Due September 1st

Poetry Packet: This week, you will be responsible for reading the two poems included in the packet and answering questions on them. This is completely independent outside of class work, meaning we will not be discussing these poems before you turn in your questions to this packet. I would recommend you annotate each poem and then you will need to answer the questions to this packet in complete sentences on your own sheet of paper.

Mother to 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,

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.

  1. What is the overall message the mother is trying to convey to her son?
  2. Based on details in the poem, how would you characterize the mother?
  3. The poem’s speaker employs an extended metaphor to explain her life to her son. What do the you think “crystal stair” symbolizes (1.2)? Why do you think the poet has chosen to repeat this image in the final line? What might the details of tacks, splinters, landings, and corners represent? What does the inclusion of these images suggest about the mother’s relationship with her son?
  4. What effect do colloquial expressions and dialect have on your understanding of the speaker? What effect do they have on the meaning of the poem?
  5. How old is the son being addressed? Does he seem to be at some sort of crossroads? Cite specific textual evidence to support your viewpoint.
  6. Is the mother in this poem lecturing, apologizing, advising, pleading, showing affection, criticizing? How would you characterize the tone of the poem?
  7. Even though the poem is presented without stanza breaks, there are “turns,” or shifts. What are they? Try reciting the poem; where would you emphasize the pauses? How do these breaks influence or emphasize meaning?

My Papa’s Waltz by Theodore Roethke

The whiskey on your breath

Could make a small boy dizzy;

But I hung on like death:

Such waltzing was not easy

We romped until the pans

Slid from the kitchen shelf;

My mother’s countenance

Could not unfrown itself.

The hand that held my wrist

Was battered on one knuckle;

At every step you missed

My right ear scraped a buckle.

You beat time on my head

With a palm caked hard by dirt,

Then waltzed me off to bed

Still clinging to your shirt.

  1. How would you characterize the relationship between the father and the son in this poem?
  2. Consider the two figures of speech in the poem: the simile of “hung on like death” (1.3) and the metaphor of “waltzing” throughout the poem. What do they add to the story line of the poem? Imagine, for instance, if the title were changed to “My Papa” or “Dancing with My Father.”
  3. How do you interpret the lines “My mother’s countenance / Could not unfrown itself” (ll.7-8)? Is she angry? Jealous? Worried? Frightened? Disapproving? Why doesn’t she take action or step in?
  4. Manuscripts show that Roethke started writing this poem as a portrait of a daughter and her father. Explain why you think having a girl at the center of this poem would or would not affect your response to it.
  5. What is the effect of the regular rhyme and rhythm scheme of the poem? In what ways does it mimic a waltz?
  6. Some interpret this poem to be about an abusive father-son relationship, while others read it quite differently. How do you interpret it? Use textual evidence from the poem to explain your reading.