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Those Winter Sundays Essay

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Not everything has to be expressed through words. One example of this is love. The poet, Robert Hayden, expresses this through his poem, “Those Winter Sundays.” A father is unthanked for all the things he does for his family and son. Imagery is also used to help establish the constant rough labor the father does to make sure his family is comfortable. Due to Robert Hayden having a difficult childhood, having but one parent that actually loved him inspired a theme of “love doesn’t need to be expressed through words, it can be expressed through actions” in the poem “Those Winter Sundays.” The use of imagery identifies the theme, “Love doesn’t need to be expressed through words, it can be shown through actions” which is seen throughout Robert …show more content…

“Cracked hands” (Line 3). symbolize constant rough labor (Plot Summary). This is further supported by “weekday weather” (Line 4), which can also show harsh weather, since it’s winter. The daily rough labor led to the narrator’s father having …show more content…

This led to a difficult childhood (Robert Hayden). With his parents divorced at such a young age, this may have affected what he thought “love” was. His foster parents argued constantly, and most of the times, their anger was taken out on Hayden (Robert Hayden). This lead to an unhappy and unpeaceful childhood. His childhood was further complicated when Hayden’s biological mother moved next door (Robert Hayden). His foster parents and mother disliked each other. They often began to “compete” for his affection (Robert Hayden). Hayden did not know who really loved him, or was it just “superficial.” This can be tied with “Those Winter Sundays.” Everything that his father did, he did not see as love; this may also be similar with his mother. Hayden’s mother could have really loved him, but he did not see it at the time, but as he grew up he began to realize these actions and appreciate

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