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Notes on those winter sundays poem by Robert Hayden
Comment on the theme of the poem and how the structure supports the poem those winter sundays by Robert Hayden
Comment on the theme of the poem and how the structure supports the poem those winter sundays by Robert Hayden
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Robert Hayden poem ”Those Winter Sundays” explores his father as an unsung hero and it also presents an acknowledgement of poets lack of gratitude for his father. The speaker reflects on the childhood memories of his father and goes on to find all kinds of disabilities he had in terms of realization regarding the pain father bared for the poet. Story is very emotional in the way that the speaker reveals sacrifices of his father during his childhood throughout the poem. It is agonizing and the words used in the poem are really an expression of desperation and sadness as he is really missing that time. There are a number of sacrifices made by the father during the harsh winter season of writer’s childhood. In his childhood he was not actually aware about the harshness of those lovely and affectionate feelings that his father had about him. In the poem ”Those Winter Sundays” Robert Hayden uses imagery and sound devices to portray his father as an unsung hero and to acknowledge his own lack of gratitude
The writer is recalling all those lovely gestures one by one as the father sacrifices are shown as “banked fires
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blaze” (1) in the cold morning when every other person would have preferred to remain in the bed and the writer himself used to be this way, yet father was there to sacrifice all his peace in life. It was all for the one reason to give comfort to his child whom he really loved very much. It is not just about facing the harshness of the weather but the father is shown to do every bit of work that the son was demanding even it is realized by the poet as “polished my good shoes as well” (2) The most beautiful realization that the speaker comes to know is that besides facing those entire harsh conditions father never the child feel them as all the necessities required were fulfilled by father. This selfless attitude is really admired by the writer as there are many gesture but these selfless and emotional feelings are hard to find anywhere else but the blood relations like father and son. In the final lines speaker reveals the regret he feels for not showing love and appreciation to his father.
It is really a hard part of the poem as he realizes that father was giving all his services without making him realize anything but how could he remain so unaware of the harshness faced by the father, this is dreadful and he even goes on to curse himself for this as he writes “What did I know, what did I know of love’s austere and lonely offices?” (3) In the last stanza is clear description of the regret and anguish for not expressing the love and appreciation to his father. This is not it but he has used his anguish and desperation at the start of the poem as “No one ever thanked him” (4). It is very agonizing for the poet no matter whether his father felt that anytime but writer is really cursing himself for not taking any care of his father
then. The poem is written when the writer has grown up and has come out of this childish mentality. It is a time where he is realizing all those hardships and the words are making an expression for the deep inside emotions for his father. This realization regarding how tough it was for his father to serve him in harsh weather, yet the father continued to express his love in a very un-showed off way. This situation of the writer is further agonizing in a way that the author doesn’t have a chance to show his love for the father as he is no more. It is more of desperation and regret and he has chosen the poem as a way to convey his anguish to others so that they might realize the importance of their parents before the time runs out for the all and nothing is left like the poet has now.
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.
At the beginning of the poem, the audience is able to witness an event of a young boy asking his father for story. While the father was deemed a “sad” man, it is later shown that his sadness can be contributed to his fear of his son leaving him. The structure then correlated to the point of going into the future. The future was able to depict what would happen to the loving duo. The father's dreams would become a reality and the son's love and admiration would cease to exist as he is seen screaming at his father. Wanting nothing to do with him. The young, pure child can be seen trying to back lash at his father for acting like a “god” that he can “never disappoint.” The point of this structure was not really a means of clarification from the beginning point of view, but more as an intro to the end. The real relationship can be seen in line 20, where it is mentioned that the relationship between the father and son is “an emotional rather than logical equation.” The love between this father and son, and all its complexity has no real solution. But rather a means of love; the feelings a parent has for wanting to protect their child and the child itself wanting to be set free from their parents grasp. The structure alone is quite complex. Seeing the present time frame of the father and son
The poem is written in the father’s point of view; this gives insight of the father’s character and
Hayden’s father is not only bringing physical warmth to him by making the fire; he is also bringing spiritual warmth to him. By the end of the poem, the reader feels an overall sense of warmth as the poet comes to a better understanding of his father’s unappreciated actions.
“Those Winter Sundays” tells of Robert Hayden’s father and the cold mornings his father endures to keep his family warm in the winters. In “Digging” Heaney is sitting in the window watching his father do hard manual labor, which has taken a toll on his body. In “My Father as a Guitar” Espada goes to the doctors office with his father and is sitting in the office with his dad when the doctor tells him he has to take pain killers and to stop working because his body was growing old and weak. The authors of the poems all look at their fathers the same; they look at them with much respect and gratitude. All three poems tell of the hard work the dads have to do to keep their family fed and clothed. “The landlord, here a symbol of all the mainstream social institutions that hold authority over the working class” (Constantakis.) Espada’s father is growing old and his health is deteriorating quickly but his ability to stop working is not in his own hands, “I can’t the landlord won’t let me” (774.) “He is separated from the homeland, and his life in the United States is far from welcoming” (Constantakis.) Espada’s Grandmother dies in Puerto Rico and the family learns this by a lett...
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.
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.
father’s childhood, and later in the poem we learn that this contemplation is more specifically
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.
In Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays”, Hayden writes about the sacrifices made by a father for the sake of his child. The father’s love is shown as quiet and simple, and it is through his sacrifices that the warmth of his love is felt by his child. Through Hayden’s use of metaphors, contrast, and visual imagery, he is able to build upon the theme that a father’s love is quiet and full of sacrifices.
...his was the perfect day of his childhood. This day to shape the days upon.” This shows the simplicity of the man’s life and how something as simple as this memory can stay vivid and detailed in his memory. "… he knelt and smoothed her hair as she slept and he said if he were God he would have made the world just so and no different." (pg 27). Many years after his wife committing suicide he would start to wonder what life would be like if she was around. For me this applies, as sometimes I question how life would be different for me if my parents had never broken up. The man would find it hard to confront his feelings about his wife as I find it hard to confront thinking about my parents. For us to think about our family it hurts but we still do it. I believe this is an important issue you have brought to the reader as it has made me think about things in my life.
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
In the poems, Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden and My Papa's Waltz by Theodore Roethke, are two poems that are about their relationship with their fathers. In both poems, the authors reflect back to their childhood admiring their love and respect for their fathers. They loved their fathers dearly, but their relationship with them was nowhere near perfect.
Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays” depicts a man remembering and examining his childhood. The speaker recalls how his father worked tirelessly despite receiving no recognition or appreciation. The father continued to labor everyday for his family because the strength of his love overpowered the despair of the thankless job that his son could not understand.
In "Those Winter Sundays" Robert Hayden gives a significant example of a father's love. Through this poem, the author wants to convey a beautiful message regarding the unconditional love a father has for his child. The poem depicts many different ways a father can show his endless love and care.