Repetition:
To repeat the same phrases throughout the poem.
To repeat the same phrases throughout the poem.
Mother to Son
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.
Biographical Information:
James Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. His parents divorced when he was a young child, and his father moved to Mexico. He was raised by his grandmother until he was thirteen, when he moved to Lincoln, Illinois, to live with his mother and her husband, before the family eventually settled in Cleveland, Ohio. It was in Lincoln that Hughes began writing poetry. After graduating from high school, he spent a year in Mexico followed by a year at Columbia University in New York City. During this time, he held odd jobs such as assistant cook, launderer, and busboy. He also travelled to Africa and Europe working as a seaman. In November 1924, he moved to Washington, D.C. Hughes's first book of poetry, The Weary Blues, (Knopf, 1926) was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1926. He finished his college education at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania three years later. In 1930 his first novel, Not Without Laughter, (Knopf, 1930) won the Harmon gold medal for literature.
Interpretation of poem:
It talks about the conversation of a mother to son. The mother have went through battered life struggles. She tells her son that life isn't all silver and gold. Also she shares her life experiences and gives him advice.
Visual Representation:
Explanation of Visual:
The explanation is that life is going to bring you trails that you have to face. Also how you have to make the right decisions to get through those trails. This picture relates this poem, because when he states "And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair" it lets the reader know that life is not always easy.
Citations:
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/83#sthash.OEKOwYYQ.dpuf