Those Winter Sundays
Those Winter Sundays is based on the real-life experiences of Robert Hayden, its writer. It talks about how he took his foster parents' love for granted only to regret later, when he grew old enough to understand that they sacrificed to give him a good life.
Sundays too my father got up early
and put his clothes on in the blue-black cold,
then with cracked hands that ached
from labour in the weekday weather made
banked fires blaze. No one. thanked him.
I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking
When the rooms were warm, he'd call,
and slowly I would rise and dress,
fearing the chronic angers of the house.
Speaking indifferently to him,
who had driven out the cold
and polished my good shoes as well,
What did I know, what did I know
of love's austere and lonely offices?
Analysis
In the first stanza, the persona recounts how his father woke up early just to prepare a fire in order to drive the cold out for the benefit of the persona and the rest of the family.
The father had the habit of waking up every morning to light the fire the harsh cold weather notwithstanding.
The use of "too" means in addition to Sundays, he also woke up on weekdays.
"Blueblack cold" and "cracked hands that ached" highlight how much the persona's father sacrificed to make the persona comfortable.
He had to wake up early on a daily basis. He also laboured in order to provide for the persona and the entire family. This labouring is what made his hands crack and ache.
The father's sacrifice was, however, not appreciated by anyone. They all took it for granted.
The fact that the poem is written in the past means it is a flashback, which prepares us for the nostalgia that follows.
Everything is now nostalgic to the persona. Since he is mature enough, he regrets not having appreciated his father's sacrifices for him.
In the second stanza, the fire is lit and the persona could hear the house creaking as the cold left it.
His father would then call out for him, and he would wake up reluctantly. This reluctance in itself demonstrates his lack of appreciation for his father's efforts.
The only reason he had to wake up was to to avoid the fury of his parents, which, probably, ended in verbal or physical violence.
The third stanza talks about the persona's lack of respect for his father. It's says that when he woke up, he spoke to his father without any interest or respect despite all he had done for him.
He was never even bothered by the fact that the father had gone further to brush his good shoes.
Today, he regrets that he didn't know the extent love could drive someone. He recognizes that love is what made his father do what he did.
This last line changes the tone of the poem from nostalgic to regretful.
Background
Robert Hayden grew up under the care of foster parents, Sue Ellen Westerfield and William Hayden.
He experienced rough times in terms of both verbal and physical violence at their hands. This violence made him hate them.
Therefore, the poem is about his personal experiences while staying with these foster parents.
When he is old enough, he regrets that he did not appreciate his foster parents enough for the sacrifices they made for his sake.
Title
The title gives the poem a sense of nostalgia because it implies going back in time. It takes the reader back to the dark cold Sundays that seemed too difficult for the persona.
Themes
The poem's main theme is parental love. However, the poem endeavours to clarify that love does not only have to be about kindness.
Robert Hayden demonstrates that parents can also show love by sacrificing their pleasures for their children.
At the same time, he acknowledges children sometimes may misunderstand this love and even take it for granted since it is not accompanied by kindness as expected.
Hayden's personal notion of love has changed over the years, driving him to the point of regretting not having acknowledged the love.
Poetic Devices
The poetic devices used include:
Symbols-images of temperature such as blueblack cold symbolize the cold weather experienced in winter.
Cold also symbolizes the persona's solitude and the social distance between him and his father.
The blazing fire symbolizes the father's efforts to enhance their relationship. He does everything possible to make the persona comfortable.
This should also imply that the warmth talked about is more than just the physical warmth. It also symbolizes the warmth in the relationship between the persona and his father.
The good shoes symbolize the father's sacrifice to ensure that the persona has a good life.
Moreso, it indicates that he cares about the persona's appearance since it Sunday is a worship day, and the persona must mingle with people during worship.
Personification--the house is given human abilities by being made to have angers.
Metonymy-the house stands for the people living with the persona, especially his parents.
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