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Love in literature essay
Love in literature essay
Love in literature essay
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In the poem “Those Winter Sundays” poet Robert Hayden expresses the theme of realization and love through a descriptive poem about the actions of his father, and the effect of the speaker then and now. Hayden begins the poem with the line “Sundays too my father got up early”, which shows that every morning his father would get up early. This line helps to strengthen the theme of fatherly love because Sunday is usually a day of rest, most businesses are closed on Sunday due to this common principle. However, the speaker’s father would still wake up early even though his body (“…with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather…) had shown signs of his tiredness. Usually people listen to their body for they listen to their minds; …show more content…
Surprisingly enough the father seems to make this a part of his daily routine, which is remarkable and is truly an indicator that the father shows love for his family even if he is not appreciated. As the poem progresses the speaker shows that his home experience was not one of purely love itself. The speaker states “fearing the chronic angers of that hoes”, which from that it can be inferred that tension and anger had been an ongoing feeling in the speaker’s household. As the poem concludes we see that the speaker reflects back on not so much as his father’s actions, but his reaction. It can be concluded that with the “chronic anger” in his household, that he did not know what love was or how love can be characterized. The author then realizes that his father truly loved him, and he had been blind to that because that was not what love looked in the eyes of the speaker at a young age. This is where the theme of realization is expressed, because the author has reflected and has reached a realization that his father was not obligated to do these
"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.
The poem is written in the father’s point of view; this gives insight of the father’s character and
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.
While reading the poem the reader can imply that the father provides for his wife and son, but deals with the stress of having to work hard in a bad way. He may do what it takes to make sure his family is stable, but while doing so he is getting drunk and beating his son. For example, in lines 1 and 2, “The whisky on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy” symbolizes how much the father was drinking. He was drinking so much, the scent was too much to take. Lines 7 and 8, “My mother’s countenance, Could not unfrown itself.” This helps the reader understand the mother’s perspective on things. She is unhappy seeing what is going on which is why she is frowning. Although she never says anything it can be implied that because of the fact that the mother never speaks up just shows how scared she could be of her drunk husband. Lines 9 and 10, “The hand that held my wrist Was battered on one knuckle”, with this line the reader is able to see using imagery that the father is a hard worker because as said above his knuckle was battered. The reader can also take this in a different direction by saying that his hand was battered from beating his child as well. Lastly, lines 13 and 14, “You beat time on my head With a palm caked hard by dirt” As well as the quote above this quote shows that the father was beating his child with his dirty hand from all the work the father has
A brutal direct poem that’s very powerful is Robert Hayden’s poem “Those Winter Sundays” (Hayden, 551). In this poem, the writer employs concrete specifics and sensory descriptions to create a literal image for readers to resourcefully create. For example, at the beginning of “Those Winter Sunders” the speaker reflects back on the coldness of his childhood. He remembers the “cold” in both straightforward and figurative terms. At first, he focuses on the Sundays on how his father would wake up early to get the fire going before walking the rest of the house. However, the poem is really about how the speaker laments the fact that growing up he never really understood the meaning of his father’s actions – how they were the way he communicated his love for the family, for the speaker.
Many people don’t recognize others’ expressions of love. For instance, children may not realize that simple actions made by their parents are their parents’ way of saying “I love you.” In the poem, “Those Winter Sundays,” Robert Hayden describes an adult who regrets not appreciating his father as a child, and who now has a better understanding of the challenging and occasionally lonely responsibilities of a parent. The way in which Hayden describes the father’s and the narrator’s actions, his use of K and hard C words, and his portrayal of love in the last line of the poem illuminate Hayden’s message that parents will do and sacrifice anything for their children out of love and, therefore, one should take time to appreciate them. The descriptions of the father’s and the speaker’s actions elucidate the idea that one of parents’ duties is to provide a better life for their children than they have, even if the children do not value what their parents are doing at the time.
“Those Winter Sundays” was written by Robert Hayden. In this poem the writer symbolizes love as winter, which can be very cold at times. Throughout the entire poem the tone is clearly an admiration of his father, but he is unsure why. I think that the speaker is telling us that he’s grown up a hard life with his father. The writer knows that his father loves him but is confused as to why.
The author uses imagery, contrasting diction, tones, and symbols in the poem to show two very different sides of the parent-child relationship. The poem’s theme is that even though parents and teenagers may have their disagreements, there is still an underlying love that binds the family together and helps them bridge their gap that is between them.
The poem indicates the father as hardworking by his description. The speaker reveals the father has “cracked hands that ached from labor” and that “Sundays too” he “got up early” to start a fire and warm the house. As if this gesture is not enough, “He’d call” to his family “when the rooms were warm” so they would not have to endure the “blueblack cold” of a winter morning. The poem also indicates the father doing other chores, such as polishing “my good shoes.” This description of the father is moving, it show he loves his family and is thoughtful enough to do the chores no one else would want to do. The word choice for this description is very interesting, howe...
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.
The father of the speaker advise him to be wise in making decisions in life, and that he can live his life wisely in all manners of life. The father want the best out of his son and advice his son to live life to the fullest, as if each one may be his last one. The poem tell us that there is consequences in every decision you make in life. While “Those Winter Sundays” is the regret a son pass through for been ignorant of his father sacrifice for him to live a better
In the first stanza, the audience is introduced to the personality and devotion Hayden’s father has. Hayden chose the title carefully to dignify the repetitive cold Winter Sundays he and his father overcame. Knowing winter is usually connected to depression makes the audience understand why those moments may be so dear to him because he cherishes them for their quietness and the positive in the bitter cold. Now, even though Hayden's poem is not full of affectionate actions, it is still a poem of fondness because it exemplifies the love that a father and his offspring have for each other, making this a poem of love.
This evident on the basis that in the first line of the poem it speculates that, ‘Sundays too my father got up early’. This can be expressed in the Christion view, that the father is so responsible and loving on matters of family and that he can be seen as Jesus of the Bible, whereby He was crucified because of love of His people. On another view, the father is not so observant in the bible verses where by it was quote that God had rested in the seventh day which is the Sunday, but he still rose early and work on the resting
Both poems “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke and “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden are poems in which the speaker (a son in both cases) attempts to explain his complex relationship with his father. It seems that the two poets are reflecting back in their early lives as young boys and showing different appreciation toward their father. In my interpretation “My Papa’s Waltz” is about a boy and that is excited that his father got home to play with him. Only problem is the speakers father is drunk and it hard to enjoy himself but he held on because the unconditional love he has for him, as the line says “The Whiskey on your breath / could make a boy dizzy; / But I hung like death: ” (1-2-3). However, “Those Winter Sundays” is more about a boy that really didn’t appreciate his father’s tough love and hard work to kept heat in the house as the third stanza said “what did I know, what did I know / of love’s austere and lonely offices?” (13-14). Both of the poems deal with a father and a son with the same setting just one can be more negative than the other further more give you different judgment and have different attitudes.
The persona of the poem “Those Winter Sundays” is likely the author, Robert Hayden, who is writing about