The poem’s theme is about a son that did not appreciate what the father did everyday for him and never thanked his father for that. The central meaning of the poem can be understood in either a negative way or a positive one towards the father. The child would weak up fearing the father because of his toughness “and slowly I would rise and dress,/ fearing the chronic angers of that house” (8-9). These lines give the idea of a bad tempered father. But the kid did not realize that the father sacrifices his comfort waking up early in the morning to ignite the fire in order to heat up the house and give comfort to his family “Sundays too many 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” (1-5). There is no doubt that the father was a noble and responsible man.
The writer uses middle diction because he uses an educated language but not elevated enough to be considered formal diction. He describes what the child would do on Sunday mornings: “I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking./ When the rooms were warm, he'd call,/ and slowly I would rise and dress,” (6-8). The writer uses a proper choice of words and reduces the formality with the apostrophe in the line number six.
Another aspect of the poem that emphasizes the background of the poem is the syntax.
“Sundays too many my father got up early /and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold” (1-2). Robert Hayden writes blueblack before cold to be more specific on the description of the early morning, which gives the idea of an uncomfortable cold weather.
The author’s tone on this poem changes from sorrow and bitterness to love and thankfulness. “then with cracked hands that ached/ from labor in the weekday weather made/banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him” (3-5). It is very clear that no one appreciated the father’s caresses. However, at the end of the poem he is a grown man and realizes that he was ignorant to his father feeling towards him and finally gives credit to his father: “What did I know, what did I know/ of love's austere and lonely offices?” (13-14).
This is a great poem because many readers can relate themselves to the child or the father. When people are young sometimes they do not understand the reasons of the actions from the significant others. But life goes on and they begin to understand the love and commitment that a father has towards his son. But until the young ones reach maturity, then they begin to appreciate what the old ones did for them.
Work Cited
Hayden, Robert. “Those Winter Sundays. .” The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed.
Michael Meyer. 6th ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2002. 672-673.
