Q1.
The poem is about a speaker (narrator) who reflects on his childhood and the efforts that his father makes to take of the family. The speaker, at that time, did not understand how hard the father worked, especially in difficult seasons like during winter. For instance, the speaker says “Sundays too my father got up early and put his clothes on in the blueback cold” (Hayden, 1985). The speaker regrets that he and others were never grateful to the efforts that the father made. The speaker says “No one ever thanked him”, to illustrate their lack of appreciation. The narrator feels guilty and through the poem, the speaker comes to realize the father’s love to take on his parental responsibilities because of his love for them. The speaker uses the cold and winter imagery to symbolize deeper feelings and establishes a mood that attracts readers to think deeply about their life experiences. For instance, the speaker says “speaking indifferently to him, who had driven out the cold and polished my good shoes as well”, to illustrate why he or she never acknowledge what the father did.
Q2.
The poet uses several words or figures of speech that are powerful to me. Firstly, personification is evident when the poet says “hear the cold splintering, breaking”, and gives the cold features that it does not possess to demonstrate the emotional effect of Sunday morning on his attitude. Secondly, the poet uses repetition, for instance, “What did I know, what did I know” to show the speaker’s emotions and ignorance at the time but regret now. Thirdly, the poet uses symbolism, for example, “the warm and the cold” and “Those Winter Sundays” illustrates the speaker’s attitude to the temperature regarding the narrator’s relationship with the father. Fourthly, the speaker uses the words “offices” to denote to remorse and regret and the understanding that he/she has now gotten with time. Fifthly, the poet uses allusion as illustrated in this powerful line “fearing for the chronic angers” the line alludes to a dysfunctional family interaction though the speaker does not show its origin. However, it propels the reader to understand the emotional understanding of the narrator at the time.
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Q3.
The narrator uses different poetic devices that include metaphors, imagery, alliteration, rhetorical questions, and contrast. The poet uses metaphor in the second line “the cold splintering, breaking” that compares the cold to wood allows the reader to reflect on the duties that the father carried out irrespective of the weather condition. The metaphor also shows how the father is tired and worn out due to long tirades of working. The poet uses imagery throughout the poem to enhance a reader understands of the father and emphasizes the significance of the father’s actions. For instance the poet says his father, “put his clothes on in the blueback cold” among others (Hayden, 1985). Alliteration is used through the consonant K sound, “clothes, bluaback cold, cracked and ached” to emphasize the father’s struggle and hard work. Rhetorical question “What do I know, what do I know” is used to show the speaker’s ignorance and regret at the end of the poem. The poem uses contrast between warmth and cold that represents the narrator’s mixed childhood feelings. The warmth stands for good memories while the cold represents resentment and anger towards the father.
Q4.
I believe that the word and poetic elements allowed me to get a better understanding of the poem, especially the use of imagery and symbolism aimed at bringing out the narrator’s feelings towards the father at the beginning and end of the poem. I enjoyed repetition and allusion created in the poem. Through these features, I got a better understanding of the poem’s themes, the character and different emotional perspectives of the narrator, and how reminiscing on one’s past is powerful for future appreciation of people in our lives, especially parents and our loved ones.
References
Hayden, R (1985). Collected Poems of Robert Hayden. Liveright Publishing Corporation
Accessed from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46461/those-winter-sundays
