Analysis of "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden (Blog #8)

"Those Winter Sundays"

Sundays too my father got up early

and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold,

then with cracked hands that ached

from labor in the weekday weather made

banked fires blaze. No one ever 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 that 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?

The title suggests that the poem will be about Sundays during winter, specifically a certain type of day that the speaker is looking back on (good, bad and the ugly). In a other words, the speaker talks about their father getting up early on Sundays as well, getting dressed in the cold darkness. With weary and overworked hands, father built a fire with no thankful words towards him. The speaker would awake to the cold easing, waking to his father's call that the house was warm. Slowly, the speaker would get ready and rise, fearful of the tension on the household. Without regards to father's kindness towards the speaker (warming the house, cleaning the speaker's shoes), the speaker questions his understanding of love and its sorrow.

Hayden uses strong imagery, point of view, and metaphors to emphasize the meaning on his poem. Imagery like "cracked hands that ached" and "hear the cold splintering, breaking" brings the story to life. It creates sounds, images and solidify the reality of the speaker. The first person point of view makes the story personal and meaningful. The indifferent speaker analyzes their father carefully and without bias. However, the first person point of view brings the situation to close proximity. The attitude is clinical, oddly detached. The relationship is close and personal, but the speaker is unaware of the depth of the situation.

After closely reading the poem, the title suggests that the speaker might be recalling a memory and have a different reflection on the situation than when they actually lived it. The speaker appreciates their father for being so kind and caring and thoughtful to the family. I think the overall theme is something about how later self reflection contributes to a altered perception of your past.

I find this poem to connect to my life so passionately. I'm looking at a current situation and reflecting on how I could have, should have, and would have acted differently if I knew then what I know now. It's therapeutic to find peace and a new sense of justice after your self reflection is altered. The past is in the past, and we can only move forward to make a difference. For the speaker, they can appreciate their father in the future. For me, I can say no more easily.