get success as life is not a piece of cake but a tough
paper to solve.

Critical Analysis
The poem is a monologue by a mother. It has been written in free verse and has no rhymes or
rhythmic pattern. The tone of the poem is didactic, plain, colloquial, gritty, instructive,
motivational and optimistic. The speaker of the poem is a mother who is giving
instructions to her son about how to confront with the challenges of life. The poet uses an
extended metaphor as he refers to the journey of life as climbing a staircase and says that it has
never been a beautiful crystal stair. It also refers to the struggles people face in their upward
journey of life. The upward journey refers to the journey to heaven or to a better place where one is
free of all the pain and suffering. It is indicative of the kind of poor and miserable lives the African
Americans had in the early 20th century. The poet uses imagery like tacks, splinters, no carpet on
the floor and darkness to describe the difficulties that one faces in life. The poem portrays the idea
that one must possess the courage to move forward in life in spite of all the difficulties that might
come his way. Thus, the main theme of the poem is that of perseverance.