Looking into the perspective of Langston Hughes

The author says poem are to be understand not only read

Langston Hughes was a poet who also wrote short stories, novel, plays, and more. His childhood was filled with books, since young Hughes was lonely and had nobody to play with so instead of doing nothing he would spend his time reading books and exploring into the world of literature. Hughes grandma was a great storyteller who transferred the love of literature and the excitement of wanting to read and write into him. Langston wrote his first poem in eighth grade when he started to look deeper into writing poems. His books are very popular for kids and young adults and today he is going to share is perspective with us on one of the poem he wrote called Mother to Son.

What was the message you were trying to convey?

The message that I was trying to convey is that life can be difficult and hard but as long as you dont give up there is nothing which can block you from moving on in your life, an example would be in the beginning of the poem when it said, Life for me aint been no crystal stair. This meant that that life is not always perfect and the way youve expected it to be. This is to teach people that there is many problems we must face without running away from it, another example from the poem will be when it said, It had tacks in it, and splinters, and boards torn up. This phrase meant that there is problem in our life but also that our life is not perfect just like how the stair is not perfect, since it had tacks, splinters and boards torn up. The message also included that when there is change or big turn in our life that our life will never be the same again we still have to move on or when we have reached our goal we have to still keep on going, just like in the poem when it said, And reachin landins, and turnin corners. This meant that the mother is reaching her goal and having changes in her life but she is still moving on. I also wanted to use the mother to convey another message by using her tell her son a message it was that life is not always perfect and the way you wanted it to be but as long as you dont give up on your life, you can always make it one step closer to a crystal stair.

What mood did you want the readers to have while reading this poem?
The mood that I want the readers to have while reading this poem is to feel hopeful that if they dont give up and to be hopeful, and try hard to not give up because one day when you clean up all the tacks and splinters it will be closer to becoming a crystal stair, an example would be when it says, Dont you set down on the steps, cause you finds it hard. By saying this quote through the perspective of a mother to a son it show sincerity and truth towards each other and it can evoke the mood out from the readers more. Also another mood that I wanted to evoke out of the readers was the hopeless mood to show that, if they give up then there life will end and it will never be good like the way you want it to be. This shows that the people shouldnt give up until the very end because when you feel hopeful then you can still move on, evidence from the poem is when it said, And sometime going in the dark, where there aint been no light. It was to show that the mother has been through this already and she can go through it then her son can go through it to, this quote was to make her son more helpful and Im sure that the readers can feel it too.

What was the symbol of your poem?

The symbol of the poem is a broken staircase, it represents a journey of life which is not perfect and the way you want it to be. This was to reflect upon the life of a person to show that you can keep on going and the problem that you face cannot stop you just like the turn and splinters on the stair which cant stop you. This means your life is a journey like a path on the stair case you must take on, which means that the tack and splinter are problem but even if they are there if you keep on going then it wont get any worse than how it is. An example from the poem would be when it said, Bare, but all the time, Ise been climbing on. This shows that the mother has nothing to help her solve the problem but she can still move on by herself without turning back.

Why did you structure your poem this way?

I structured the poem this way to show the different things that could happen to show like a list of problem through using the format of the poem. This was to show that the problem are small problem and the make up only one problem so if you can get through the big problem then the smaller problems wont affect you at all since you got through the main problem already. Also other than having the problem in a list I had a break in the middle of all the poem having quotes which shows that you are able to move on and make it look like it cant affect you too much, an example of this is when it said, Splinters, and boards torn up,. but all the time, I'se been a-climbin' on. If you havent realize this then let me tell you the problems in your life make up your path, this means that everyone lives has problems in it and the solution of it so if you dont have any problems in your life at all then your path will break when one day you have a problem in your life and you never faced a problem before then you wont know how to deal with it. This means that everyones life has problems in it so no ones life is perfect and the way you expected it to be, and this is a privilege to us because then we know how to move on in our life when there is a big change or a problem in the way of our journey.

Do you think your poem was successful?

I think that the poem that I wrote was successful because this poem was able to send through the message which to me means that I have completed the task that I needed to do. As a poet and a writer I strongly feel that the people who read my poems and books need to understand my message not only just read it and enjoy it. Although the main goal was to make the readers understand the message, I was successful in making the readers enjoy reading this poem because most of the readers I see reading this poem seems to enjoy it. Im sure that most of them could understand what the message was but even if they didnt understand the whole message, Im quite sure that they understood a part of it, and by gaining a little more understanding each time it is enough to make a person think about the message again until they figure out the whole message. CRITERION A: Content
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CRITERION B: Organization
You rarely employ the organizational organizational structures2 of an interview.

CRITERION C: Language
You show little or no evidence of a register and style appropriate for an interview.

You demonstrate a very limited understanding of the poems meaning, organization and mood as well as how this is achieved.

You give few or no examples and details to support your thinking. You are missing poetic terminology1.

Your interview is disorganized, unclear, and/or incoherent. You employ the critical apparatus3 inappropriately or not at all.

You have very frequent errors in grammar, punctuation and spelling that persistently hinder communication. You show some evidence of a register and style appropriate for an interview. You have frequent errors in grammar, punctuation or spelling that hinders communication. You often use a register and style appropriate for an interview. Grammar, punctuation and spelling are generally accurate. Occasional errors sometimes hinder communication. You consistently use a register and style appropriate for an interview. Grammar, punctuation and spelling are accurate. Occasional errors rarely hinder communication. You demonstrate a mastery of a register and style appropriate for an interview. Grammar, punctuation and spelling are accurate. Very infrequent errors do not hinder communication.

34

You demonstrate a limited understanding of the poems meaning, organization and mood as well as how this is achieved. You give some examples and details, but they are insufficient to support your thinking. Your use of poetic terminology1 is sometimes accurate and appropriate.

You sometimes employ the organizational structures2 of an interview. Your interview shows the beginnings of organization but lacks coherence. You employ the critical apparatus3 with limited success. You usually employ the organizational structures2 of an interview. Your interview is generally organized, clear, and coherent. You generally employ the critical apparatus3 correctly You consistently employ the organizational structures2 of an interview. Your interview is usually wellorganized, clear, and coherent, and the ideas build on each other. You employ the critical apparatus3 correctly. You make sophisticated use of the organizational structures2 of an interview. Your interview is consistently wellorganized, clear, and coherent, and the ideas build on each other in a sophisticated manner. You integrate the critical apparatus3 correctly and effectively.

56

You demonstrate a sufficient understanding of the poems meaning, organization and mood as well as how this is achieved. You give adequate examples and details, and they are sufficient to support your thinking Your use of poetic terminology1 is usually accurate and appropriate.

78

You demonstrate a good understanding of the poems meaning, organization and mood as well as how this is achieved. You give substantial examples and details to support your thinking (you include the words/phrases from the poem). Relevant poetic terminology1 is used accurately and appropriately. You demonstrate a perceptive understanding of the poems meaning, organization and mood as well as how this is achieved. You consistently use illustrative details an examples to support your thinking (include the words/phrases from the poem) You show a sophisticated command of relevant poetic terminology1.

910

Level

Comments:

You have made good improvements to your interview by including a lot more examples than your first draft. Some of your writing is still somewhat confusing, however. You really need to edit your writing for clarity and avoid run-on sentences.