A Literary Analysis Of Robert Hayden's Those Winter Sundays '
Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays” is about a father’s love for his family, and how love is shown in even the smallest of gestures. The speaker of the poem is portrayed as a young man looking back on his memories of his father and realizing that he undervalued all the small acts of love his father did. The poem connects the ideas of how as you mature your perspective on the past might change, as did the speaker's opinion of his father did from a young boy to a grown man Hayden’s use of vivid visual imagery in the first stanza allows him to introduce the father’s character. Descriptive word choices such as “Blueblack cold” (Hayden Line 2) paint an intense image of how unfavorable the weather conditions are, which reveals how the act of heating up the house in the morning is an arduous task. The father is depicted as someone with “cracked hands that ached/ from labor” (Line 3-4). This exposes some of the father’s character, he is described as a man who does hard, laborious work during the week and continues to do that on his days off …show more content…
The speaker’s tone is regretful about the way he has treated his father. He notes that he would “indifferently” (Line 10) speak to his father, not acknowledging the work his father did for him. The sense of regret is shown in the repetition of “What did I know, what did I know” (line 13), emphasizing how the speaker has matured and can finally see the love within his father’s actions. The speaker’s use of “austere” (line 14) describes the type of love the speaker’s father demonstrated, a strict and more formal kind of love. “Those Winter Sundays” in its core is telling the story of familial love and how love does not always have to be verbalized, but can be shown in small acts of kindness. The key feature of this poem shows how one’s point of view can change from looking through the eyes of a child to an
Sacrifices Revealed In Gary Soto's Those Winter Sundays
633 Words | 3 PagesLine 10 says, “Speaking indifferently to him, who had driven out the cold and polished my good shoes as well.” The father definitely did a lot for the son, and for the family. Line 5 exclaims, “No one ever thanked him.” The father would sacrifice many things
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786 Words | 4 PagesFor the entire duration of the poem, the reader is able to infer how the complexity of the relationship changes and how the father feels about his son through the techniques and methods stated above. Within A Story, Lee uses point of view from both characters to convey the idea that the father’s relationship with his son is indeed, increasingly complex. The reader also learns from this point of view technique that the time of thought within the poem constantly changes. The boy’s young age is shown clearly in the beginning of the poem as: “His five-year-old son waits in his lap.”
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My Papa's Waltz And Those Winter Sundays Analysis
871 Words | 4 Pages“Those Winter Sundays” has a sad dark tone. “Speaking indifferently to him” (Line 10). It is clear that there is little communication between the father and the son. The author remembers how his father woke up early to heat the house and worked hard to provide for the family. Although this poem is much sadder, it still shows love.
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My Papa's Waltz And Those Winter Sundays
683 Words | 3 PagesEvery story consists of different elements, such as characters, plotlines, and settings. Nonetheless, many stories portray the same messages or ideas. “My Papa’s Waltz,” by Theodore Roethke, depicts a reckless father who is loved by his child, while “Those Winter Sundays,” by Robert Hayden, depicts a hardworking father whose child is indifferent to him. Though the poems depict exceptionally different childhoods, both contribute to the idea that perceptions of parents alter as one grows into adulthood. Both poems use harsh words and critical tones in order to convey this notion, however in “My Papa’s Waltz,” they signify the recklessness of the father and how the narrator perceives his father as an adult, while in “Those Winter Sundays,” they
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1560 Words | 7 Pages“Winter Dreams” was published in 1926. Francis Scott Fitzgerald is most well-known for his novel “The Great Gatsby”. A common theme he is known for is the American dream and how it is corrupt. Fitzgerald enjoys writing about the poor boy chasing after the rich girl. This story is about a man named Dexter Green trying to achieve the American dream by obtaining the girl he adores.
Personification In Those Winter Sundays
1384 Words | 6 PagesAccording to traditional gender roles, the father is the provider for the family. He is expected to work hard to support and provide for his family’s essential needs: food, shelter, and clothing. Burdened with the responsibility of ensuring the security of the other members of his family, he is sometimes perceived as a distant and detached figure, in contrast with the stereotypical warm and nurturing image of the mother. The father 's burden is further compounded by a socially-perceived expectation that males have to be less emotional as a sign of strength of character. Robert Hayden’s sonnet “Those Winter Sundays” explores some of these dynamics by examining the emotional distance between a father and the son for whom he provides.
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505 Words | 3 PagesImprisonment and constraint, can be felt in many different scenarios in the passage from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. However, we get these two feelings with a girl who is portrayed as an orphan in this chapter. When being an orphan many feelings can run through a person’s mind, for example abandonment and not feeling loved, or being/feeling trapped. The feeling of imprisonment and constraint in this chapter is expressed through the use of imagery and diction. Imagery is viewed in this chapter in a variety of sentences.
Diction In Those Winter Sundays
895 Words | 4 PagesPoet Robert Hayden, in his work, “Those Winter Sundays”, composed a poem that makes the reader feel as if they are a part of the story, by using imagery and diction. In this poem, diction and imagery are connected. Robert Hayden in the poem "Those Winter Sundays' uses imagery and diction to create a heart wrenching response in the reader, as the speaker in the poem reflects on the youthful memories he has of his father . It is the word choice that really makes the poem as visual as it is. In this poem there is a child and a father.
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