"Mother to Son," written by Langston Hughes, is written in the voice of a mother advising her son how life has been for her and how she has struggled. The whole poem is built around a metaphor of life as a staircase; the mother repeats at both the beginning and end of the poem that life "ain't been no crystal stair" for her—meaning that it has not been easy to navigate.
Instead, the "stair" of the mother's life has contained "tacks," "splinters," and "bare" places without carpet, indicating that she has suffered hardship. Metaphorically, however, she has "been a-climbin' on"—continuing despite the difficulties she has encountered—and there is a sense that she has achieved much. She has been offered respite by the "landin's" she has reached, enabling her to "turn corners." Sometimes, "there ain't been no light," and the mother finds herself "goin' in the dark." She does not mean that there literally is no light for her. Instead, she means that things have often seemed confusing and difficult and she has often felt unguided. In the end, however, she advises her son not to "set down on the steps" of life and to keep going as she has.
There are no similes in the poem.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
I need a list of the metaphors and similes in the poem "Mother and Son" by Langston Hughes.
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