Mother to Son
by Langston Hughes
Welcome to our
presentation on the
poem and the
Harlem
Renaissance by
Rebekah Frye, Erin
Curran, and Tricia
Barnes
Biography of Langston Hughes
James Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902, in Joplin,
Missouri. His parents divorced when he was only a child, and his father
moved to Mexico. His grandmother raised him until he was twelve years
old, and then he moved to Lincoln, Illinois to live with his mother and
her husband. Next, he moved with his mother and stepfather to
Cleveland, Ohio. Hughes began writing poetry when he was in high
school, and his class designated him as “class poet.” Langston Hughes
achieved his fame as a poet during the artistic period known as the
Harlem Renaissance. Labeling Hughes as only “a Harlem Renaissance
Poet” has restricted him to only one genre and decade. However,
Hughes wrote for longer than a decade. His long, successful career
produced many volumes of diverse genres, and he has inspired the work
of many other African American writers. After Hughes graduated from
high school in 1920, he moved to Mexico City to live with his father for
a year. Hughes’ move to Mexico City inspired him to gather new
insights about race, class, and ethnicity. Hughes returned to the United
States when he ran out of money. Biography continued
Biography Continued
It is important for people to realize that Hughes was not only a
poet, but he was a novelist, columnist, playwright, and essayist.
Hughes’ life and work contributed to the shaping of the Harlem
Renaissance in the 1920’s. Hughes differentiated himself from other
black poets of his time because he refused to separate his personal
experiences and the common experiences of black America. He wrote
stories of black people without personalizing them. He wanted his
readers to be able to develop their own ideas and conclusions to his
writings. On May 22, 1967, Hughes died in New York City of
congestive heart failure. In his memory, the street that he lived on has
been renamed “Langston Hughes Place.”
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 time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where 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.
Mother to Son
by Langston Hughes
Interpretation
Line(s) -Meaning
Mother to Son - A message from a mother to her son.
Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair- Life has not been beautiful,
transparent, or easy forthe mother. It hasn’t been an easy climb.
It’s had tacks in it, / And splinters,- Tacks and splinters are hazards
that can cause pain, just like hazards in life.
And boards torn up, - The torn up boards represent damage,
obstacles, and hardships in life.
And places with no carpet on the floor – / Bare.- This creates the
image of being cold, naked and isolated. It creates a mood of
loneliness.
Continue Interpretations
.
More Interpretations
But all the time / I’se been a-climbin’ on- These two lines push the idea
of consistency and endurance in life.
And reachin’ landin’s- This represents achieving goals in life. The
landing is a point of triumph.
And turnin’ corners, -Turning corners means trying new things.
And sometimes goin’ in the dark -Going in the dark can represent
courage and faith.
Where there ain’t been no light.-No light represents unexplored and
foreign territory.
So, boy, don’t you turn back.-Don’t run away from life.
Don’t you set down on the steps.-Don’t give up.
Still more Interpretations
Still More Interpretations
‘Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.- Because it is hard.
Don’t you fall now - Don’t get weak.
For I’se still goin’, honey, / I’se still climbin’- She is showing her son it
can be done and she is the example.
And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.- It wasn’t easy for the mother
either.
***This is not the only interpretation, just the way that is is most
widely interpreted.
Metaphor
Like most writers, Langston Hughes uses figurative
language to express ideas in his work. In his poem
“Mother to Son” Hughes uses metaphor to convey his
message.
A metaphor is a comparison that does not use the words
“like” or “as.”
In line two of “Mother to Son”, Hughes writes “Life for
me ain’t been no crystal stair.” Hughes makes the initial
comparison between life and “crystal stair in this line.
He continues the poem within that metaphor by
symbolizing the afflictions of life through a damaged
staircase.
Other Poems by Langston
Hughes
 The Weary Blues (1926)
 Fine Clothes to the Jew (1927)
 Dear Lovely Death (1931)
 The Dream Keeper and Other Poems (1932)
 Scottsboro Limited (1932)
 Shakespeare in Harlem (1942) With Robert Glenn
- Langston Hughes has written a variety of works including poetry,
prose, and drama. We provided a list of popular poems, but our list
is only a selection of his poetry biographies.
Information on the Harlem
Renaissance
-Art and artists
-Music
-Literature
-Dance
-Black Americans during the Harlem Renaissance
-Why Study the Harlem Renaissance?
Links and Sources
The Harlem Renaissancehttp://www.nku.edu/~diesmanj/harlem_intro.html
Harlem: 1900-1940http://www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/Harlem/
The Harlem Renaissance: The Best and Worst of Timeshttp://www.unc.edu/courses/eng81br1/harlem.html
Poets of the Harlem Renaissancehttp://www.poets.org/
The Art of the Harlem Renaissancehttp://www.iniva.org/harlem/intro.html
Think Web Quest: The Harlem Renaissancehttp://library.thinkquest.org/26656/english/frames.html
The End
Music of the Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance brought about many powerful singers and
new types of music. Jazz, which was born during this time frame, is
rooted in the musical tradition of American blacks. Blues is a type
of music that deals with hardships of life and love. This type of
music was typically self-accompanied by the singer on a harmonica
or a guitar. A mix of blues and jazz later became what we now
know as rhythm and blues. Major musicians were Louis
Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, and Duke Ellington. The song
currently being played is Duke Ellington’s “Take the A Train.”
African-American women were also a part of this movement.
Talented singers such as Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, and
Josephine Baker took their place in the Jazz field and struggled
with the barriers that men had already set up. Although the Harlem
Renaissance ended in the 1930s, Jazz and Blues continued to be a
part of music history. Back to Slide Show
Other Major Authors of the Harlem
Renaissance
W.E.B. Dubois
Claude McKay
Countee Cullen
Zora Neale Hurston
Rudolph Fisher
James Weldon Johnson
Jean Toomer
Eugene O‘Neil
Back to Slide Show
Dance of the Harlem
Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance also was
the birth place of many new styles
of dance that would later influence
many of our modern day dances.
Some of these dances included the
Black Bottom, Charleston, Lindy
Hop Swing, and Tap dancing. Most
of these styles were wild and very
strenuous. They were considered to
be very risqué at the time because
of the closeness of the partners and
the sexual hip movements.
Back to Slide Show
Artwork of the Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance brought the birth
of many new artists. Harlem became
known as 'The Mecca of the New Negro”,
and soon became home to a cultural and
art revolution. There were three main
themes for the artwork: the reborn Negro,
blues aesthetics, and images of Africa.
Back to Slide Show
Aaron Douglas
Into Bondage 1936
Back to Art Page
Archibald J. Motley Jr
Blues 1929
Back to Art Page
Loïs Mailou Jones
Les Fetiches 1938
Back to Art Page
Black American During the Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissances is the period of time that black artists began
creating work that represented black culture. This African-American
cultural movement became known as "The New Negro Movement" and
later as the Harlem Renaissance. This time period served as more than a
literary movement. It included racial consciousness, "the back to Africa"
movement led by Marcus Garvey, racial integration, the explosion of
music, in particular jazz, spirituals and blues, painting, and drama.
W.E.B. Dubois asserted the notion of two-ness in his book The Souls of
Black Folks. "One ever feels his two-ness - an American, a Negro; two
souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled stirrings: two warring ideals in one
dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn
asunder." Black Americans were starting to define themselves outside of
White Americans during this time. The Harlem Renaissance glorified
the culture of African-Americans and redefined African-American art.
African-Americans were encouraged to celebrate their heritage and to
become "The New Negro." Artists began to express their black
consciousness through their work. Back to Slide Show
Why Study the Harlem Renaissance?
In light of Black History Month, we
decided to explore a poem written
during a time which marks black
artistic awakening, the development
of black aesthetics, and a critical time
of appreciating and recognizing the
black experience: The Harlem
Renaissance. The poem we chose is
an inspirational piece from a black
mother to her son. We felt that this
encouraging poem really speaks to all
persons, but especially to the
participants of the black struggle.
Back to Slide Show