Mother to Son

1. What can you infer about the poem’s speaker from her message and word choice? What can you glean about her relationship with her son? Why do you think Hughes has chosen to feature a mother speaking rather than, for example, a father?

2. Hughes is famous for developing a poetic voice that mimics the repetition, improvisation, and syncopated rhythms of jazz. “Mother to Son” is not one of Hughes’s canonical “jazz poems,” but it contains musical elements. In what ways does this poem strike you as particularly musical? What literary devices contribute to that effect? 

3. Why might Hughes have chosen to use metaphor to discuss the experiences of Black Americans in the early 20th century? How would the poem or its effects differ if he had chosen a more literal approach? Do you think it’s possible to appreciate “Mother to Son” without prior knowledge of the history behind it? Why or why not?

4. Does the poem’s speaker seem to be climbing towards any particular destination? If so, what words or images give you that impression? If not, what role does the idea of movement itself play in “Mother to Son”?