Those Winter Sundays Poem Analysis

Words: 692
Pages: 3
Open Document
Certain times a person fails to recognize the hidden love expressed by a father, thus staying ungrateful and insouciant toward them. Some eventually grow to see the many sacrifices made, but others become filled with hatred. Feeling trapped or ashamed the narrators rely heavily on memories of their childhoods with their fathers. While “Those Winter Sundays” (Hayden 318) and “Daddy” (Plath 345-47) explore the theme of familial love by utilizing a melodic rhythm, they use dissimilar literary devices and figurative language to reveal different personas of the poets.
Readers often explore the idea or underlying meaning of a literary work through a theme, sometimes explicitly stated but the way a reader interprets it depends on their education …show more content…
As an unrhymed poem, the rhythm created using devices such as consonance, repetition, and alliteration. The inconsistency rhyme schemes in both poems seem to reflect the speaker’s turmoil and feelings they harbor for their fathers. The poetic meter Plath uses gives a slow, almost childlike melody. Throughout the poem, a soothing sound with a continuous use of the “oo” sound anchors Plath to a childlike tone. Words like “do,” “shoe,” “Achoo,” and “you” gain recognition with the continuation of the poem. The nursery rhyme cadence, create a sense of entrapment for Plath which later conflicts with the assertive stance she gives off. Meanwhile, “Those Winter Sundays” provides fourteen lines, filling the basic characteristics of Sonnet. Although, some examples of rhyme and near rhymes are shown, the lack of rhyme scheme makes it unqualifiable as Sonnet. The first line is presented as a trochaic pentameter rather than the standard iambic pentameter. In order to capture the harshness of his father’s life, Hayden uses grating consonant sounds of the words “cold,” “cracked,” and “ached” (Line 2 and 3). These words sound hard and in doing so Hayden presents the intensity of his pain. However, the “k” sound them becomes replaced with “o” sounds, like in the words “good,” “shoes,” “know” etc. these sounds evoke associations with love and
Show More

Related Documents: Those Winter Sundays Poem Analysis

My Papas Waltz vs. Those Winter Nights Essay

Richard Koch Literature and Culture 5/6/13 Research Paper My Papa’s Waltz Vs. Those Winter Nights In “My Papa’s Waltz” by Roethke and “Those Winter Sundays” by Hayden, the two narrators speak about their fathers in a way that shows there were two different sides to their fathers. One side was abusive and strict, while the other side was loving and caring. Each narrator has a different attitude toward their feelings for their fathers. Roethke has a more fun and understanding view of his…

Words 1549 - Pages 7

Poems: City Planners Essay example

The Poems analysed are: The City Planners, Margaret Atwood and The Planners, Boey Kim Cheng. These are taken from the IGCSE Cambridge Poetry Anthology, but may be interesting for unseen poetry too. Question Set How do these poets use language and structure to get across their theme? I wrote this in about half an hour. Both poems are very similar, and have the same topic - City Planning - as shown in their titles. Structurally, they are different though, and the tone differs in places. I've…

Words 15315 - Pages 62

Simply Masterful Essay

“Most of us would prefer to look at cartoons in a magazine than read a poem," says Kooser. Poetry reflects life in a way that even big movies, cannot do. Kooser’s poems invite the reader to reflect on everyday items and to notice the small details and beauties of the world. He has a talent to express emotions in a way that the readers themselves will experience. He has been referred to as the master of the short metaphorical poem (Gioia). Kooser has lived in Iowa and Nebraska all of his life. His…

Words 3517 - Pages 15