CONFERENCE #1 (MANDATORY) Introduction to Poetry--"Those Winter Sundays" CONFERENCE #1 (MANDATORY) If you have not met with me for your conference, your research paper is in great danger because it requires weeks of advance planning. See me after class to set a time. Our second conference will happen when you have your first draft (in three weeks). I will send/post the link to set an appointment soon.

Those Winter Sundays Robert Hayden

Robert Hayden (1913-1980) (p. 212) Born August 4, 1913, as Asa Bundy Sheffey in Detroit, Michigan, and taken into a foster family Raised in a slum called Paradise Valley (Detroit’s ghetto) Attended Detroit City College Married Erma Morris in 1940 Known for poems that express the African-American experience In 1976, appointed consultant to the Library of Congress, becoming the first African-American poet to receive this honor In 1980, died of heart failure

“Those Winter Sundays” (p. 213) Sundays too my father got up early  and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold, then with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather made banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him. I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking. When the rooms were warm, he'd call, and slowly I would rise and dress, fearing the chronic angers of that house, Speaking indifferently to him, who had driven out the cold and polished my good shoes as well. What did I know, what did I know of love's austere and lonely offices?

The Speaker The son/daughter of the father Probably is his son (“and polished my good shoes as well”) He is an adult now, looking back onto what his father had done for him in the past He realizes now how he wasted his childhood not recognizing the little things that his father did

The Attitude of the Speaker Toward his Father A Subtle Love – building fires in the early morning that “drove out the cold” Fear– (“fearing the chronic angers of that house”) –implies that his family fought a lot Regret – the boy didn’t understand the significance his father had until later in his life

The Poem’s Organization 3 stanzas 2 stanzas with 5 lines 1 quatrain (4 lines) Loose blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter) Lengths of the sentences vary Sundays too my father got up early  and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold, then with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather made banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him. I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking. When the rooms were warm, he'd call, and slowly I would rise and dress, fearing the chronic angers of that house, Speaking indifferently to him, who had driven out the cold and polished my good shoes as well. What did I know, what did I know of love's austere and lonely offices?

The Poem’s Organization The first stanza, lines 1-5 Establishes the subject, the speaker’s father Focuses upon the father’s suffering The father sacrifices himself to get up early, work, and warm the home for his family Ends with a very powerful line, “No one ever thanked him.” The speaker never acknowledged his father’s actions

The Poem’s Organization Sundays too my father got up early  and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold, then with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather made banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him. I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking. When the rooms were warm, he'd call, and slowly I would rise and dress, fearing the chronic angers of that house, Speaking indifferently to him, who had driven out the cold and polished my good shoes as well. What did I know, what did I know of love's austere and lonely offices? The second stanza, lines 6-9 Once warmth is achieved, the father calls his son to rise and get dressed Mentions “chronic angers” in the household

The Poem’s Organization The third stanza, lines 10-14 Begins with the image of distance as a continuation of the last line of the second stanza (“speaking indifferently to him”) But also mentions that he was ungrateful for the things his father did Speaker admits his ignorance over the simple love for his father (“…what did I know of love’s austere and lonely offices”)

Imagery Cracked hands Implies the rough labor that the father went through Sunday Typically is a day of rest… Shows that the father got up early to do things for the family regardless of the day Fire Shows a contrast with “blueblack cold” Shows a sense of liveliness and anger as well

Diction and Syntax Mostly straightforward language, but some vivid (“blueblack cold,” “chronic angers”) and connotative (“offices”) Progression between the contrast of dark/cold and light/warm throughout the poem 1st Stanza (father getting up): “blueblack cold” in contrast to “banked fires blaze” 2nd Stanza (son waking up): “cold, splintering, breaking” in contrast to “the rooms were warm” - Could indicate a similar relationship between the father and son

Diction and Syntax Sundays too my father got up early  and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold, then with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather made banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him. I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking. When the rooms were warm, he'd call, and slowly I would rise and dress, fearing the chronic angers of that house, The word choice in the first 2 stanzas emphasizes the hard “c” sound, which could symbolize the pain of the father and of the household. Uses alliteration as well to make the poem “sound” smooth.

Diction and Syntax 3rd Stanza: Speaking indifferently to him, who had driven out the cold and polished my good shoes as well. What did I know, what did I know of love's austere and lonely offices? The diction in the last stanza is a lot more calm and relaxed compared to the first two stanzas, as conveyed in the meaning of the final stanza (a sense of love/remembrance)

Introduction to Poetry--"Those Winter Sundays" Conclusions “Those Winter Sundays” is about an adult who is looking back at his past relationship with his father. He now recognizes the extremity to which his father did things for him even within the angry household. The speaker regrets not recognizing the habitual actions that his father did for him while he was young. The title is significant in that it describes the typical winter Sundays that the speaker’s father would do things for him and how, in his youth, he never appreciated any of it.

Bibliography Hayden, Robert. “Those Winter Sundays.” The Compact Bedford Anthology of Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. 571. Print. Kennedy, X.J. and Dana Gioia. “Culture, Race, and Ethnicity." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Boston: Pearson Longman, 2007. 640. Print. “Robert Hayden.” Poets.Org. Academy of American Poets. 16 Apr. 2008. Web.

Let’s try analyzing some other poems: Introduction to Poetry--"Those Winter Sundays" Let’s try analyzing some other poems: Margaret Atwood’s “You fit into me” (p. 228; consider tone, diction, repetition, imagery, and irony) William Hathaway’s “Oh, Oh” (handout; consider tone, diction, imagery, and irony) Randall Jarrell’s “The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner” (p. 219; consider metaphor, diction, connotation, and ironic tone) Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool” (p. 236; consider diction, irony, rhyme, and tone) Edwin Arlington Robinson’s “Richard Cory” (p. 216; consider irony, rhyme, rhythm, meter) Katharyn Howd Machan’s “Hazel Tells LaVerne” (handout; consider diction, irony, and allusion) William Carlos Williams’ “This Is Just to Say” (p. 223; consider image, diction, rhythm) e.e. cummings’ “she being Brand” (handout; consider metaphor, imagery, diction, syntax, rhythm, and the odd capitalization, line breaks, and spacing) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaVfLwZ6jes (“We Real Cool” with a minute and a half of explanation from Brooks) http://www.poetryarchive.org/poem/siren-song (Margaret Atwood’s “Siren Song”)