"Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden
Structure
Writer's Techniques
Context (Meaning, Setting)
3 stanzas
No rhyme scheme
First person view
1st stanza: His father's story (5 lines)
2nd stanza: son's interaction with his father (4 lines)
3rd stanza: son reflecting back and wishing that he had appreciated his dad in the past (5 lines)
Personification
"...heard the cold splintering, breaking." - giving characteristics the coldness that it doesn't have to show the emotional impact of Sunday mornings of the poet.
Emotive/Figurative language
Enjambement
The first two lines show a nostalgic tone as he remembers his childhood and how he treated his father.
Theme
Memory
Reflection
Parental Duty
Rhetorical question
Work and family relationships
"What did I know, what did I know of love's austere and lonely offices?" - shows the realization of his dad's quiet way of showing his love towards him.
"Love's austere and lonely offices?" - shows the comparison between his love and neglect towards his father.
About the author
Robert Hayden was raised in part by foster parents.
Because of his extreme nearsightedness, he chose books over sports in his childhood.
First African American to be appointed as a consultant in poetry to the library of congress.
Connotation
When we're young, we don't realize the sacrifices our loved ones make for us, and we end up regretting to disrespect our beloved people.
Denotation
'...with cracked hands that ached...' - implies the father is a laborer of some sort which probably makes it more difficult for him and his family.
'...coming to grips of reality ... way of solving unknowns...'
The narrator remembers his childhood and thinks about the sacrifices his dad made for him back then
This poem is profoundly based on his childhood and we can possibly say that it's an attempt on re-capturing some of his traumatic childhood.
The narrator begins on telling how hard the father worked to tend to his responsibilities, and there are evidence within the stanza to showcase the level of sacrifice and effort his work ethic is required
The first, second, and third stanza - it allows an idea to be further reinforced and continued beyond a single line. For example, in the first stanza, the narrative voice is trying to tell a story about his father and the narrative voice is further extending it to the next line.