Mother to Son

By Langston Hughes
Well, son, Ill tell you:
Life for me aint been no crystal stair.
Its had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor
Bare.
But all the time
Ise been a-climbin on,
And reachin landins,
And turnin corners,
And sometimes goin in the dark
Where there aint been no light.
So boy, dont you turn back.
Dont you set down on the steps
Cause you finds its kinder hard.
Dont you fall now
For Ise still goin, honey,
Ise still climbin,
And life for me aint been no crystal stair.
Langston Hughes, Mother to Son from Collected Poems. Copyright 1994 by The Estate of
Langston Hughes. Reprinted with the permission of Harold Ober Associates Incorporated.
Mother to Son Summary
The simple, straightforward title of the poem Mother to Son, by the African-American poet
Langston Hughes (1902-1967), clearly identifies both the speaker of the work and the person to whom
her words are addressed. The very first line of the poem is typical of the rest of the work in its use of
phrasing that is colloquialthat is, in this case, phrasing that implies one person speaking to another.
Yet the phrasing is also colloquial in the sense that it is ordinary, unpretentious, and informal. By
beginning with the word Well, the mother sounds as if she is responding to a question from her son,
while the use of the generic word son sounds (ironically) more affectionate than if she had used the
sons proper name. By using the word son, the mother also makes their relationship seem universal
and archetypalas if this might be any mother speaking to any son. (The effect would be
significantly different, for instance, if the poem had begun Well, Richard, or Well, Langston.) As
presently written, the opening line implies the close, loving relationship between almost any parent
and his or her child.
The second line continues the emphasis on colloquial phrasing. The word aint, for instance, is
clearly informal and unpretentious, implying either that the speaker has not been educated in a
conventional way or that she is unconcerned with the niceties of formal education. The fact that the
second line is almost twice as long as the first (nine syllables versus five) suggests that the poem will
not have a rigid, prepackaged formal structure, and indeed a glance at the shape of the poem as it

moves down the page suggests that it follows no preplanned, predictable scheme, either in meter or in
rhyme. Part of Hughess talent as a poet involves his ability to mimic the rhythms and diction of
actual speech, and clearly that talent is on display in this particular poem.
The phrase crystal stair is intriguing. It can be found in a variety of texts from the nineteenth
century, some religious and some secular, and it is often used to suggest the glorious connection or
procession from earth to heaven. A crystal stair implies a stairway that is special, unusual, beautiful,
finely wrought, and symbolic of wealth. However, the speakers stair, or movement through life, has
been associated with few of these traits. Instead, it has been actually or potentially painful, brimming
with tacks, splinters, and boards torn up (3-5)details suggesting that the speakers social
position also places her at or near the bottom of the economic ladder. The places she has inhabited, or
where she has worked, have not been beautiful or associated with wealth or comfort (no carpet on
the floor [6]). Instead, they have been plain and Bare, an adjective...
"Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes is a monologue that conveys the idea of hope through simple
imagery. The speaker, a mother, tells her son that though her life has had many challenges, she has
continued to move forward, never giving up. She uses imagery to advise her son to do likewise.
Staircase
The image of a staircase begins and ends "Mother to Son." "I'se been a-climbin' on, / And reachin'
landin's, / And turnin' corners," the mother says, conjuring the image of a climb through all of life's
hardships. She tells her son, "Don't you set down on the steps. / 'Cause you finds it's kinder hard." Her
advice is to carry on, to keep climbing the stairs despite the desire to give up. Hughes' image of the
difficult, upward journey toward a better life is advice meant for everyone in times of struggle.
Dereliction
The stairs referred to by the mother in this poem are in a state of disrepair and dilapidation. She says
of the staircase, "It's had tacks in it, / And splinters, / And boards torn up, / And places with no carpet
on the floor / Bare." These lines evoke the image of the tenement houses where poor and
disadvantaged African Americans were forced to live in the northern cities, particularly after the Civil
War when many left the South.
Dark and Light
The mother in the poem says that while climbing the stairs over the course of her life she was
"sometimes goin' in the dark / Where there ain't been no light." The imagery of darkness conveys the
idea of being without hope. It also evokes a time of uncertainty when the mother was not sure whether
she was headed in the right direction -- or what she might have encountered when she reached her
destination.
Heaven
The imagery of stairs that lead heavenward are evoked in the line "Life for me ain't been no crystal
stair." Like Jacob's ladder in the Bible, upon which Jacob saw a stairway traversed by angels leading
up to heaven, the stairs are a spiritual reference. They embody the idea of leaving troubles and
tragedies behind. The reference also alludes to the idea of suffering as a requirement to reach that
crystal stair and, thus, heaven.