FREE ESSAY ON "THOSE WINTER SUNDAYS"

"THOSE WINTER SUNDAYS"

Those Winter Sundays
"Those Winter Sundays" is a very touching poem. It is written by Robert Hayden who has
written many other poems. This paper will talk about the poem "Those Winter Sundays". In
particular we will look at the structure, main idea, and each stanza of the poem.
"Those Winter Sundays" has a structure like many other poems. It is written in the first
person notation. Often through the poem you would find yourself reading "I'd wake" and "I
know". "Those Winter Sundays" has three stanzas that are separated with even white space.
The first stanza consists of five lines followed by the second containing four lines and
like the first stanza the last consists of five lines. Although the poem does not seem to
rhyme it has a rhythm of its own.
In this particular poem, Robert Hayden writes about the relationship of the speaker
(child, who is now grown up) with his father. He captures the need of love from a distant
father to the child but at the same time, the child admits to his own lack of empathy to
his father. Hayden uses specific detail to show that the father cared - the way the
father woke up before everyone else to light the fire and polish the shoes. He also
describes the conditions of the father's hands demonstrating that he was a hard worker
and still woke up before everyone else to warm up the rooms. The father basically says
love in the simple act he does. Like many people I can personally relate to this poem. My
father was not always demonstrative and affectionate but during my childhood years he
always made sure I had everything I needed. That showed me that my father cared. 
There is another side to this poem where the child admits to his own lack of empathy to
his father. I suppose at that time he never realized what his father was doing. The line,
"no one ever thanked him" explain the child's regrets. 
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."

The second stanza is almost like the first in the fact that it appeals to the same
senses. It talks about the actions and the feelings of the child. It describes how the
child would wake and wait for his father to call him. The second stanza also describes
the mood of the house in the line, "fearing the chronic angers of that house." Perhaps
that line is talking about the mood and the anger of the father. 
The last stanza does not really appeal to any senses. It talks about how the child speaks
to the father. It also tells the reader that the father polished the child's shoes as his
own way of showing love. The last two lines were really interesting. "What did I know,
what did I know of love's austere and lonely offices?" In those two lines Hayden is
talking about the child that has now grown up looking back at his life to see the real
meaning of "love". The words "love's austere" tell the reader that love could be a harsh
and complex emotion that can be expressed in many different ways. 
In conclusion, "Those Winter Sundays" was about the relationship of the child with his
father. Although the father cares and shows love in his own ways, the child expresses the
need of love from a distant father. And at the same time, the child admits to his own
lack of empathy and communication with his father.