''Mother to Son''
Well, son, Ill 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.
In Langston Hughes' poem, Mother to Son, the mother is giving advice to her son.
She's telling him that life hasn't been easy for her. She's had ups and downs and tragedies, but she continues on living. She does what she has to do to live and she is telling him not to give up because he might think things are hard. She is still going and living and she is not giving up, so she does not want him to give up.
Diction: I'se been a climbin' on.
Imagery: and places with no carpet on the floor--Bare.
Symbolism: Don't you set down on the steps.
Figurative language: Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
Point of view: the mother is giving her son advice.
Slant: No slant.
Metaphor: Life for me ain't been no crystal stair
it had tacks in it, and
