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Langston HughesA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
1. “Mother to Son” employs multiple forms of repetition, from anaphora (“Don’t you,” “And,” etc.) to subtle rhyme (“stair”/”bare”) to the paired use of the phrase “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair” as bookends (Lines 2, 20). Analyze how these stylistic choices of repetition contribute to the poem’s overarching theme(s).
2. All of the imagery and symbolism in “Mother to Son” flows from the central, extended metaphor of the staircase. What does this metaphor add to our understanding of the speaker’s experiences (or African American experience more broadly)? How does it convey the speaker’s worldview and advice? Discuss the significance of the staircase metaphor as it develops over the course of the poem.
3. Although Hughes is best known as a poet, he was also a writer of prose. Read his 1958 short story “Thank You, Ma’am,” which, like “Mother to Son,” centers on an interaction between an older woman and a younger man. Compare and contrast how these two works portray intergenerational relationships within the context of Black history. You may wish to consider factors such as the era in which Hughes wrote each work and the different ways in which poetry and prose convey meaning.
By Langston Hughes
Children’s Rhymes
Children’s Rhymes
Langston Hughes
Cora Unashamed
Cora Unashamed
Langston Hughes
Dreams
Dreams
Langston Hughes
Harlem
Harlem
Langston Hughes
I look at the world
I look at the world
Langston Hughes
I, Too
I, Too
Langston Hughes
Let America Be America Again
Let America Be America Again
Langston Hughes
Me and the Mule
Me and the Mule
Langston Hughes
Mulatto
Mulatto
Langston Hughes
Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life
Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life
Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston
Not Without Laughter
Not Without Laughter
Langston Hughes
Slave on the Block
Slave on the Block
Langston Hughes
Thank You, M'am
Thank You, M'am
Langston Hughes
The Big Sea
The Big Sea
Langston Hughes
Theme for English B
Theme for English B
Langston Hughes
The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain
The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain
Langston Hughes
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
Langston Hughes
The Ways of White Folks
The Ways of White Folks
Langston Hughes
The Weary Blues
The Weary Blues
Langston Hughes
Tired
Tired
Langston Hughes