POEM OF THE DAY : MOTHER TO SON - LANGSTON HUGHES

"MOTHER TO SON" LANGSTON HUGHES

RECITES FAMOUS HARLEM RENAISSANCE POEM

38,117 views•Jun 12, 2016

TIM GRACYK

2.89K subscribers

 

Mother To Son

 

By Langston Hughes

 

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.

 

__________________________________________

 

______________________

Background:

 

"Mother to Son" is a product of the Harlem Renaissance.

 

The Harlem Renaissance refers to an explosion among the arts--poems, paintings, music, novels--produced by African Americans.

 

It started around World War I and ended in the 1930s.  The 1920s was its heyday.

 

This is free verse.  It does not have a sonnet structure.  It does not rhyme.  It has no regular rhythm like iambic. 

 

I like the way “bare” stands alone in one line.  The word “bare” is bare--or the line is bare.

 

This poem is a great example of a dramatic monologue.  The poet created a character--it is not the poet speaking for himself. 

 

It is almost as if a boy had earlier said, "Life should be a crystal staircase," and this poem is the mother's response.  But is this realistic?  No boy would think to say life should be a crystal staircase!

 

Maybe the boy said, "Life is rough," and the mother is the one who made up the glass stair metaphor.

 

I marvel that the mother never promises that life will be better in the future.  She only says to keep going.  Don't expect rewards!

 

Grateful thanks to TIM GRACYK and YouTube and all the others who made this video possible