Robert Hayden’s poem “Those Winter Sundays” presents an interesting view on life. The poem speaks of someone who seems to be haunted by bittersweet realization of his taking so many things for granted. It focuses on the emotions, more specifically, the feelings of pain and regret that seem to characterize the speaker. Hayden applies imagery, character, and tone to impart certain thoughts; however, he abstains from making any serious value judgements and leaves the interpretation of the poem to the reader’s own discretion. The title, “Those Winter Sundays,” artfully sets the tone for what is to follow. In this sparsely worded phrase, Hayden matter-of-fact ly states the subject with out using words that will trigger either positive or negative emotions in the reader.
On the same token, the title has captivating implications. Most people take things for granted and oftentimes do not realize what they have until it is too late. This seems to be the case in this poem. The first two complete thoughts in the poem are the statements, “Sundays too my father got up early and put his clothes on in the blue black cold, then with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather made banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him.” Hayden’s utilization of the words “no one” automatically include him in the group of people to whom he is referring. It also conveys a sense of anguish and disbelief because his statements show that he does not understand how he could have taken so much for granted.
The Essay on Analysis of Robert Hayden’s poem “Those Winter Sundays”
... and the regret from the speaker’s reflection. Hayden goes into detailed explanations of examples of ... cares, makes the effort on those winter Sundays to try to make things a little ... the speaker. This poem in its entirety is about regret for taking for granted the love of ... father in turn. Also, in line 10 the word “indifferently” further points out the speaker’s realization. ...
From his initial statements, Hayden moves on to the usage of imagery to describe his relationship and interactions, or lack thereof, with his father. He likens the words “chronic angers” to show that there may have been many unsettled arguments and constant tensions between them. He also shows how he would speak to his father and treat him with indifference. “Those Winter Sundays” show us how the speaker finally manages to get past all of the pain, anger, and resentment he may have encountered while growing up. The next comparison is maybe the most thought provoking of the entire poem. “Speaking indifferently to him, who had driven out the cold…
What did I know, what did I know of love’s austere and lonely offices?” (533) He uses this last question to reinforce his regret for not taking the time to get to know his father and actually communicate with his father while he had the chance. It is probably not until many, many years later that he finally starts to realize just how much his father really did for him and just how hard it may have been for his father to raise him. The prevailing tone in this poem is one of sorrow and ruefulness. Hayden seems to plague the speaker with grief and regret for wasting so much precious time with his father. Because of pride and chronic anger, the speaker not only deprived himself, but also deprived his father of what could have been a strong and unconditional relationship. Even though Hayden clearly conveys this idea, he manages to do so with out being too hard or judgmental on the speaker.
He neither condones nor condemns his actions; he simply expresses his surprise that he could have been so na ” ive to take so many things for granted.
