The Whipping By Robert Hayden

A story that is repeated time and time again with the only changes being the when and where. The abuse of a child by their parent while countless people watch from the background, not caring or too worried about themselves to not do anything. “The Whipping” is a poem written by Robert Hayden that tells a story with only one simile and alliteration where the speaker is only a background character that isn’t affected by the dark, violent mood most likely because he is aware of the situation between the child and their parent. The one that tells this story isn’t related to the poem in anyway. The speaker is just one of many people that watch these scene happen, either too caught up in their own world or just don’t care what happens to the child. In the beginning the speaker says, “...whipping the boy again…” This implies that this isn’t the first time that the child is beat by his mother for all to see. The child is beat outside because the speaker says how the boy goes through elephant ears and dusty zinnias. These two are actually plants which clarify that the child was beat by his mother outside in public. The speaker isn’t affected by this most likely for two reasons. The first and second are closely tied together with the first being

The title is what sets the mood for a poem before a person even starts reading. When reading “The Whipping” the mood immediately becomes violent with just a little bit of darkness. It isn’t until the poem is read that the reader realizes that the poem isn’t just dark and violent. “The Whipping” is a poem that is also about frustration and regret. Frustration over the life that the mother is living along with the regret over the actions that led to that life. This poem is dark because of the atmosphere and they way the speaker reacts to the situation. Violent because the mother beats her child so bad that the stick that she uses