The title of the poem has a deep meaning to it.

It explicitly tells about a mother teaching\

talking to her son. “Mother,” tells us that she will be the narrator of the poem.

The speaker of “Mother to Son” is a black woman and a mother. She is talking directly to her
“son”, giving him advice drawn from her own life about how to survive and thrive in a racist society.
She dwells on the obstacles and dangers that she’s faced --- comparing her life to a dangerous and
poorly maintained set of stairs. The speaker is thus a passionate critic of American racism and a
strong advocate for black self-empowerment. Langston sought to honestly portray the struggles and
hardships of working-class black lives, avoiding both sentimental idealization and negative
stereotypes.

The tone of the poem “Mother to Son” is one of sternness and hope. A mother explains to
her son that life will bring hardships and obstacles that he must face and overcome. She commands
him to be resilient but adopts a nurturing tone, by saying “honey”, she softens her tone from being
authoritative; instead, she spurs him on by showing him that if she can keep striving, so can he. The
mother concludes her lesson by repeating, “And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair”. The mood of
“Mother to Son” is one of optimism in the face of hardship and sadness.

The crystal stair is the primary symbol of the poem, and all subsequent metaphors are
extensions of it. Such a sparkly, fancy staircase would be clean and smooth, in direct opposition to
the stair, the speaker climbs with “tacks in it,\And splinters,\And boards torn up”. The crystal stair
also describes something bright and clear as glass. For the speaker, her stair has been opaque and
dark. Ultimately, taking the poem’s historical and political context into consideration, the crystal stair
symbolizes all those privileges denied to the poem’s contemporary black Americans. The idea that
privileged people walk on a crystal stair could indicate a kind of fragility.

“Mother to Son” utilizes various forms of figurative language to convey its message. The
poem employs a sustained metaphor of life as a staircase. Through vivid imagery, the mother paints a
picture of a rough and difficult staircase, symbolizing the hardships of life. Personification is
employed when she attributes human qualities to life, suggesting its unforgiving nature. Enjambment
is used in line 6 and line 17. Langston also uses polysyndeton throughout out the poem to slow down
the pace of the sentences and create cadence. Hyperbole is used to emphasize her persistence and
determination despite the immense hardships she has endured. The writer also uses Anaphora at
the beginning of the poem, as well as general repetition of words throughout the poem.

The poem has twenty lines contained within one stanza. Hughes composed the text in
free verse. This means that there is no pattern of rhyme or rhythm. Although the word choice is
lyrical. This can be seen through Hughes’ thoughtful selection of words that reflect a specific dialect
and examples of half-rhyme throughout the text.

Major themes in “Mother to Son”: Hardships, hope, perseverance in the face of

adversity, and courage are some major themes of the poem. The poem explores the dignity and
determination of a person when facing problems.