Those Winter Sundays Essay
The Unspoken Love in “Those Winter Sundays”
Robert Hayden was one of the most celebrated poets of his days; he was the first African-American to serve as the nation’s official poet, a distinct honor that is now called the U.S. Poet Laureate (poets.org). Among his enduring works, “Those Winter Sundays” stands out as one of the utmost anthologized poem. In fact, ten years ago, on a survey conducted by Columbia University Press, it ranked the 266th most anthologized poem in the English language (Biespiel). In my opinion, if they were to repeat the survey today, it would probably still rank the same or better. ”Those Winter Sundays” is a fascinating masterpiece; Hayden’s words -carefully chosen- explicitly state certain meaning, but they also imply so much more without directly stating. To the reader is like looking at an old photograph; at first glance, there are only people and figures, but as one continue to gaze, memories start to come back to mind and feelings start to emerge. After gazing at “Those …show more content…
There is usually a special connection between a father and a daughter, and females tend to be more expressive than males. The dominant feeling that we get from the poem, it is the feeling of regret from an adult child for not showing love and gratitude towards his father. After reaching adulthood and maturity, the speaker looks back at this childhood relationship with his progenitor. Two simple words “Sundays too” connotes two different things. First, just the word “Sundays” implies that the father’s activities are sore of unusual for the day. Traditionally “Sundays” are days of rest, separated for the family and worship, and to take a break from the monotonous weekly routine. Second, the tiny work “too” tell us that Monday through Saturday, the father also got up early to fulfill his responsibilities and provide for his family
Robert Hayden was one of the most celebrated poets of his days; he was the first African-American to serve as the nation’s official poet, a distinct honor that is now called the U.S. Poet Laureate (poets.org). Among his enduring works, “Those Winter Sundays” stands out as one of the utmost anthologized poem. In fact, ten years ago, on a survey conducted by Columbia University Press, it ranked the 266th most anthologized poem in the English language (Biespiel). In my opinion, if they were to repeat the survey today, it would probably still rank the same or better. ”Those Winter Sundays” is a fascinating masterpiece; Hayden’s words -carefully chosen- explicitly state certain meaning, but they also imply so much more without directly stating. To the reader is like looking at an old photograph; at first glance, there are only people and figures, but as one continue to gaze, memories start to come back to mind and feelings start to emerge. After gazing at “Those …show more content…
There is usually a special connection between a father and a daughter, and females tend to be more expressive than males. The dominant feeling that we get from the poem, it is the feeling of regret from an adult child for not showing love and gratitude towards his father. After reaching adulthood and maturity, the speaker looks back at this childhood relationship with his progenitor. Two simple words “Sundays too” connotes two different things. First, just the word “Sundays” implies that the father’s activities are sore of unusual for the day. Traditionally “Sundays” are days of rest, separated for the family and worship, and to take a break from the monotonous weekly routine. Second, the tiny work “too” tell us that Monday through Saturday, the father also got up early to fulfill his responsibilities and provide for his family