Poetry Research Project: Mother To Son By Langston Hughes
758 Words4 Pages
Parker 1
Kobie Parker
Mrs. Brown
English II
9 November 2015
Poetry Research Project: Langston Hughes
Have you ever wondered how or why Langston Hughes wrote his poems? Maybe you don’t know how he became famous of them. Actually his most famous poem was written when he was a teen (biography.com). He was inspired by his grandmother to write. Also, Hughes uses music to help him construct poems. Overall, he has written more than 60 poems, but he is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance and he is 13th out of the top…show more content… “Mother to Son” explains how life isn’t all that great to some people. The mother compares the journey through life ascending a staircase. The phrases, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair”, and, “And places with no carpet on the floor”, both have imagery. Not only is there places on the staircase where carpet is missing but the staircase also contains tacks, splinters, and places where boards are torn up. You can visualize a destroyed staircase and imagine how tough it would be to climb it. Even if it may be difficult, the mother continues to climb and motivates her son to do it as well…show more content… For example, in this phrase, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair”, repetition is used to stress the hardships in the mother’s life. And in the same phrase, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair”, a metaphor is involved explaining the life of the mother. This phrase has many literary terms taking place in it and it holds a good meaning. Be happy with the living conditions and the life that you possess because there are many humans living far worse than you are. This poem’s meaning is said to give a message about the lives that blacks have under the tyranny of the whites, but I see a different picture. The mother tells