Those Winter Sundays
by Robert Hayden (1913-1980)
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 thanks 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?
WORD BANK:
Chronic – continuing, lasting for a long time
Indifferent – having no interest in or no concern for
Austere – bare, severe, stern, grave, serious, strict
Offices – someone’s place of business OR duty or function taken on by someone
After you have completed the steps to reading a poem answer the questions below. Write at least FIVE sentences. Be sure to USE SPECIFIC EVIDENCE to prove your points.
1. What sort of father do you picture reading this poem?
2. Describe the overall feeling that you get reading this poem (in other words, what is the mood.)
3. How does sensory imagery help create the overall meaning of this poem? What are the most important sensory details? Why do you think these sensory details are important and how do they characterize the relationship between the son and the father? (Hint: think about temperature!)
4. How have the author’s feelings towards his father changed over time? Make a guess about how old he was when he watched his father and how old he is now that he is writing this poem. Back up your guess with evidence. What has changed from the time that he experienced his father doing these things and how he feels at the time that he writes this?