Robert Hayden is regarded as a serious poet respected for both his discipline and craftsmanship in the area of poetry. Hayden’s work is described as a real testament to craft, to vision, to complexity and historical consciousness, its only in recent years that his work has been recognized for its literary excellence.
In “Those Winter Sundays” the speaker describes a typical winter Sunday morning in which his “father got up early and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold”, a regular occurrence for this common laborer. The house required warming on these cold Sunday mornings as it did everyday of week during the winter. The father completes his task with not much as a thank you.
As the house warms the speaker lies awake listening to “the cold splintering, breaking”, as his father carries out his solitary duty until “the rooms are warm.” Then and only then, “he’d call” for those still in the warmth of their beds to rise. The speaker “slowly...would rise and dress fearing the chronic angers.” Those raised in dens of brutally and abuse are unfortunately familiar with the continuing angers the speaker points out.
The speaker's reaction to his father is one of unconcern, “speaking indifferently" to his father despite his successful efforts in “drive[ing] out the cold”, in addition to a bonus for the speaker, “polished good shoes as well.” It is difficult to look past or around the trauma in destructive households to appreciate the good that is sometimes present in these environments.
In the form of a question the couplet provides resolution to the poem. “What did I know, what did I know”, reveals the speakers confusion regarding his father and his position as “love’s austere and lonely”, office holder.
There is no sane way to excuse abusive behavior and the speaker here asks a question instead. The tone of the poem is apologetic; the speaker sympathizes yet does not excuse his father because his position is a harsh and lonely one.
The Poet displays courage and depth of feelings in sharing his experiences in a poem. The effects of this environment have left an impress on the poet but a gifted artist like that of Robert Hayden manages to give voice to his pain in “Those Winter Sundays”.
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