Objectives

• Analyze the poem

• Understand and appreciate the poem

• Understand what the speaker of the poem is

Langston Hughes

• Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967)

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 timeI'se been a-climbin' on,

Mother to Son by Langston Hughes

• And reachin' landin's,And turnin' corners,And sometimes goin' in the darkWhere 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.

Open Constructed Response #1

In the poem, who is the mother speaking to and what is the message?

Answer to Question 1

The mother is speaking to her son. Her message is that her life has not been easy, but she has not allowed herself to stop trying.

Open Constructed Response #2

What is the metaphor that the speaker uses in the poem?

A metaphor states that one thing is something else. It is a comparison, but it does NOT use like or as to make the comparison.

Response to Question #2

The speaker uses the stairway to represent her life.

Open Constructed Response #3

What does the mother want the son to do?

Response to Question #3

• The mother wants the son not to give up. She advises her son, “So boy, don’t you turn back. Don’t you set down on the steps.” She has been through darkness on her climb up the steps, but she warns him that just because things can be hard, he must let the challenges dishearten him to the point of ceasing the struggle.

Student Friendly Rubric Level 4

• I demonstrate understanding by explaining the key ideas from the text, both stated and unstated. I use information from the text to interpret or connect the text to other situations or texts through analysis, evaluation, inference and comparison.

Level 0

I write nothing. I write nothing related to the text. I write about something other than the assignment.