Written for: English Composition II
Date Written: 2/02/2007
Combined
Meaning in Hayden's "Those Winter Sundays"
Ryan Watters
God's Bible School & College
Combined Meaning in Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays”
We often
take for granted the mundane tasks that our parents
performed for us while growing up. We never stopped to
thank them for their sacrifice. Because of this many
people today are plagued by a sense of regret. This is
the emotion that Robert Hayden tries to capture in
“Those Winter Sundays.”
One of the first things we notice about the poem is
that everything is in the past tense. For example,
“Got
up early,”
and, “What did
I know.”
The persona is obviously looking back at this period of
time in his life. It portrays a sad narrative that is
too often the case in everyday life. Hayden uses this
past tense to give us a reference point from which the
persona is now looking at the poem. This “reference
point” is vital to understanding the subliminal message
of the poem. The persona is obviously looking back at
this point in his life in an almost split fashion. He
is bringing out simple facts and details, but in a way
that expresses emotion.
While the
gender of the persona is not explicitly stated, the
context of the poem seems to indicate a male speaker.
For example, line twelve uses the phrase “and polished
my good shoes as well.” While girl’s shoes are
sometimes polished, the use of these terms is generally
connected to a male. In any case, for the purposes of
this paper we will assume that the persona is
masculine.
The poem itself has a sad, almost mournful feel to it.
Not only is the subject matter itself negative, but the
specific words Hayden uses are also negative. Wording
such as “blueblack cold” and, “cracked hands that
ached” supports the sense of melancholy. There are very
few positive (encouraging) words in the poem. Not only
are the words negative, they are negative to the point
of being sharp. For instance, it uses onomatopoeic
words such as “cracked,” “ached,” “splintering,” and
“breaking.” These words collaborate to form a negative
aura to the poem. This could well indicate the
persona’s view of the time period from his childhood
perspective. It’s almost as if he is using two vantage
points when looking back at his past. First, he views
if from his perspective as a child, and secondly, from
his perspective as an adult. An example of this is
found in line ten, which states, “Speaking
indifferently to him,” indicating a disrespect for his
father as a child. Still, in lines thirteen through
fourteen he states, “What did I know, what did I know
of love’s austere and lonely offices?” Here the
persona’s opinion of his father obviously changes to
one of respect as he looks back on the situation as an
adult. This is partially the cause for the emotional
impact this poem possesses. Readers today connect with
this concept of “split vision” in remembrance. The
reader also looks back from both of these perspectives
and sees how, many times, improper respect was given.
It is also interesting in the last half of line five,
the shift in the style of writing. The first four and a
half lines have a sense of fluidity. They seem to
almost roll, or bounce along, in perfect form. Yet the
last half of line five shifts from this style into a
more rigid, concise, structure. Another reason for this
“break” in the feel is the fact that the first four and
a half lines are one connected sentence consisting of
thirty-two words, whereas the next sentence consists of
five words. There is also a change in the subject
matter of the two parts. The first half deals more in
the realm of the non-emotional, delivering pure facts.
For example, “Sunday too my father got up early and put
his clothes on in the blueblack cold.” It serves as
more of a narrative for telling a story than for
emotional impact. While the first half, simply by the
nature of the facts given, evokes some
emotion
based on the high value today’s culture places on hard
work and sacrifice (e.g. “cracked hands that ached from
labor in the weekday weather”), the last half stirs
something deep in the heart of the reader. To sacrifice
without recognition is strongly degraded in the mindset
of modern culture.
One of the
most captivating lines of the poem is line nine, which
uses the phrase, “fearing the chronic angers of that
house.” This line is open to multiple interpretations.
Because of the context of the poem, and the use of
three negative words (“fearing,” “chronic,” and
“angers”) in the phrase, the message this line delivers
is obviously negative. Given the fact that the next
line states how the persona spoke “indifferently” to
his father it implies that there was a schism between
he and his father. This is supported by the use of the
“sharp” words previously discussed. In a sense the
“sharp” words parallel the schism. Again, this stirs
emotion in the reader by touching the natural disdain
for the tensions that occur with conflict.
Perhaps the
two most important lines of the poem are found at the
very end in lines thirteen and fourteen. These words
evoke such deep, sincere, and unfeigned remorse that it
brings the reader to the edge of tears. You can truly
sense the frustration and agony of the persona. I would
argue that his is perhaps the main theme of the poem,
because this is the only place we find the persona
repeating himself. You can hear the persona rebuking
himself for his self-centeredness by repeating the
question “What did I know, what did I know.” In
essence, he is recognizing that his father truly loved
him, in spite of the loneliness he (the persona) may
have caused by his “indifference.”
The message that “Those Winter Sundays” delivers comes
from both the textual meaning, and from the style which
Hayden uses to write. They combine in a symbiotic
relationship to convey the depth and meaning that could
not otherwise have been expressed. For example, in the
prose translation of the poem I used the phrase, “I
knew nothing, absolutely nothing of the strict and
lonely tasks of my father?” While this does convey the
correct meaning, it falls far short of the emotional
impact created by Hayden’s words, “What did I know,
what did I know of love’s austere and lonely offices?”
It goes beyond the surface level text, and uses
carefully chosen words to subliminally create a greater
emotion within the reader.
“Those Winter Sundays” truly succeeds in its attempt to
convey emotion not only through mere text, but also
through style, and specific word choice. It portrays a
beauty and depth that would in no wise have been
obtained had it not been for the proper choice of
words. This is what gives the depth and richness to
Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays.”
“Those Winter Sundays” Prose Translation
My father
also got up early on Sundays, putting his clothes on in
the cold, early hours of the morning. Then, with hands
that were cracked and hurting from the hard labor and
weather of the previous week, he would stoke the fire
into life. No one ever thanked him.
I would wake up to hear the fire crackling in the
fireplace, driving out the cold. When the rooms were
warm he would call me, and slowly I would get out of
bed and begin getting dressed. All the while I dreaded
the fact that I would have to deal with the relational
problems of the day.
I never even thanked my father who had driven out the
cold, and even polished my good shoes. I knew nothing,
absolutely nothing of the strict and lonely tasks of my
father.