Analysis of Mother to Son

Langston Hughes 1902 (Joplin) – 1967 (New York City)



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.


Scheme ABCDEFBGHDDIJKDLMNHB
Poetic Form Tetractys  (30%)
Etheree  (25%)
Metre 11111 111111101 11101 01 0111 0101110101 1 1101 111011 011 0110 0011001 111111 111111 1111101 1111101 1111 1111110 1111 0111111101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 519
Words 99
Sentences 7
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 20
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 20
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 391
Words per stanza (avg) 99
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Submitted on November 09, 2020

Modified on May 02, 2023

33 sec read
973

Langston Hughes

James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form called jazz poetry. Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. He famously wrote about the period that "the negro was in vogue" which was later paraphrased as "when Harlem was in vogue". more…

All Langston Hughes poems | Langston Hughes Books

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