Mother to Son

Literary Devices

Tone

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Literary Devices Tone

Though the speaker of “Mother to Son” spends much of the poem outlining the obstacles she’s faced as a Black woman in America, she places more emphasis on the need to endure. It might therefore be tempting to characterize the poem’s tone as optimistic or hopeful. After all, the speaker’s extended metaphor of the staircase of life implies an aspiration for a better life. But it’s important to note that the poem’s speaker never articulates a defined goal for the future. The point seems not to be about getting to the top of the staircase, but about survival. Hence why the speaker emphasizes her own endurance, and why she urges her son to persist in his own climb even when the effort feels too great. With this in mind, it would be better to characterize the poem’s tone as determined. Hughes clearly highlights the speaker’s determination thematically, but he also does so formally. For instance, the repeated use of “And” in lines 4–6 and 10–12 underscores the speaker’s endurance. Consider, too, the repetition of “don’t” in lines 15 and 17, where the speaker urges her son to maintain his own resolve.