Those Winter Sundays Analysis Essay
Sometimes love is not heard by the ears but felt with the heart. Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays” is a short poem about the love a father has for his son. Through the father’s efforts to keep the house warm, Hayden, the speaker, continues to treat his dad with insouciance; that was until Hayden grew older. Reflecting on this past memory, the speaker might have written this poem for his father, apologizing for his past behavior. While the tone of the poem is remorseful, the theme is not. Rather, it is about the power of love, family love and fatherly love; by using diction, imagery, and symbolism, Hayden is able to capture the love his father has for him and his family.
Hayden begins his poem with “Sundays too my father got up early…” (Line 1). Out of all the days of the week, the speaker choses the day, Sunday. Often, Sundays are akin to the weekend or rest day. However, why then does Robert …show more content…
Hayden choose this specific day for his father to “...make banked fires blaze” (Line 4-5) and drive “out of the cold and polished my good shoes” (Lines 11-12)? This day is deliberately chosen to show his dad’s fatherly love. Instead of resting like everyone else, Hayden’s father awakens early to prepare a warm home for his family, even with his “cracked hands” (Line 3). The speaker, specifically, chooses this day of the week to illustrate how Hayden’s father took care of his family every single day of the week, not just Mondays to Saturdays. Thus, Hayden uses diction to display his father’s continuous love for his family.
However, this fatherly love is, especially, shown through imagery. The speaker incorporates many phrases that pertain to our five sense: some of these including “blueblack cold” (Line 2) and “crackled hands that ached” (Line 3). When Hayden uses the phrase “blueblack cold” (Line 2), the audience is able to picture through sight and touch the temperature of the weather; even the word, blueblack, indicates something that is very cold, almost to the point of painfulness. And the fact that the speaker’s father is willing to sacrifice his sleep and comfort for his family further demonstrates his love towards the narrator. Also, Hayden mentions how his father has “cracked hands that ached” (Line 3). Using the word “cracked,” the readers can mentally picture or feel hands that are rough. In other words, the audience can understand the father has endured much physical labor and is a hardworking man for his family. Hayden uses imagery because he wants us, the readers, to understand his perspective of his father and the pain his father has endured for his family. The image that Hayden creates of his father is tough; through this, it shows the father sacrifices much for his family because he loves them.
While the father’s love is not directly stated, his love is shown through symbolism.
Waking up early Sunday morning, his father calls Hayden “when the rooms were warm” (Lines 2-5). This action symbolizes the love a father has for his son. Wanting the best for his child, his father awakens Hayden only after the house is filled with warmth. And he, even, disregards his own discomfort and cracked hands in order to provide care for his family. Additionally, Hayden’s father even went “out [in] the cold and polished my good shoes” (Lines 11-12) to teach his son moral rights. As stated previously, Sundays are rest days, but they are church days, as well; polished shoes is a symbolism for religion or church. And through the father’s actions, he was showing his fatherly love by teaching his son the importance of morals. He cleaned Hayden’s shoes because it is respectable to not only wear clean clothing but polished shoes, too. In this case, the poet uses symbolism as a way to convey a deeper meaning of his father’s love: Sometimes, love is not always shown the traditional
way.
Thus, all of these poetic devices- diction, imagery, and symbolism- are used to demonstrate how Hayden’s father cared and loved his family. With diction, the word, Sunday, emphasizes the father’s willingness to support his son even on rest day; by incorporating imagery, the readers can mentally picture the father’s sacrifice to provide warmth. Likewise, symbolism is used to show the father’s way of expressing love. Love does not always have to be shown through words. Often, we affiliate love with verbal cues, such as “I Love You;” though, Hayden shows love in a deeper way. He shows the readers that love is not always obvious. It can be subtle. And sometimes love is not heard with our ears but experienced through our eyes.
Hayden begins his poem with “Sundays too my father got up early…” (Line 1). Out of all the days of the week, the speaker choses the day, Sunday. Often, Sundays are akin to the weekend or rest day. However, why then does Robert …show more content…
Hayden choose this specific day for his father to “...make banked fires blaze” (Line 4-5) and drive “out of the cold and polished my good shoes” (Lines 11-12)? This day is deliberately chosen to show his dad’s fatherly love. Instead of resting like everyone else, Hayden’s father awakens early to prepare a warm home for his family, even with his “cracked hands” (Line 3). The speaker, specifically, chooses this day of the week to illustrate how Hayden’s father took care of his family every single day of the week, not just Mondays to Saturdays. Thus, Hayden uses diction to display his father’s continuous love for his family.
However, this fatherly love is, especially, shown through imagery. The speaker incorporates many phrases that pertain to our five sense: some of these including “blueblack cold” (Line 2) and “crackled hands that ached” (Line 3). When Hayden uses the phrase “blueblack cold” (Line 2), the audience is able to picture through sight and touch the temperature of the weather; even the word, blueblack, indicates something that is very cold, almost to the point of painfulness. And the fact that the speaker’s father is willing to sacrifice his sleep and comfort for his family further demonstrates his love towards the narrator. Also, Hayden mentions how his father has “cracked hands that ached” (Line 3). Using the word “cracked,” the readers can mentally picture or feel hands that are rough. In other words, the audience can understand the father has endured much physical labor and is a hardworking man for his family. Hayden uses imagery because he wants us, the readers, to understand his perspective of his father and the pain his father has endured for his family. The image that Hayden creates of his father is tough; through this, it shows the father sacrifices much for his family because he loves them.
While the father’s love is not directly stated, his love is shown through symbolism.
Waking up early Sunday morning, his father calls Hayden “when the rooms were warm” (Lines 2-5). This action symbolizes the love a father has for his son. Wanting the best for his child, his father awakens Hayden only after the house is filled with warmth. And he, even, disregards his own discomfort and cracked hands in order to provide care for his family. Additionally, Hayden’s father even went “out [in] the cold and polished my good shoes” (Lines 11-12) to teach his son moral rights. As stated previously, Sundays are rest days, but they are church days, as well; polished shoes is a symbolism for religion or church. And through the father’s actions, he was showing his fatherly love by teaching his son the importance of morals. He cleaned Hayden’s shoes because it is respectable to not only wear clean clothing but polished shoes, too. In this case, the poet uses symbolism as a way to convey a deeper meaning of his father’s love: Sometimes, love is not always shown the traditional
way.
Thus, all of these poetic devices- diction, imagery, and symbolism- are used to demonstrate how Hayden’s father cared and loved his family. With diction, the word, Sunday, emphasizes the father’s willingness to support his son even on rest day; by incorporating imagery, the readers can mentally picture the father’s sacrifice to provide warmth. Likewise, symbolism is used to show the father’s way of expressing love. Love does not always have to be shown through words. Often, we affiliate love with verbal cues, such as “I Love You;” though, Hayden shows love in a deeper way. He shows the readers that love is not always obvious. It can be subtle. And sometimes love is not heard with our ears but experienced through our eyes.