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Those winter sundays poem analysis essay
Interpretation of robert hayden's winter sundays essay
Those winter sundays analysis poetic devices
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“Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden and “My Father’s Hats” by Mark Irwin gives an overview to inside the patriarch of their families. The children reflect on the memories, and the good deeds that their father’s provided for them. They understand what their greatly appreciate their fathers did for them. “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden and “My Father’s Hats” by Mark Irwin capture children’s memories of their father’s love and sacrifices. Robert Hayden was a poet who was not afraid of tackling racial issues in the African American community. In 1913, Asa Bundy Sheffey was born in Detroit, Michigan (Wright 300). He was born with impaired vision which caused him to wear glasses (“Robert Hayden” par.1). He attended Detroit City College and the University of Michigan (Wright 300). While attending the University of Michigan Hayden studied the works of W.H. Auden (“Robert Hayden” par.2). He continued to admire the works of Carl Sandburg, Edna …show more content…
“Those Winter Sundays” explains a father’s sacrifices for his family. “Those Winter Sundays” is very clear cut with the memories. Right at the beginning you can get a good understanding of what is going on in the poem. The speaker in “Those Winter Sundays” does not understand his father’s actions. “My Father’s Hats” is a metaphor for grief memory. “My Father’s Hats” has more imagery than “Those Winter Sundays”. “My Father’s Hats” by Mark Irwin is an extremely well written poem. “Those Winter Sundays” and “My Father’s Hats” both involve a Son’s relationship with his father. They are both written from old memories. Both of the speakers wish that they had the chance to speak, touch, and hear their father again. The theme of both poems are the appreciation of their fathers. Neither of the two poems has a rhyme scheme. Both of the poems have religious references. The children did not understand the selfless acts their fathers committed until they are
If I were asked who the most precious people in my life are, I would undoubtedly answer: my family. They were the people whom I could lean on to matter what happens. Nonetheless, after overhearing my mother demanded a divorce, I could not love her as much as how I loved her once because she had crushed my belief on how perfect life was when I had a family. I felt as if she did not love me anymore. Poets like Philip Levine and Robert Hayden understand this feeling and depict it in their poems “What Work Is” and “Those Winter Sundays.” These poems convey how it feels like to not feel love from the family that should have loved us more than anything in the world. Yet, they also convey the reconciliation that these family members finally reach because the speakers can eventually see love, the fundamental component of every family in the world, which is always presence, indeed. Just like I finally comprehended the reason behind my mother’s decision was to protect me from living in poverty after my father lost his job.
Abuse is a difficult and sensitive subject that can have long lasting effects. These traumatic emotional effects are often intensified if the abuse happens at a young age because children do not understand why the abuse is happening or how to deal with it. There are many abuse programs set up to counter the severe effects which abuse can have. Even more, poets and writers all over the world contribute works that express the saddening events and force the public to realize it is much more real than the informative articles we read about. One such poem is Theodore Roethke’s My Papa’s Waltz which looks carefully through the eyes of a young boy into the household of an abusive father. Robert Hayden’s Those Winter Sundays is a similar poem from the perspective of a young adult reflecting back on the childhood relationship with his father and the abuse his father inflicted. These poems are important because they deal with the complex issues surrounding the subject of abuse and also show the different ways which children react to it. My Papa’s Waltz and Those Winter Sundays are similar poems because they use tone, imagery, and sounds and rhythms to create tension between the negative aspects of abuse and the boys own love and understanding for their father.
With the celebration of Black History month, the importance of Robert Hayden’s “The Ballad of Nat Turner” reflects the significance of how far African Americans have come. During the time of this poem, the civil rights movement making quite a noise, allowing African American musicians, artists, and writers to express how they felt about the issues going on in America. One of the writers would be Robert Hayden. A poet with a strong interest in African studies writing about those whom like Nat Turner would pave the way for African Americans down the line. “The Ballad of Nat Turner” gives an insight to the intense tension between African Americans and Caucasians, which society can see till this day. The poem also paints the picture of the two
It is important to not that the direction of Brooks’s literary career shifted dramatically in the late 1960’s. While attending a black writers’ conference she was struck by the passion of the young poets. Before this happened, she had regarded herself as essentially a universalist, who happened to be black. After the conference, she shifted from writing about her poems about black people and life to writing for the black population.
Gallagher, Ann M. "Hayden's 'Those Winter Sundays.' (Robert Hayden)." The Explicator 51.4 (1993): 245+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 5 Dec. 2013.
The poem is written in the father’s point of view; this gives insight of the father’s character and
The lack of verbal communication between his father and himself can be seen in his poem "Those Winter Sundays." The overall impression of the poem is that love can be communicated in other ways than through words; it can be communicated through everyday, mundane actions. For example, in the poem, the father awakens on "Sundays too" to warm the house with a fire and polish his sons shoes. There is a sense of coldness in the beginning of the poem through the lines:
The contradiction of being both black and American was a great one for Hughes. Although this disparity was troublesome, his situation as such granted him an almost begged status; due to his place as a “black American” poet, his work was all the more accessible. Hughes’ black experience was sensationalized. Using his “black experience” as a façade, however, Hughes was able to obscure his own torments and insecurities regarding his ambiguous sexuality, his parents and their relationship, and his status as a public figure.
Family bonds are very important which can determine the ability for a family to get along. They can be between a mother and son, a father and son, or even a whole entire family itself. To some people anything can happen between them and their family relationship and they will get over it, but to others they may hold resentment. Throughout the poems Those Winter Sundays, My Papa’s Waltz, and The Ballad of Birmingham family bonds are tested greatly. In Those Winter Sundays the relationship being shown is between the father and son, with the way the son treats his father. My Papa’s Waltz shows the relationship between a father and son as well, but the son is being beaten by his father. In The Ballad of Birmingham the relationship shown is between
While most of us think back to memories of our childhood and our relationships with our parents, we all have what he would call defining moments in our views of motherhood or fatherhood. It is clearly evident that both Theodore Roethke and Robert Hayden have much to say about the roles of fathers in their two poems as well. While the relationships with their fathers differ somewhat, both men are thinking back to a defining moment in their childhood and remembering it with a poem. "My Papa's Waltz" and "Those Winter Sundays" both give the reader a snapshot view of one defining moment in their childhood, and these moments speak about the way these children view their fathers. Told now years later, they understand even more about these moments.
For my poetry paper I chose to examine poetry from the family album. The family album stood out to me significantly because I thoroughly enjoyed all of the poems because I had a personal connection with it. Family has always been an important part of my life and I think this particular album speaks volume. This album has many levels to it, some deeper than others. I feel that from reading poetry, it expands our ability to think and form ideas that we would have not thought about before. Poetry gives readers the ability to make connections on a deeper level and see things from a different perspective. The two poems that spoke to me in this album specifically were “Those Winter Sundays” By Robert Hayden and “Begotten” by Andrew Hudgins. These two poems are both similar because they are from a son’s point of view, talking about their parent(s). “Those Winter Sundays” was one of my all-time favorite poems from this album because it shows a hard working father who is dedicated to his family, but does not get any recognition for his hard work.
Each of these poems is written in different form and with different style. Each form represents the time period of my life I am representing. “Daddy’s Girl” was inspired by “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke. The two share the perspective of a young child desiring a close relationship with their fathers, due to their lack of involvement. “Daddy’s Girl,” is structured in three stanzas, each representing a different part of the scenario. The first stanza offers my desire to spend time with my dad. The parenthetical statement that “(I don’t actually like baseball)” (l. 2) shows that the activity I desired had nothing to do with the activity and everything to do with him. The second stanza is more in line with the time spent at the ballpark. My father always worked, but I didn’t mind as long as I got to be with him. My comment that, “Mr. Heller seems nice” (l. 8) relayed a desire to converse with my father about things he was interested in. I didn’t have the mental capacity to talk about the actual work, so the business partners involved would have to suffice. The third stanza displays the ever present fact that my father would leave, and I had to cope with that. I would take every opportunity I had to spend time with him. Furthermore the short stanzas and
Robert Hayden’s view of his father is intriguing in his poem “Those Winter Sundays.” The poem is told from the perspective of a man looking back at his childhood and his relationship between his father and himself. I relate to this poem immensely because it discusses the relationship between a father and a son. The overall theme of love is present through the father’s continuous sacrifices for his family. Hayden uses imagery and diction to further emphasize his portrayal of his father.
Many writers use powerful words to portray powerful messages. Whether a writer’s choice of diction is cheerful, bitter, or in Robert Hayden’s case in his poem “Those Winter Sundays,” dismal and painful, it is the diction that formulates the tone of the piece. It is the diction which Hayden so properly places that allows us to read the poem and picture the cold tension of his foster home, and envision the barren home where his poem’s inspiration comes from. Hayden’s tumultuous childhood, along with the unorthodox relationships with his biological parents and foster parents help him to create the strong diction that permeates the dismal tone of “Those Winter Sundays.” Hayden’s ability to both overcome his tribulations and generate enough courage
ten by Himself (1845) Sherman JR: The Black Bard of North Carolina: George Moses Horton and His Poetry Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press (1997) Rice, A: Radical Narratives of the Black Atlantic, Continuum: New York (2003) Sapphire: Black Wings and Blind Angels, Payback Press: Edinburgh (2001) McCarthy K: bittersweet, The Women's Press Ltd (1998) Secondary Sources: www.poets.org.uk (03/05/2004) http://docsouth.unc.edu/hortonlife/horton.htm (04/05/2004) http://www.christian-bookshop.co.uk/free/biogs/cwesley.htm (07/05/2004) http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/audiointerviews/profilepages/angeloum2.shtml (07/05/2004) --------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Sherman JR The Black Bard of North Carolina: George Moses Horton and His Poetry Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press (1997)