18 pages 36 minutes read

Maya Angelou

Mother, A Cradle to Hold Me

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2006

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Themes

The Complexity of Mother-Daughter Relationships

There is an extra layer of complexity between a mother and her daughter based on identity factors, i.e., what elements of her mother the daughter finds in herself and how that makes her feel. Even though Angelou’s poem is universal and the speaker is gender neutral, the reader might logically place a daughter in the speaker’s role, given Angelou’s autobiographical connection to the content. The speaker of the poem mentions this desire for identification with her mother: “But I did hold you securely in my sight, / Recording every moment, / Memorizing your smiles, tracing your frowns" (Lines 40-42). Knowing that her mother’s tenderness and affection could be passed down comforts the speaker: “When you put your fingers on my hand / And your hand on my arm, / I was blessed with a sense of health, / Of strength and very good fortune” (Lines 51-54). The speaker even goes so far as to say: “You were always / the heart of happiness to me” (Lines 55-56). The intensity of this positive identification with the mother contrasts with the opposite but equally intense approach the teenage speaker takes with her mother: “I spoke sharply of you, often / Because you were slow to understand” (Lines 65-66).

Related Titles

By Maya Angelou

Study Guide

logo

A Brave And Startling Truth

Maya Angelou

A Brave And Startling Truth

Maya Angelou

Plot Summary

logo

All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes

Maya Angelou

All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes

Maya Angelou

Plot Summary

logo

A Song Flung Up to Heaven

Maya Angelou

A Song Flung Up to Heaven

Maya Angelou

Plot Summary

logo

Gather Together in My Name

Maya Angelou

Gather Together in My Name

Maya Angelou

Study Guide

logo

Letter to My Daughter

Maya Angelou

Letter to My Daughter

Maya Angelou

Study Guide

logo

Mom & Me & Mom

Maya Angelou

Mom & Me & Mom

Maya Angelou

Study Guide

logo

On the Pulse of Morning

Maya Angelou

On the Pulse of Morning

Maya Angelou

Plot Summary

logo

Phenomenal Woman

Maya Angelou

Phenomenal Woman

Maya Angelou

Study Guide

logo

The Heart of a Woman

Maya Angelou

The Heart of a Woman

Maya Angelou

Study Guide

logo

The Lesson

Maya Angelou

The Lesson

Maya Angelou