Tone: The tone of this poem may be characterized as encouraging and optimistic yet contemplative and cryptic. Throughout the the poem, the speaker, a mother who is speaking to her son, acknowledges that while life is indeed difficult, it is never wise to dismiss all of one's aspirations and dreams. In speaking to her son, she offers words of consolation and comfort, contributing to the poem's optimistic tone: "So, boy, don't you turn back. / Don't you set down on the steps. / 'Cause you finds it's kinder hard."The tone of this poem is also cryptic as a result of the speaker's extensive use of and reference to metaphorical imagery, such as the crystal stairs.
Word Choice: The word choice in this poem is distinguished by the speaker's use of informal, colloquial language, such as "ain't," "'Cause," and "I'se." This informal language helps to contribute to the poem's encouraging and optimistic tone by giving it a more personal touch.
Imagery: As I mentioned, the speaker consistently refers to metaphorical imagery through the poem. In the beginning, the speaker states that "Life for ain't been not crystal stair. It's had tack in it / And splinters." Essentially, the speaker is stating that it is erroneous to equate life to "crystal stair," a reference to easy living. The speaker also uses dark and light imagery, as well as the symbolic meanings associated with these contrasting elements, to further advise her son in facing life's many hardships.
Style/syntax: This poem is structured in a way that conveys the speaker's message to there son through a "stream of consciousness.: Instead of ending certain thoughts with punctuation marks, the speaker continuously connects her thoughts through additional conjunctive words. This non-stop sequence of thoughts, like the vernacular language, provides the poem with a personal touch.
Theme: The basic theme explored in this poem is that life is not easy, both with a little hard work, it is surmountable.
Like I said in my description of style/syntax, this poem does not really contain any clear divisions, except for one point in the poem where the speaker ends her comparison of life to a poorly constructed, deteriorating staircase and then immediately transitions into her discussion of how she has never given up on her aspirations, despite any hardships that may occasionally surface.
In this poem, Hughes explores themes of hard work, aspirations, and success, asserting that while life is not always easy, success is nonetheless achievable through hard work and determination. I identify closely with this theme. In fact, I chose to analyze this poem for its theme. I have always admired hard work and determination. My favorite quotation of all time concerns hard work and was spoken by Thomas Jefferson himself, the quintessential paradigm of man with superior work ethic: "I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the luckier I get." Considering my appreciation of the themes that Hughes conveys, I thoroughly enjoyed this poem.
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| Thomas Jefferson, the quintessential paradigm of a man with impeccable work ethic. |
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