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Formalistic Approach

Robert Hayden’s use of words with distinct negative connotations reveals the lack of love and compassion in the scene. The cold permeates everything while his father rises early on a Sunday morning to dress in the “blueblack” cold. Furthermore, the father’s “cracked” hands combined with “aching,” “splintering,” and “breaking” provides for a dismal setting and tone in the poem. Words such as "splintering" and "breaking" provide a use of onomatopoeia as they actually sound like ice cracking and breaking due to the newfound heat. The narrator never thanks his father for the simple pleasures provided on a Sunday morning as seen in "No one ever thanked him." This phrase constitutes the foundation for the theme of the poem as the narrator contains a profound hatred of his father due to past experiences. “Chronic angers” in the house also account for a lack of happiness that characteristically describes waking up to a fire on a cold Sunday morning. The personification of the house can also be seen through Hayden's description of the "chronic angers." It almost seems as if the house is the one that is constantly angry at the narrator of the poem. The depressing scene reveals itself further through Hayden’s repetition of “What did I know, what did I know.” This phrase depicts the childish nature of the narrator and his lack of understanding of what a father must do to preserve the love of a family. Hayden thus portrays a lack of compassion in the relationship between father and son through the description of the biting cold on a Sunday morning.

Historical-Biographical

Robert Hayden’s poem, Those Winter Sundays, reflects a personal experience with his father. While growing up in Detroit, Michigan, Hayden suffered through a period of constant turmoil and fighting in his family. His father and mother finally split after years of bickering, leaving newly born Hayden in the care of foster parents. Hayden’s relationship with his father was rocky at best as exemplified in this poem. “No one ever thanked him.” Hayden’s use of words with negative connotations combined with this phrase represents a rift of dissension with his father. The cold metaphorically depicts the total absence of love needed in a healthy relationship. Furthermore, "too" (line 1) emphasizes that these Sunday mornings occur regularly and in similar routines. Therefore, Hayden's relationship with his father is depicted through the totality of the cold which represents the extent of the dissent between father and son. Moreover, Hayden questions, “What did I know, what did I know of love’s austere and lonely office?” Thus, through These Winter Sundays, Robert Hayden effectively depicts the dysfunctional relationship between a father and son.