Robert Hayden is an author whose childhood, like many others, helped shaped his perception on life. As a child, Hayden suffered through a family crises where his biological parents separated after his birth and soon after, he became the foster son of his neighbors (Gates and Smith, 225). This crucial family division has lead Hayden to write many works demonstrating his hardships throughout this experience. Focusing on one of his poems “Those Winter Sundays,” he depicts the troublesome relationship between his foster father, as discussed in class, and himself. A feelings of regret are shown throughout the poem because of the lack of appreciation the speaker had towards his father as a child. Hayden writes, “what did I know, what did I know,” …show more content…
Hayden writes this poem in a very interpersonal perspective, almost as if the speaker wrote down his experiences with his father in a journal; therefore, I truly believe the speaker is Robert Hayden himself. Hayden is an author who wrote non-fiction pieces such as the previously mentioned, “Those Winter Sundays” which makes his work that much more relatable. Though he writes in an interpersonal manner, his audience is aimed at those who similarly experience a poor relationship amongst relatives and/or close relationships. In addition, it is obvious that Hayden writes the poem with his father in mind, who he purposely but indirectly, makes part of his audience: “No one ever thanked him” (5). This specific lines also emphasizes the longing to have once been able to …show more content…
This poem is also in iambic pentameter, and though it lacks a uniformed rhyme scheme, there is rhyming in certain words within in a line such as line two, instead of typical “a, b, a, b,” form. Hayden emphasizes words that were used as adjectives, whether it is describing the temperature “banked fires blaze” (5), or physical attributes “with cracked hands that ached” (3), or verbs “slowly I would rise” (8). The author also introduces alliteration in “put his clothes on in the blueblack cold” (2) and “when the rooms were warm”
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.
In 1962 Robert Hayden wrote a collection of poems entitled Ballads of Remembrance. This collection is comprised of 36 poems that are separated into 4 groups. Each group refers to a different focus of remembrance; for example, one group focuses on the struggle of African Americans in terms of finding identity and a sense of transcendence. "Those Winter Sundays" is part of the group of poems that focuses on remembrances of Hayden’s childhood, past, and personal struggles.
“Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden, “My Father as a Guitar” by Martin Espada, and “Digging” by Seamus Heaney are three poems that look into the past of the authors and dig up memories of the authors fathers. The poems contain similar conflicts, settings, and themes that are essential in helping the reader understand the heartfelt feelings the authors have for their fathers. With the authors of the three poems all living the gust of their life in the 1900’s, their biographical will be similar and easier to connect with each other.
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.
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.
"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 “Those Winter Sundays” displays a past relationship between a child and his father. Hayden makes use of past tense phrases such as “I’d wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking” (6) to show the readers that the child is remembering certain events that took place in the past. Although the child’s father did not openly express his love towards him when he was growing up, the child now feels a great amount of guilt for never thanking his father for all the things he actually did for him and his family. This poem proves that love can come in more than one form, and it is not always a completely obvious act.
Rhyme is shown in the first, second, third, fourth, eighth, and ninth stanzas. In the first stanza, “...town…” and “...down…” is an example of rhyme. In the second stanza, “...small…” and “...all…” represents rhyme. In the third stanza, rhyme is shown when the speaker says, “...few…” and “...grew…”. More examples in the poem include, “...leaf…” and “...grief…”, “...deep…” and “...sleep…”, and “...ding…” and
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
The poem is a quatrain, meaning that each of the three stanzas has four lines. Additionally, the rhyming pattern of each stanza is a/b/c/b. Through the organization of the poem, Smith was able to demonstrate society’s inability or refusal to recognize signs of depression. The reader, unaware of what was truly happening, took the poem literally until the last
The poem is written in iambic pentameter with a clearly defined rhyme scheme throughout, although there are some variations
There is a pattern of stressed sounds such as “I”, “light”, and “spent” as well as unstressed such as “when”, “my”, and “is” that are all taken from the first line of the poem. Through the entire poem there is a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables, five stressed and five unstressed on each line, creating an iambic pentameter. Through the use of iambic pentameter Milton shows, his great ability and talent to write poems.
Robert Frost is one of America’s most loved and respected poets. He did a great job capturing the hearts of his readers with his natural imagery and ability to use metaphors to reveal the truths that he was trying to convey. Frost’s life was filled with many struggles including several losses in his family. His early struggles would continue through his educational period, as he wouldn’t graduate from college. Frost traveled to Great Britain to gain some ideas on poetry, and then returned the America to begin writing again (Famous Poets and Poems 1). He would have great successes, and would win numerous awards and honors for his work. The purpose of this research project is to educate the reader of Robert Frost’s biographical information, his career as a writer, the awards and honors that he was able to obtain, and Frost’s writing style.
The writer used rhymed the poem which makes it interesting. The vocabulary is simple. The poem is written in the free verse. He uses declarative sentences.