Untitled

          "Mother to Son"              |             Common              |              "If—"
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  - Conversational, personal tone      |  - Life advice and resilience   |  - Formal, philosophical tone
  - Free verse structure (no rhyme)    |  - Overcoming adversity         |  - Regular rhyme & meter (iambic pentameter)
  - Uses an extended metaphor (staircase)|  - Encouraging perseverance    |  - Focus on virtues like patience, humility
  - Focuses on hardships faced by a     |  - Life as a difficult journey  |  - Stoic philosophy (emotional control)
    Black woman in society             |  - Straightforward language     |  - Set structure, more universal
  - Colloquial language (vernacular)   |  - Use of metaphors for life    |  - Philosophical imagery (not vivid)
  - Nurturing, motherly voice          |                                 |  - Didactic, instructional voice
  - Symbolism of broken stairs (poverty/|                                 |  - Symbolism of abstract challenges
    racial struggle)                   |                                 |    (keeping calm, losing everything)