Mother to Son Flashcards
Used in ordinary or familiar conversation, not formal or literary.
Colloquial
Intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive.
Didactic
The language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people in a particular country or region.
Vernacular
Hughes uses a variety of symbols to develop the extended metaphor used in the poem. The stairs represent the journey of life, and the splinters, boards torn up, and floor with no carpet symbolize the struggles, challenges, and pain that the mother has experienced in her life. The description of the stairs also suggests that they have been used by many others before the mother, which represent the disadvantage that black people faced during this time. The landings and corners symbolize the strides and progress she has made that have helped her continue on, while the darkness represents the hopelessness that she felt during these times of struggle.
Symbolism
Hughes’ diction in the poem reflects African-American speech at this time which furthers the idea that the poem is not only meant as advice to this particular son, but also to all those suffering from racial inequality and poverty. The speech of the mother is colloquial and vernacular (ain’t, well, cause you find it’s kinder hard etc) and mimics the patterns of conversation. Her speech is informal, unpretentious, and familiar to the listener.
Diction
This is a 20-line free verse poem without a regular meter or rhyme scheme. Some rhyme is used, but it does not follow a specific pattern. The poem is written in dramatic monologue structure with one speaker (the mother) giving advice to the listener (the son).
Structure
The theme of the poem is the power of perseverance in the face of adversity. The poem develops the idea that hope and faith in life, despite the challenges and struggles one might face, can allow you to overcome.
Theme
The tone of the poem is very encouraging. The author’s writing style is meant to uplift the reader and give them hope during times of struggle. The tone is also didactic in that it is intended to teach the moral instruction to never give up hope or faith.
Tone
The extended metaphor of the stairs as life is used throughout the poem. Some believe that the metaphor of the staircase is an illusion to Jacob’s ladder. In the Bible, Jacob dreams of a ladder that he said was the connection between heaven and the earth. The story was important within the African-American Christian tradition as it became a powerful image of gaining salvation by keeping faith in times of suffering.
Extended Metaphor
The crystal stair could symbolize a variety of things. It could represent the dreams that the mother had that seemed out of reach, the easier life of the wealthy, or a person’s spiritual journey to heaven.
Symbolism
The poem also symbolically explores the theme of racial and economical inequality in America and the arduous journey that African-Americans had to take for their rights.
Theme
