Robert Hayden’s poem “Those Winter Sundays” is a concise poem that contains the themes of coming of age, and regret. The poem is written in first speaker narrative and from the perspective of the son. The speaker begins the poem by acknowledging his fathers routinely efforts for the family on Sunday mornings, those winter Sunday mornings. The poem is visual and the speaker describes the recollection of his father in an almost melancholic sense. The poem begins with the speaker speaking in the past tense, looking back at his relationship with his father. Toward the end, the speaker has matured and regrets his indifference toward his father. From the first line of the poem, the speaker acknowledges his fathers efforts for the family on Sunday mornings by stating how his father dedicated his day off to do things for the family. The speaker acknowledges the extra effort his father put in when he wrote “Sundays too my father got up early” (Hayden 677). The word “too” in this line is important because it helps the reader understand that he does not only wake up early on Sundays, but every single day. In the last sentence of the first stanza the speaker admits to the reader “No one ever thanked him” (5). This goes on to show that in the present the speaker feels regret for not appreciating his father waking up early to start a fire. The speaker uses imagery in the first stanza to incite the reader so that they can imagine the setting in which the father begins his day on Sunday mornings. The “blueblack cold,” blue is the color Hayden wants the reader to visualize and cold is what Hayden wants the reader to feel, those are two different types of scenery details, which are sight and touch (2). Then he goes off to say “with cracked hands ... ... middle of paper ... ... should be appreciated for that reason. The speaker started off the poem by remembering his father’s diligence on Sunday mornings and then ends the poem by accepting that he was growing and did not understand at the time that his father truly loved him even though there was no contact between the speaker and his father during the narrative of the poem. Hayden leaves the speaker with a nostalgic sense at the end of the poem and does not include the speaker being able to finally tell his father thank you for all the work that he is done, it leaves the reader wondering if the father has passed away or why the speaker is thinking about these nostalgic memories of his father. Works Cited 1. Hayden, Robert “Those Winter Sundays.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. X.J. Kennedy& Dana Gioia 12th ed. New Jersey: Pearson 2013. 677. Print.
The speaker’s personal emotions emphasizes the poem’s theme since although his father is no longer with him in this world, the memory of his father will always live in his heart. Throughout the poem, Lee uses the sky, underground, and the heart to symbolize imagination, reality, and memory—emphasizing the poem’s theme of the remembrance of a loved one. Lee also uses repetition to convey the meaning of Little Father. The speaker repeatedly mentions “I buried my father…Since then…” This repetition displays the similarity in concepts, however the contrast in ideas. The first stanza focuses on the spiritual location of the speaker’s father, the second stanza focuses on the physical location of the father, and the third stanza focuses on the mental location of the speaker’s father. This allows the reader to understand and identify the shift in ideas between each stanza, and to connect these different ideas together—leading to the message of despite where the loved one is (spiritually or physically), they’ll always be in your heart. The usage of word choice also enables the reader to read in first person—the voice of the speaker. Reading in the voice of the speaker allows the reader to see in the perspective of the speaker and to connect with the speaker—understand
“Those Winter Sundays” tells of Robert Hayden’s father and the cold mornings his father endures to keep his family warm in the winters. In “Digging” Heaney is sitting in the window watching his father do hard manual labor, which has taken a toll on his body. In “My Father as a Guitar” Espada goes to the doctors office with his father and is sitting in the office with his dad when the doctor tells him he has to take pain killers and to stop working because his body was growing old and weak. The authors of the poems all look at their fathers the same; they look at them with much respect and gratitude. All three poems tell of the hard work the dads have to do to keep their family fed and clothed. “The landlord, here a symbol of all the mainstream social institutions that hold authority over the working class” (Constantakis.) Espada’s father is growing old and his health is deteriorating quickly but his ability to stop working is not in his own hands, “I can’t the landlord won’t let me” (774.) “He is separated from the homeland, and his life in the United States is far from welcoming” (Constantakis.) Espada’s Grandmother dies in Puerto Rico and the family learns this by a lett...
Hayden, Robert. ”Those Winter Sundays.” Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers. Ed. John Schilb and John Clifford. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. Print.
Whittier, John Greenleaf. “Snow-Bound: A Winter Idyl.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Seventh Shorter Edition. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2008. 654-70. Print.
"Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden is a poem about a how the author is recalling how his father would wake up early on Sundays, a day which is usually a reserved as a day of rest by many, to fix a fire for his family. The mood of this poem is a bit sad. It portrays a father, who deeply cares for his family but doesn't seem to show it by emotions, words, or touching. It also describes a home that isn't very warm in feelings as well as the title" Those Winter Sundays" The author describes the father as being a hard worker, in the line "…with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday…", but still even on Sundays--the day of rest, the father works at home to make sure the house is warm for his family. The "blueblack cold described in the poem is now warmed by a father's love. This poem describes the author reminiscing what did not seem obvious at the time, the great love of his father, and the author's regretting to thank his father for all that he did.
Indeed, the satirical tone of this poem suggests that the speaker is somewhat critical of his father. The whiskey smell, the roughness, the inconsiderate and reckless actions are under scrutiny. The mother's frowning countenance suggests she too is rather unhappy with the scene. However, the winning tone of the poem is the light and comical one.
The poem is written in the father’s point of view; this gives insight of the father’s character and
The lack of verbal communication between his father and himself can be seen in his poem "Those Winter Sundays." The overall impression of the poem is that love can be communicated in other ways than through words; it can be communicated through everyday, mundane actions. For example, in the poem, the father awakens on "Sundays too" to warm the house with a fire and polish his sons shoes. There is a sense of coldness in the beginning of the poem through the lines:
The central conflict in Robert Hayden’s poem “Those Winter Sundays”, is the unfortunate realization that the speaker never truly thanked or appreciated his father’s sacrifices when he was a child. After growing up, taking on responsibilities, and achieving a rehabilitated understanding of the world through experience, Hayden expresses his ingratitude that often accompanies with youth. The first line of the first stanza writes, “Sundays too my father got up early/and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold” (Hayden, 17). Out of these two lines, the word “too” is filled with importance because Sunday’s are dedicated to either religious practices, or rest for a working man. Fortunately, this was not his father’s case as his father would wake up early in order to perform his loving and self-sacrificing duties.
Family bonds are very important which can determine the ability for a family to get along. They can be between a mother and son, a father and son, or even a whole entire family itself. To some people anything can happen between them and their family relationship and they will get over it, but to others they may hold resentment. Throughout the poems Those Winter Sundays, My Papa’s Waltz, and The Ballad of Birmingham family bonds are tested greatly. In Those Winter Sundays the relationship being shown is between the father and son, with the way the son treats his father. My Papa’s Waltz shows the relationship between a father and son as well, but the son is being beaten by his father. In The Ballad of Birmingham the relationship shown is between
As Carter opens the poem, he tells how at this point in his life, he still has this essential want for things his own father presented him growing up. In the beginning, he expresses he has this “…pain [he] mostly hide[s], / but [that] ties of blood, or seed, endure” (lines 1-2). These lines voice how he longs for his father and just how painful it is without him at his side. In addition, he still feels “the hunger for his outstretched hand” (4) and a man’s embrace to take [him] in” (5). Furthermore, Carter explains how this “pain” he “feel[s] inside” (3) are also due to his “need for just a word of pr...
While most of us think back to memories of our childhood and our relationships with our parents, we all have what he would call defining moments in our views of motherhood or fatherhood. It is clearly evident that both Theodore Roethke and Robert Hayden have much to say about the roles of fathers in their two poems as well. While the relationships with their fathers differ somewhat, both men are thinking back to a defining moment in their childhood and remembering it with a poem. "My Papa's Waltz" and "Those Winter Sundays" both give the reader a snapshot view of one defining moment in their childhood, and these moments speak about the way these children view their fathers. Told now years later, they understand even more about these moments.
“Those Winter Sundays” had a sad and sorrowful tone to it as compared with “Begotten” which has a more pleasant and upbeat tone. One of the reasons why I chose to look at poems in the family album was because of how diverse every poem was going to be. Just like in real life, everyone has a different life story due to their families. Family life is an important part of life and I liked how the speaker of the poem was able to reflect back on his childhood after had grown up. Both of these poems were about child-father relationship, but family all together. It is easy to take your parents for granite, but when you grow up you start to realize how grateful you are for all they have done for you. Just because these two poems had two different tones did not make one better than the other, they were both equally powerful in their
In the first stanza, the sky and birds are used as spiritual symbols. As the sky has birds and clouds, heaven has it’s angels and comfort to offer those of good spirit a place to reside. “Since then, the birds / clean and comb him every morning / and pull the blanket up to his chin / every night” (Lee, 3-6). By figuratively letting go of this person who means a lot to him, he is able to now assess the physical aspect of the loss. This continuation of symbolism is used in the second stanza to explain the physical aspect of losing his father. “I buried my father underground. / Since then, my ladders / only climb down, / and all earth has become a house” (Lee, 7-10). Even though burying someone underground may be initially considered as a simple act, Lee expands on the idea of a burial, stating that the Earth is an immense room, where the dead reside. These physical items differ from the previously spiritual symbols made. The final selection of metaphors which denote themes of growth are used within the last stanza. “Now he grows in me, my strange son, / my little root who won’t drink milk,” (Lee, 17-18). Milk, a substance of growth, is used for a little root which needs a stimulus to survive. This signifies that in order for man to grow (with milk), they must acknowledge nature, the root,
Pyle, Fitzroy. The Winter's Tale: A Commentary on the Structure. New York: Routledge & Paul, 1969.