Close Reading “Mother to Son”

Lines 1-5

1. Who is the speaker?

2. To whom is the speaker speaking?

3. To what does the speaker compare life?

4. What imagery does she use to describe life?

5. In line 2, what literary element or figurative language is the speaker using?

Lines 6-13

6. What does the speaker mean when she says

“And places with no carpet on the floor –

Bare”?

7. What has the speaker been climbing? (This has two meanings – one literal and one metaphorical.) What two things does she mean?

8. What is the speaker saying about life in lines 11-13?

Lines 14-20

9. What is the speaker telling her son not to do?

10. What message is she telling her son about life in lines 14-15?

11. Why is the speaker using examples from her own life?

Overall

12. What is the speaker’s tone?

13. How does the speaker view life?

14. What is the overall message of the poem?