“Those Winter Sundays” Robert Hayden, 1966 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 thanked 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? In the poem, “Those Winter Sundays”, Robert Hayden presents imagery through the elements of weather, juxtaposition of those weather elements with the emotions of the father and the son, and through the mood of fear and isolation, to showcase the complex relationship between the father and son, in order to highlight that although the speaker does not understand the complexity of his father’s emotion, causing the speaker to fear his father in the beginning, he eventually is able to question his father’s motives, ultimately illustrating that while emotions cannot be understood right in the moment, with some time and reflection, one can begin to understand the complex emotions every individual holds in their hearts. Hayden begins by presenting imagery through the elements of weather which highlights how the weather not only sets the scene for the poem, but also represents how the son views the father. Take, for example, how in the beginning of the poem, the speaker immediately takes notice of the cold, “Sundays too my father got up early and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold”. This evidence presents the son’s view of his father because when cold does not only represent the setting of a piece of writing, but it can also represent an emotion. In this case, the weather in the poem is cold, but the father’s behavior toward his son is also cold, showing no love or affection. Consequently, since the father is not showing love or affection toward his son, this is causing the son to fear him and to perhaps think that he doesn’t love him. Furthermore, not only is the relationship between the speaker and his father cold, the environment they are living in is cold due to the fact that in the poem, the father has not yet made a fire to make the house warm, but also the father has not made a show of love or affection, which is a sign of warmth, toward his son. Hayden then shifts to the juxtaposition of the weather elements with the emotions of the father and the son, showcasing how elements involving weather can be used in comparison to the intensity of human emotion. Take, for example, how the second stanza talks about the cold of the outside world, and the warmth of the speaker's house. Lines 6-7 state, “I’d wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking. When the rooms were warm, he'd call.”, and lines 8-9 state, “and slowly I would rise and dress, fearing the chronic angers of that house.” This evidence implies that the speaker fears the anger of his father because the speaker would only rise from bed when his father calls, indicating that the speaker fears the consequences of his father’s anger. Consequently, since the speaker fears the father for his anger, the speaker does not take his father’s emotions into account. All the speaker can see is the anger from his father and the fear that they are feeling. Therefore, the speaker cannot perhaps see how the father is caring for him in another way due to the fact that human emotions sometimes cloud judgment and furthermore that judgment can cause misconceptions among people, like the speaker’s inability to recognize the father’s care for him. Hayden concludes by displaying the feeling of fear and isolation through the observations of the speaker showcasing the speaker’s complex relationship with his father, and how he eventually is able to see his father’s care for him. Take for example, lines 10-11 “speaking indifferently to him, who had driven out the cold” and lines 13-14, “what did I know, what did I know of love’s austere and lonely offices?”. This evidence demonstrates a shift in the speaker’s attitude toward his father. While in the beginning he was afraid of his father’s anger, he started to reflect on his father’s emotions. Consequently, since the speaker’s blindness to his father’s emotions was causing turmoil, the speaker taking a step back and reflecting on his father’s emotions causes the speaker to feel remorse for how he perceived his father. Complex emotions can create an understanding between two people, even if those emotions are fear and isolation. The speaker’s realization of how he is finally seeing his father as not only his father, but as a person, caused the reader to create a mutual understanding with his father, even if he has not told his father yet. The speaker himself learned to not question his father’s morals or actions, because as he said, “what did I know of love’s austere and lonely offices?”