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Those Winter Sundays Analysis Essay

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“Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden has much significance throughout it, the poem is generally about an adult reflecting back to his childhood having regrets for not appreciating his father's love. Hayden describes a father to son relationship for the reader. This poem can be similar to the quote “ you don’t what you’ve got until it's taking away” Hayden uses imagery, diction, and emotional appeal to make it relatable to the readers. Hayden writes this poem figuratively using imagery to provide the reader with a vivid ideal for example “Blueback cold” shows imagery of how cold those winter Sundays really were, and “Blueblack cold can also be used metaphorically here to describe the bruise on the child heart from the feeling of thinking he was unloved throughout his childhood. All love is shown in a different manner you just have to understand the …show more content…

The final stanza incorporates a lot of emotions from the speaker such as unconditional love, fear, regrets, compassion, and hatred. This then opens the reader to a type of coldness that appeals on a totally emotional level. For example in the first line of the last stanza “speaking indifferently to him” meaning that child is being cold towards the father very much like the weather outside. Then in the third line of the last stanza “polished my good shoes as well” is his father showing love once again. Although kisses and hugs are nice showing a sense of compassion his father shows his love is a different way he shows his love by doing his manly duties and making their home is warm before the rest of the family awakes and making sure they look good. 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

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