English 1020 Mother and son

Those Winter Sundays

BY  ROBERT HAYDEN

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?

Robert Hayden, “Those Winter Sundays” from Collected Poems of Robert Hayden, edited by Frederick Glaysher. Copyright ©1966 by Robert Hayden. Reprinted with the permission of Liveright Publishing Corporation.

Source: Collected Poems of Robert Hayden (Liveright Publishing Corporation, 1985)

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· Hello class,

· After reading "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden, please respond to the following discussion prompts. Feel free to add any other insights if you wish. When you have replied, please respond to at least one peer.

· Context: This poem is written from the perspective of Hayden as an adult looking back on his childhood.

· 1.  Why does the poem begin with the words "On Sundays too" (rather than say, "On Sundays?" without the use inclusion of "too"). Can you find any examples of sound devices such as alliteration or consonance (If needed, review definitions under Elements of Poetry/Module 5).

· 2.  Discuss briefly the speaker's feelings/observations as they shift slightly throughout the poem. It is helpful to incorporate adjectives to describe how the speaker might be feeling.

· 3.  How do you interpret "What did I know, what did I know / of love's austere and lonely offices?" And, why do you think "What did I know" is repeated twice?