Poetry #5

"Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes

Tone: Reassuring, teaching, inspirational. There is a shift in tone when the mother goes from talking about how her life has been tough to how she's overcome the difficulties and kept moving on. The second part of the poem is very inspirational and overall, the poem has a very didactic feel.
Word Choice: The words that stand out most to me in the poem are the ones the mother uses to address the boy when she's teaching him this lesson. She uses words and phrases like "Well, son", "So boy", and "honey" to address her son. This word choice is very comforting and loving, which shows that she really cares for her son and that what she is saying is heartfelt.
Imagery/Figurative Language: The mother describes her life by using a metaphor of a staircase and hallway. She creates the image of a worn down, beat up staircase and a dark hallway with corners and landings to show how her life has been a hard journey. This really helps the readers and her son get a good sense of how she has felt and the struggles she has faced throughout her life, as well as how big of an accomplishment it has been to move forward on her journey and overcome her difficulties.
Style/Syntax: The poem consists of mostly longer complex sentences that are broken up into short, choppy lines. The choppiness forces readers to take in each detail in every line as we read it, which gives us a deeper understanding and a better feeling for what she is talking about.
Theme: Even when facing struggles and difficulties, we have to keep moving forward to overcome them and  to get to a better place in our lives.

I feel connected to this because of the relationship that I see between the mother and her son. She obviously cares for him and wants to help him out in life in any way possible. The lesson that she is teaching him is very heartfelt and you can tell how strongly she feels towards him and how she wants to use what she has learned in her life to guide him. My mother cares for me so much and I resonate with the son that the mother is speaking to in the poem. I know that my mother wants the best for me and she has helped me out countless times throughout my life and I am sure she is always there when I need assistance.