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In the poem "Mother to Son" poet Langston Hughes expresses through the speakers persona, a struggle to defeat the barriers set before her in life. Hughes uses an informal conversation between the speaker and her son to tell him about her journey through life. To understand the language of this poem Hughes uses metaphors, connotations, and symbols. The poet knew in writing a poem with an through informal conversation he would need elements of language to expose a clear picture to the audience.

In this poem the speaker uses metaphors to relate to her journey in life. As the speaker begins to converse with her son she begins to say "life for me ain't been no crystal stair/ it's had tacks in it/and splinters"(2-4). In saying this I assumed that the speaker is saying that her life has not always been crystal clear and perfect. She has had some bumpy roads that could have prevented her from moving on. Crystal stairs don't necessarily have splinters in them or on them but you can see straight through them. In using these metaphors Hughes's wanted us to see that the speakers life was not clear and easy the way many people envision life being.

In regards to the connotations of this poem the poet indicates that there have been struggles for the speaker. The speaker says "and sometimes going in the dark/ where there ain't been no light"(10-11). When a person hears the word light usually they think about a real bright area and dark referring to the light has been dimmed for the effect of a dark area. I feel that the speaker meant she had been through troubling times when she felt like she would sink in misery and did not have a solution to deliberate on. The dark is a burden as opposed to the light being a since of hope, peace, or confirmation that you can see through your pain at the present time. In concluding the connotations used in this poem the poet used denotations to coincide with the speakers thoughts and