Hayden and Roethke: Exposing the Father-Child Relationship
Written in 1962 by Robert Hayden, “Those Winter Sundays” illustrates the complex and often misrepresented relationship between a father and his child. An initial reading of Hayden’s poem provides an endearing depiction of fatherly love and support, the speaker recounting the lengths at which his father took to provide him with a warm and comfortable home. Under the surface, however, a much more lonely and dismal relationship is detected. Similar to Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays,” a superficial look at Theodore Roethke’s 1948 “My Papa’s Waltz” portrays a rather positive presentation of fatherhood. Roethke’s poem characterizes a loving connection between a father and son that is both …show more content…
The superficial message put forward by Hayden is one of a father who works hard to provide his child with the often thankless duties of everyday parenting. Throughout “Those Winter Sundays,” the speaker explains how his father “got up early” (Hayden 1) on Sunday mornings, made the fire that warmed their home, and “polished” his “good shoes as well” (12). This view of fatherly behavior is exceedingly honorable and, on first reading, gives the impression of a well-adjusted and harmonious bond between the speaker and his father. However, a more thorough analysis of Hayden’s choice of words alludes to an entirely different side of their relationship. “Those Winter Sundays” incorporates depressed and dejected words, such as “blueblack” (2), “ached” (3), “cold” (6) and “lonely” (14), to reveal the speaker’s true feelings toward the connection he shares with his father. In addition, Hayden’s use of the negatively connotative words “cracked” (3), “splintering” and “breaking” (6) works to further demonstrate the fractured state of this father-child …show more content…
A shallow reading of Roethke’s poem suggests a subject of great innocence and amusement: the act of teaching a child to dance. In “My Papa’s Waltz,” the speaker explains how he “hung on” (Roethke 3) to his father as they “romped until the pans / Slid from the kitchen shelf” (5-6). The event presented here of the pair waltzing around their home, the speaker being danced “off to bed,” appears happy and carefree on the exterior (15). Upon a closer inspection of Roethke’s word choice, however, a darker side of this relationship is found hidden beneath the surface. Words such as “whiskey” and “dizzy” (1), as well as “hung” and “death” (3), are each associated with undesirable implications, all of which point to a father who is both belligerent and terrifying. Furthermore, with Roethke’s selection of the words “battered” (10), “scraped” (12), and “beat” (13), the underlying abuse and dysfunction present between this father and his son is
Written in 1962 by Robert Hayden, “Those Winter Sundays” illustrates the complex and often misrepresented relationship between a father and his child. An initial reading of Hayden’s poem provides an endearing depiction of fatherly love and support, the speaker recounting the lengths at which his father took to provide him with a warm and comfortable home. Under the surface, however, a much more lonely and dismal relationship is detected. Similar to Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays,” a superficial look at Theodore Roethke’s 1948 “My Papa’s Waltz” portrays a rather positive presentation of fatherhood. Roethke’s poem characterizes a loving connection between a father and son that is both …show more content…
The superficial message put forward by Hayden is one of a father who works hard to provide his child with the often thankless duties of everyday parenting. Throughout “Those Winter Sundays,” the speaker explains how his father “got up early” (Hayden 1) on Sunday mornings, made the fire that warmed their home, and “polished” his “good shoes as well” (12). This view of fatherly behavior is exceedingly honorable and, on first reading, gives the impression of a well-adjusted and harmonious bond between the speaker and his father. However, a more thorough analysis of Hayden’s choice of words alludes to an entirely different side of their relationship. “Those Winter Sundays” incorporates depressed and dejected words, such as “blueblack” (2), “ached” (3), “cold” (6) and “lonely” (14), to reveal the speaker’s true feelings toward the connection he shares with his father. In addition, Hayden’s use of the negatively connotative words “cracked” (3), “splintering” and “breaking” (6) works to further demonstrate the fractured state of this father-child …show more content…
A shallow reading of Roethke’s poem suggests a subject of great innocence and amusement: the act of teaching a child to dance. In “My Papa’s Waltz,” the speaker explains how he “hung on” (Roethke 3) to his father as they “romped until the pans / Slid from the kitchen shelf” (5-6). The event presented here of the pair waltzing around their home, the speaker being danced “off to bed,” appears happy and carefree on the exterior (15). Upon a closer inspection of Roethke’s word choice, however, a darker side of this relationship is found hidden beneath the surface. Words such as “whiskey” and “dizzy” (1), as well as “hung” and “death” (3), are each associated with undesirable implications, all of which point to a father who is both belligerent and terrifying. Furthermore, with Roethke’s selection of the words “battered” (10), “scraped” (12), and “beat” (13), the underlying abuse and dysfunction present between this father and his son is