In the poems “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes and “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou both authors convey the same message which is overcoming hardships in life. In the two poems they show their similarities through repetition which will be shown in the first paragraph and literary devices such as figurative language,metaphors and similes, while also showing their differences through parallel structure of both the poems, and through rhetorical questions.
Hughes and Angelou show their similarities through repetition which helps the reader grasp the key concept of both poems which is to overcome obstacles.In “Mother to Son” it repeats “Life for me ain’t no crystal stair” (Hughes 2). Meaning that life has not treated the narrator of the …show more content…
In “Mother to Son” it states “ And sometimes goin’ in the dark” (Hughes 12); the dark meaning somewhere dangerous and unknown the narrator can enter darkness and will be determined to overcome that obstacle.A second example of figurative language is “ And places with no carpet on the floor”( Hughes 6), which means that there is instances in life where there will not be someone to depend on. A metaphor In “ Still I Rise” states “ I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide” (Angelou 25), which means the narrator is the dangerous and unknown that is big and strong and to be cautious of her. Literally speaking the narrators in both the poems are overcoming the dark and dangers of this lifetime. At the beginning Angelou 's poem the simile said states “ Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells pumping in my living room” (Angelou 7), meaning to be optimistic. Literally speaking the narrators in both poems know the hardship but still keep on going and do not give up in life. Although these two poems share similarities the poems also contrast in the structure of each …show more content…
For example “ And reachin’ landin’s” (Hughes 10) “ And turnin’ corners” (Hughes 11) are parallel to each other by the context of the words. In “Still I Rise” the poem is made up of rhetorical questions in order to make the reader think about the meaning of the poem. For example “ Does my haughtiness offend you?” ( Angelou 20), also The figurative language shows how similar both of the poem’s message are when it come to overcoming obstacles. In “Mother to Son” it states “ And sometimes goin’ in the dark” (Hughes 12); the dark meaning somewhere dangerous and unknown the narrator can enter “Did you want to see me broken” (Angelou 16). Also at the end of “Still I Rise”a rhyme scheme of “ab” appears with words such as “shame”(Angelou 36) and “pain” (Angelou 37).This helps attract the reader to the end of the poem where the meaning of the poem can be made. The difference between the two poems is that “Mother to Son” is one long paragraph while “Still I Rise” is made up of
Hughes and Angelou show their similarities through repetition which helps the reader grasp the key concept of both poems which is to overcome obstacles.In “Mother to Son” it repeats “Life for me ain’t no crystal stair” (Hughes 2). Meaning that life has not treated the narrator of the …show more content…
In “Mother to Son” it states “ And sometimes goin’ in the dark” (Hughes 12); the dark meaning somewhere dangerous and unknown the narrator can enter darkness and will be determined to overcome that obstacle.A second example of figurative language is “ And places with no carpet on the floor”( Hughes 6), which means that there is instances in life where there will not be someone to depend on. A metaphor In “ Still I Rise” states “ I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide” (Angelou 25), which means the narrator is the dangerous and unknown that is big and strong and to be cautious of her. Literally speaking the narrators in both the poems are overcoming the dark and dangers of this lifetime. At the beginning Angelou 's poem the simile said states “ Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells pumping in my living room” (Angelou 7), meaning to be optimistic. Literally speaking the narrators in both poems know the hardship but still keep on going and do not give up in life. Although these two poems share similarities the poems also contrast in the structure of each …show more content…
For example “ And reachin’ landin’s” (Hughes 10) “ And turnin’ corners” (Hughes 11) are parallel to each other by the context of the words. In “Still I Rise” the poem is made up of rhetorical questions in order to make the reader think about the meaning of the poem. For example “ Does my haughtiness offend you?” ( Angelou 20), also The figurative language shows how similar both of the poem’s message are when it come to overcoming obstacles. In “Mother to Son” it states “ And sometimes goin’ in the dark” (Hughes 12); the dark meaning somewhere dangerous and unknown the narrator can enter “Did you want to see me broken” (Angelou 16). Also at the end of “Still I Rise”a rhyme scheme of “ab” appears with words such as “shame”(Angelou 36) and “pain” (Angelou 37).This helps attract the reader to the end of the poem where the meaning of the poem can be made. The difference between the two poems is that “Mother to Son” is one long paragraph while “Still I Rise” is made up of