Page 282 - SpringBoard_ELA_Grade7_Flipbook

ACTIvITy 4.2
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About the Author
Langston Hughes (1902–1967) was a prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance. His poems, plays, and stories frequently focused on the African American experience, particularly on the struggles and feelings of individuals.
poetry
GrAmmAr UsAGe
Cultural Connections
In his work, Langston
Hughes wanted to represent everyday African-Americans, “people up today and down tomorrow, working this week and fired the next, beaten and baffled, but determined not to be wholly beaten.” One way he did this was by using forms and structures reflective of African-American English. Notice these features in the poem "Mother to Son":
Motherto Son by Langston Hughes
Well, son, I’ll tell you:
Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
It’s had tacks in it,
And splinters, it falls at the end of a word
5 And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor —
Bare.
But all the time my Notes I’se been a-climbin’ on,
10 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.
15 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’,
20 And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
• Use of multiple negations to intensify, rather than neutralize, negation
Example: Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
• Pronouncing ng as n when Example: turnin’ corners
Unit 4 • How We Choose to Act 255
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