SSLC-EXAMINATION-2025-ENGLISH-EXAM ORIENTED-A+ STUDY MATERIALS
Appreciation :Mother to Son
"Mother to Son" is a motivational poem by Langston Hughes, where the poet shares the universal concept of suffering and discrimination faced by African Americans. The poem is a dramatic monologue, where a black mother tells her son not to give up hope and teaches him the meaning of perseverance. The mother shares the difficulties and hardships she has been exposed to.
The staircase is used as a metaphor throughout the poem, making it an extended metaphor. Life was hard for the mother, with many troubles and obstacles. She tells her son that her life was not a "crystal stair." It was full of tacks and splinters that hurt her all the time as she climbed the staircase of life. To make matters worse, the boards were torn up. Moving forward became difficult day by day, but she had to put up a brave fight against all odds. She did not have the luxury of a carpet to walk on; the floor was bare.
But she withstood all her trials with great courage. She urges her son not to give up easily and to sustain his endurance like she did. There were dark places in her life where she lost all faith, but she still moved forward. The poet aims to instill in her son the spirit of perseverance.
The stairs symbolize the journey of life, and no matter how hard life may seem, everyone has to keep moving. The mother advises her son not to have self-doubt. In the end, life is worth all the risks. The boy represents the younger generation, who no longer want to endure struggles. The mother, with a long history of suffering and struggles, has become wiser. Even while climbing the toughest steps, she never lost hope and courage. Sitting down on the steps or quitting was never an option for her.
The steady rhythm makes the poem impactful. The language used is colloquial because the speaker is an uneducated mother. "Crystal stair" is a powerful example of an extended metaphor. Words like "tacks" and "splinters" highlight the obstacles faced by the mother. Each word in the poem carries deep meaning.
Lines Written in Early Spring: Appreciation
The poem 'Lines Written in Early Spring' is written by the well-known nature poet William Wordsworth.
The poem deals with the theme of coexistence, peace, and pleasure in nature, contrasted with the cruelties of the human world. Sitting in a grove, the poet enjoys the sights and sounds of nature that are both sweet and bitter at the same time. Nature links human souls to her fair works, yet human beings are thoughtlessly destroying it. The poet becomes very sad when he thinks about the cruelties that man has inflicted upon nature and other human beings. Nature is connected to human souls, but man destroys its harmony through his harmful deeds.
Whatever man does is against the plan of creation. He destroys the coexistence of nature out of selfishness. He damages the ecosystem for the satisfaction of his greed. The poet believes that flowers, birds, and plants enjoy the air they breathe.
There is pleasure everywhere in nature. He believes that coexistence is nature’s holy plan, but he laments over the cruelties of man against both nature and his own kind.
The lines "to her fair works did nature link", "Every flower enjoys the air it breathes", and "The budding twigs spread out their fan to catch the breezy air"* are examples of personification. The poem ends with a rhetorical question: "Have I not reason to lament?"
The line "The first line I heard a thousand blended notes" is an example of auditory imagery and hyperbole. "What man has made of man" is an example of alliteration. Tactile imagery can be seen in the line "The breezy air." Some visual images used in the poem include primrose, periwinkle, birds, bowers, and twigs. The poem follows the ABAB rhyme scheme.
