ipl-logo

Robert Hayden's 'Those Winter Sundays'

1117 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Interpretation of robert hayden's those winter sundays essay

Jack Akers
Instructor: Mary Wallace
English 102-01
26 February 2018

Love and guilt: An explication of Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays”
In the poem “Those winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden, Hayden experiences both the feelings of love and guilt for the way he treated his father while he was growing up. In the poem, Hayden reflects back on the things that his father did for him, not out of necessity but out of love. At the time, Hayden took these things for granted and never fully appreciated the things that his father had done for him until years later when it was too late.
This poem is a fourteen-line three-stanza sonnet poem with no particular rhyme scheme or meter. In the first stanza, Hayden reflects on a particular Sunday where …show more content…

This also shows that when he initially wakes up the setting is still dark. Then we find Hayden’s father is waking him up when the house was warm “when the rooms were warm, he’d call. (7)” This quote shows that Hayden’s father cares a lot about him and it slightly changes the setting from being dark and cold to bright and warm all thanks to Hayden’s father. The reason why this shows that Hayden’s father cares is because he did not want to wake Hayden up when it was still both dark and cold in the house. Instead, he chose to wake him up once he “had driven out the cold” (11). We also find the author getting out of bed slowly “and slowly I would rise and dress” (8). This would not mean much if it did not connect to the last line of the stanza which says, “Fearing the chronic angers of that house” (9). The author is not using personification to describe the house as being angry at him. Instead, he is talking about his family being mad at him as a result for him being “slow” while getting dressed. Since the only family which is mentioned in the text is his father, then it can be deduced that he is talking about his father being mad at him for taking a long time. This gives his father the quality of being strict although overall this stanza shows Haydn’s father in a positive

Show More
Related
365 Words | 2 Pages

Jim Simmerman, the writer of “Child’s Grave, Hale County, Alabama,” was born on March 5, 1952 in Bolder, Colorado. Simmerman spent the most of his childhood traveling since his father was in the military. In 1978, he became an instructor at Northern Arizona University. He then left to earn a master’s degree at the University of Iowa, but he came back to continue his previous job. On June 29, 2009, Simmerman killed himself because of a debilitating illness he had (Bruner para.

Read More
54 Words | 1 Pages

In the poem “Tuesday 9:00 AM” Denver Butson writes about how people can not say what is on their mind. He can convey this through the use of figurative language. The figurative language in the poem is used to express the inner conflicts of each character and the addition of details, construct the theme.

Read More
892 Words | 4 Pages

It has been said that “beauty is pain” and in the case of this poem, it is quite literal. “For That He Looked Not Upon Her” written by George Gascoigne, a sixteenth century poet, is a poem in which the speaker cannot look upon the one he loves so that he will not be trapped by her enhanced beauty and looks. In the form of an English sonnet, the speaker uses miserable diction and visual imagery to tell the readers and his love why he cannot look upon her face. Containing three quatrains and a rhyming couplet at the end, this poem displays a perfect English sonnet using iambic pentameter to make it sound serious and conversational. This is significant because most sonnets are about love and each quatrain, in English sonnets, further the speaker’s

Read More
523 Words | 3 Pages

This poem, written by James Wright, makes you really think about the reason the speaker’s life was so depressing to live(). The sonnet, Beginning, has a deep meaning behind the whole poem. “The moon drops one or two feathers into the field. The dark wheat listens.

Read More
683 Words | 3 Pages

Every story consists of different elements, such as characters, plotlines, and settings. Nonetheless, many stories portray the same messages or ideas. “My Papa’s Waltz,” by Theodore Roethke, depicts a reckless father who is loved by his child, while “Those Winter Sundays,” by Robert Hayden, depicts a hardworking father whose child is indifferent to him. Though the poems depict exceptionally different childhoods, both contribute to the idea that perceptions of parents alter as one grows into adulthood. Both poems use harsh words and critical tones in order to convey this notion, however in “My Papa’s Waltz,” they signify the recklessness of the father and how the narrator perceives his father as an adult, while in “Those Winter Sundays,” they

Read More
602 Words | 3 Pages

Imagery and tone plays a huge role for the author in this poem. It’s in every stanza and line in this poem. The tone is very passionate, joyful and tranquil.

Read More
551 Words | 3 Pages

Sun Downs and Seasons The poem, ‘Sun Downs and Seasons’ was written by Kirli Saunders and is about trees, seas and seasons. This poem was chosen because of the productive use of imagery and repetition. It carries valuable information to custodians of the land and is understandable for people in Australia. ‘Sun Downs and Seasons’ is written by Kirli Saunders, who herself is a first-nation person. She is a Gunai woman, born in the Gundungurra country in New South Wales with ties to the Yuin Birpi and Gadigal people.

Read More
300 Words | 2 Pages

The book The Boys of Winter by Wayne Coffey tells a story about the 1980’s Olympic semi-finals between the U.S.A hockey team and the Russian hockey team. Since the 1960’s team Russia has dominated Olympic hockey. They set an example of how to play the game like, only taking wrist shots, because why risk breaking your stick or getting a splinter with a slap shot. The Russians had no doubt that they would win. But coach Brooks, the coach of the Americans had the game all planned out with trick plays and players playing different positions to mess with the Russians.

Read More
871 Words | 4 Pages

A Father’s Affection “My Papa’s Waltz” and “Those Winter Sundays” describe a character who reflects on their childhood. Although they based on the same theme, the two poems have very different perspectives. “Those Winter Sundays” talks about how the son regrets for not showing his love for his father, when all his actions went unnoticed. “My Papa’s Waltz” reflects on a son 's memory with is father where his danced around the house after the father long day at work. Both poems reflect on how their fathers showed his love for his son, the time spent with their fathers, a maternal conflict, and their relationship with their father.

Read More
784 Words | 4 Pages

In conclusion, “Those Winter Sundays” uses imagery, diction, an emotional appeal to grasp the reader's attention. The last line of the poem reiterates the child regrets of not showing his father appreciation “what did I know, what did I know” What did I know is repeated to twice to show

Read More
1406 Words | 6 Pages

The writer talks of when daylight begins and what he thinks about the beginning of the day. The hopeless lines of the poem are not describing

Read More
1560 Words | 7 Pages

“Winter Dreams” was published in 1926. Francis Scott Fitzgerald is most well-known for his novel “The Great Gatsby”. A common theme he is known for is the American dream and how it is corrupt. Fitzgerald enjoys writing about the poor boy chasing after the rich girl. This story is about a man named Dexter Green trying to achieve the American dream by obtaining the girl he adores.

Read More
1384 Words | 6 Pages

The second stanza ends with personification: “the chronic angers of that house” (9). By personifying the house, Hayden suggests that the entire house is filled with anger, deepening the reader’s understanding of the relationship between father and son. The line, however, has some ambiguity. The speaker could mean the physical defects of the house cause the anger, referring to creaking beams or rumbling pipes, and the additional labor these flaws require from an already overworked father. The “chronic angers” could also reference the clearly difficult relationship between the two characters in the poem.

Read More
1669 Words | 7 Pages

Additionally , the house that the narrator mentions is illustrated as “ mansion of gloom “ which might be a sign that the aura of the house has something dreadful in it. However , the Narrator reveals something important about his first impression for the house by saying “ I looked upon the scene before me , upon the mere house, upon the bleak walls , upon the vacant eye-like windows ( 3 ).To illustrate , the words such as “ air of heaven , silent tarn , mystic vapor “ used as a reinforcement for making the ambience of the house as gloomy. In fact , in the light of these facts , it could be said that the house has an darkness appearance which might be an indication of its mysterious atmosphere.

Read More
659 Words | 3 Pages

In the poem “Those Winter Sundays” the poem seems to take place around the year 1943. Judging from the illustration above the poem, it looks like the family is very poor and have very little space. The picture shows that the mother is serving food to the boy and girl, from that point of view it looks like they have to share which shows that they struggle to provide enough food for each individual. As opposed to the poem “Piano” there is no illustration but the speaker does say “hymns in the cozy parlor”. The speaker using the word parlor shows that the family must have lived in a well kept home.

Read More

More about Robert Hayden's 'Those Winter Sundays'

Related Topics

Open Document