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Read the full text of Hughes's famous poem about the struggles and triumphs of African American life. The poem is written in the voice of a mother who encourages her son to keep climbing the stairs of life, despite the hardships and obstacles.
- Psalm 23 by Robert Alter
Poems, readings, poetry news and the entire 110-year archive...
- Langston Hughes 101
Understanding a poet of the people, for the people. Few...
- Psalm 23 by Robert Alter
Learn about the themes, structure, and literary devices of Hughes' famous poem, Mother to Son, which uses a staircase metaphor to depict life's challenges. Read the full text, annotations, and interpretation of this Harlem Renaissance masterpiece.
Read the full text of this poem by Langston Hughes, a powerful expression of a mother's love and resilience. The poem compares life to a staircase with obstacles and challenges, and urges the son not to give up.
A poem about the challenges of racism and the resilience of Black people, written in 1922 and published in The Crisis magazine. The speaker is a mother who advises her son to keep climbing the "crystal stair" of life, despite the obstacles and dangers.
Mother to Son Lyrics. 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...
Read the full text of the famous poem by Langston Hughes, a black American poet, about his mother's struggle and advice. Learn about the poem's theme, context, and analysis on PoetryVerse.
Learn about the themes, symbols, and poetic devices of Hughes's inspiring poem "Mother to Son", a conversation from a mother to her child. Explore how the poem conveys the message of perseverance and hope through the metaphor of life's challenging staircase.
