Diction And Diction In Those Winter Sundays By Robert Hayden

In Robert Hayden’s poem “Those Winter Sundays” tells of an individual reminiscing about their father and the sacrifices he made to provide for them. In the poem, the father was not appreciated for his contribution but the narrator seems to now acknowledge the hard work of the father. As the poem progresses the tone of the narrator is one of regret and remorse. The relationship of the parent and child is often one of misunderstanding and conflict until the experiences life more and come in grasps of the parent’s intention. So, the relation between a parent and child evolves as the child emerges to adulthood.

Writers have their own “special touch” as to how they will sway peoples’ emotions and thoughts with every work they release. In the poem “Those Winter Sundays,” poet Robert Hayden takes advantage of different types of imagery to display deeper levels of emotion. The imagery changes from being cool in nature to warm in nature as the poem’s growth changes. The reader will find, with the use of visual and auditory imagery, that Hayden may understand the force behind his father’s actions, but the father has not and will not be forgiven in the end. With the use of specifically visual and auditory imagery, Hayden is able to effectively display his emotions from

“Those Winter Sundays” written by Robert Hayden, depicts the ungratefulness that a young boy has towards his hardworking father. Later in the poem, as he matures, he begins to realize everything his father has done for him, and his feelings suddenly change. Throughout the poem, Hayden uses numerous examples of imagery, personification, and foreshadowing to show how the speaker’s attitude regarding his father transforms from the perspective of a child to the perspective of an adult.

The tone in "Those Winter Sundays" is also reflective, yet it establishes a sense of guilt and remorse. The speaker questions inwardly by wondering "What [he] kn[e]w / . . .

Similarly, Hayden’s Those Winter Sundays starts with a young adult reflecting back on his childhood and remembering how hard his father worked. He thinks back and his tone is of admiration and respect. This is apparent when the young man reflects, “Sundays too my father got up early…No one ever thanked him.” (Hayden, 1-5) The young man is realizing how hard his father worked and how little recognition he got. This makes a certain degree of guilt come over the young man. He remembers “fearing the chronic angers of that house” (Hayden, 9) and dislikes his father because of it by “speaking indifferently to him” (Hayden, 10). Then the

Authors tend to write on subjects that they know the most about, or subjects that affect them on a personal level. Authors and poets use various aspects of life for the basis of their works, such as life experiences, romances, and family roles. Poems like “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden and “Forgiving My Father” by Lucille Clifton feature one of the most important roles in a family: a father. The two poems differ vastly in many regards, but many similarities surface among them and a common theme resides between them. Through the similarities they hold, the poems represent a common theme of regret for one’s lack of action.

¨Those Winter Sundays¨ by Robert Hayden and ¨Snapping Beans¨ by Lisa Parker are two different narrative poems that share the same theme. Similarly both poems consist of a speaker being affected by the relationship they have with their elders. In ¨Those Winter Sundays¨ the speaker tells us about his hardworking father who takes care of his kids even though he may come off as a harsh father. The speaker of ¨Snapping Beans¨ is a granddaughter who discusses about the change that she is going through but is afraid to tell the person that raised her. Therefore this essay compares the two poems with respect to the speaker's feelings and morals.

Often times in life, people begin to appreciate relationships when reflecting on one’s previous actions and regretting what one has done. In “Those Winter Sundays,” Robert Hayden describes how a son remembers his father’s sufferings and sacrifices that he did not appreciate in the past. Hayden uses visual and auditory imagery, personification, alliteration, and drastic shifts in tone to show how the son recognizes his father’s physical and emotional pain, and regrets his former indifference.

Being a child is one of the hardest stages in a person’s life. They go through doing all the wrong things in order to learn how to do the right things, and then they socially develop into a sensible mature adult. During this stage of a young child's life, the roles of parenting are absolutely crucial and determine a child’s role that he/she is going to play in society in the future. This is a crucial part of everyone’s life, they need to learn what they are good at and what they are not good at. In the poem "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden, there is a sense that the narrator does not have a special bond with his father when he was a young boy, and that there is a sense of fear toward his father. I

The title "Those Winter Sundays" is used to look back on the writer's childhood. In combination with the sonnet, the title emphasizes the guilt the author faces for not honoring his father when he had the chance. For instance, the father was still working diligently during the winter season to ensure his kid's comfort. Even on Sundays the father was up early and polished the child shoes for church. Regardless of the fathers' efforts, the child is not able to value them. Subsequently, after the passing of his father, the child asks himself, "What did I know, what did I know/ of love’s austere and lonely offices" (Hayden 13-14)? Naturally, the child is pondering the time he wasted by not giving the best regards to his compassionate father, whereas the following poem's writer embraces his unflattering father, even in the title.

A child’s future is usually determined by how their parent’s raise them. Their characteristics reflect how life at home was like, if it had an impeccable effect or destroyed the child’s entire outlook on life. Usually, authors of any type of literature use their experiences in life to help inspire their writing and develop emotion to their works. Poetry is a type of literary work in which there is an intensity given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinct styles and rhythm. These distinct styles include different types of poems such as sonnets, villanelles, free verse, imagist poems, and many more. And these distinct styles are accentuated with the use of literary devices such as metaphors, similes, imagery, personification, rhyme, meter, and more. As a whole, a poem depicts emotions the author and reader’s can relate to. In the poem’s “Those Winter Sundays,” by Robert Hayden, and “My Papa’s Waltz,” by Theodore Roethke, we read about two different parent and child relationships. These two poems help portray the flaws and strength’s parents exhibit and how their children follow their actions and use it as a take away in their grown up lives.

He seems to not realize how much effort the dad uses for him, and he speaks coldly to his father’s warmth. The speaker, however, questions his thinking here. At this moment, he says, “What did I know, what did I know/of love’s austere and lonely offices?” The words lonely and austere give a tone that is sad and placid. They are lonely, but love’s austere shows a presence of love and not hate. Offices, is one’s duty in this way. The father and speaker’s “duty” is to love one another and not cause “cracked hands”. The son seems to finally understand his father’s nourishment towards him. Back in stanza one, the line “No one ever thanked him,” shows that the son is now regretful of his cold words toward his dad. The son and father now can see each other’s love toward one another

In both “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden and “forgiving my father” by Lucille Clifton, the speakers have deep discontent with their fathers. They both describe issues they had with their father when they were a child, which resulted in lack of respect. In contrast, both poems show a different healing outcome of the child, that is now an adult, and their lasting opinions of their father. Both poems represent a way a child can deal with a childhood issue with a parent and what it is like to either overcome it or still have it festering inside.

In the first stanza the reader is introduced to the two characters in the poem. The reader is also made aware of the time of the year and day. The first stanza reveals a lot of information. It tells the reader who, when, and where. It also appeals to the sense of touch and sight when it describes the father's hands and also when he "puts his clothes on in the blueblack cold." One could almost feel the "cold" and see the "cracked hands."

Hayden utilizes diction to set a dark and solemn tone throughout the poem. Like the various examples of imagery, there is also a strong use of underlying symbolism. In the first stanza, the words “cold” (1. 2) and “fires blaze” (1. 5) are used, which introduces a conflict. This is emphasized in the second stanza when the word “cold” (2. 1) is used again, later followed by the word “warm” (2. 2). In the last stanza, the father eventually “had driven out the cold” (3. 2). Yet the father had not ridden the house of the cold air until the end of the poem, which symbolizes how it took his son several years later to recognize the behaviors in which his father conveyed his love for him.