“Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden

1. “Those Winter Sundays”by Robert Hayden Erin Frith

2. “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?

3. Robert Hayden • born 1913 in Detroit, Michigan • parents separated before his birth • given to a neighbor as a baby because his mother couldn’t raise him • grew up very poor • didn’t get along well with his foster parents • foster father was hardworking and a very devout Baptist, foster mother was disappointed and bitter • “Those Winter Sundays” published 1962 in A Ballad of Remembrance • religion was Baha’i, which believes in Baha’u’llah’s teaching that “God is One,” that every race is the same, and that all major religions lead to the same center

4. Literary Period • Postmodernist period (1950s to present) • often dealt with people in isolation • no heroes • not much humorous poetry or writing • emphasis on narratives (describe a series of events) • blurs lines between the self and an object, or the self and another person • combined traditional styles of poetry together with new styles as well

5. Sundays too my father got up early • “Sundays too” shows that the father gets up early not just on Sundays, but every day of the week as well • Poem seems to start in the midst of a paragraph, where the reader is missing a sentence or two and put on his clothes in the blueblack cold • The “blueblack cold” presents an image of darkness, giving a tangible feeling to the temperature • This description gives the poem a sort of rustic feel then with cracked hands that ached • His “cracked hands” that “ached” tell the father’s age and the hard work that he has endured from labor in the weekday weather made • This line provides a more detailed description to the earlier implications that the father was a hard worker • It also implies that the weather was always harsh, as was the work: it is described as “labor,” probably manual labor banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him. • Here begins the acknowledgement that the author has to himself that his father was never credited for the work he did for the family

6. I’d wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking • The “splintering” and “breaking” of the cold invokes the image of a fire, burning up the cold and darkness of the house • It also presents the speaker as a silent observer, listening to the efforts of his father, but not providing help When the rooms were warm, he’d call • The father waits until the comfort of the rest of the family is ensured before calling them to wake • This line shows the level of care that the father has for the family, a care that is not realized by the receivers until much later and slowly I would rise and dress, • The way the speaker rises “slowly” could represent the natural slowness of the morning, of moving after just waking up, but could also be evidence of the regret that the speaker feels even then, in the moment, the acknowledgement that the father has done a service to the family, and that it is one that the family does not recognize. The speaker moves slowly, perhaps, not out of physical tiredness, but out of a mental slowness to assert his own feelings, to assure himself of the evils of the father he does not thank. fearing the chronic angers of that house • This line shows that there is much discord and fighting in the house, explaining partially why the family does not thank the father • The “angers” are described as “chronic,” something that can’t be gotten rid of, like a disease that won’t go away

7. Speaking indifferently to him, • There is regret in this line, regret in how unthankful the speaker had been to the man who had sacrificed his own well-being and comfort for his family, waiting until they were surrounded by warmth before waking them up. who had driven out the cold, • The coldness of the house and the morning is once again stated in this line. The ‘cold’ could be perhaps not just the physical temperature, but the coldness of the father’s actions toward his children and of the mood in the house as well. and polished my good shoes as well. • A distinction is made here that the father polished the narrator’s “good shoes,” another gesture of care taken by the father. • Saying “good shoes” emphasizes the image of poorness of the family, that the narrator has only one pair of good shoes. What did I know, what did I know • This repetition was characteristic of the time period the poem was written in • It creates a more emotional aspect of regret that adds to the power of the poem of love’s austere and lonely offices? • The last line is a final reiteration of the loneliness in the father’s love • The question form leaves a lasting impact on the reader, giving the reader something to think and wonder about in their own lives

8. In Sum • “Those Winter Sundays” is a personal reflection of the narrator on his past. It has a regretful tone and a focus on the loneliness of his father’s love and care. Emphasis is placed on the coldness of both the emotion and the temperature of the house, and it can be assumed that the family in the poem was poor and that there were a great deal of domestic conflicts in the house. • The poem is in an irregular sonnet form, with 14 lines but a 5-4-5 verse structure. It is ended with a couplet that presents a question and closes the poem, in classic sonnet form. There is no rhyme scheme and minimal figurative language. It has a very literal and blunt style, characteristic of the time in which it was written.

9. Bibliography Peck, David. "Those Winter Sundays." Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition (2002): 1-3. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. Gallagher, Ann M. "Hayden's Those Winter Sundays." Explicator 51.4 (1993): 245. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. "A love called maintenance." Irish Times 08 Jan. 2008: Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. "The Poetry Of Robert Hayden." Literary Cavalcade (Teacher's Edition) 52.2 (1999): T7. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.