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A poem by Langston Hughes about the struggles and triumphs of life for a black mother and her son. Read the full text, analysis, and context of this classic poem on the Poetry Foundation website.
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Understanding a poet of the people, for the people. Few...
- Psalm 23 by Robert Alter
A poem about a mother's warning to her son about the challenges and dangers of life, using the metaphor of a staircase. Learn about the themes, structure, form, and literary devices of this Harlem Renaissance classic.
Learn about the themes, symbols, and poetic devices of Langston Hughes's poem "Mother to Son", which describes the challenges of Black life in a racist society. The poem is a dialogue between a mother and her son, who is advised to keep climbing the "crystal stair" of life.
A poem by Langston Hughes about his mother's struggle and advice to him. The poem uses the metaphor of a staircase with tacks and splinters to describe the challenges and hardships of life.
"Mother to Son" is a 1922 poem written by Langston Hughes. The poem follows a mother speaking to her son about her life, which she says "ain't been no crystal stair". She first describes the struggles she has faced and then urges him to continue moving forward.
Read the full text of Mother To Son, a famous poem by Langston Hughes about the challenges and triumphs of life. The poem is written in the voice of a mother who encourages her son to keep climbing the stairs of life, despite the hardships and obstacles.
Langston Hughes was a prominent writer during the Harlem Renaissance. In this poem, a mother uses the metaphor of life being like a staircase to give advice to her son. While there are difficult times, you must keep moving like you would while walking up a staircase.
