Poetry Paper Essay, Research Paper

There are particular poems that seem to catch peoples eye, but while we read the poem we drop our attention. It is very difficult to evaluate these types of poems. Robert Hayden s, Those Winter Sundays, is the complete opposite of the type of poem that was just described. The title is quite bland, and the title is one of the first parts of a selection that seem to catch the eye. As children, perhaps the only thing that made a difference to us in books were illustrations. As we get more mature we don t carry that trait so extremely, yet we still do sometimes judge a book by its cover. The truth is that a books cover has nothing to do with the quality of the writing inside of the book, as does the title of Hayden s poem, Those Winter Sundays, have no effect of the quality of the poem itself.

This poem illustrates a father s love for his family. That is a topic that most of us are interested in. This poem is about a family man that works about forty hours a week or more, perhaps a hark working labor type of worker. The touching part is that when he comes home, he doesn t expect to be catered to. He doesn t expect his wife to rub his feet, give him the newspaper, and have dinner prepared for him on time, like many men would. This poem shows that while this tired man had spare time, he still worked to keep his family as comfortable as possible. Another reason that this poem shows how this man is so special is that after he does all of this work, no one in the family thanks him. A man that works so hard to support someone should be thanked at least occasionally. However, he never expected thank you s. He doesn t want thank you s. He knows that it is his job to support his family and any less just wouldn t do. The man that Robert Hayden speaks of is what a real man is supposed to be. When family is first priority to a father; then and only then, is he a real man. Hayden did a terrific job showing the world what a real man does.

To only look at the title of this poem and judge it would be a mistake. The topic that the poem illustrates is very important in many peoples lives. Any of us who has had family problems in our lifetime can relater to the poem, and it can touch us in many different ways. To question of what a good father does for his children is a very controversial issue, yet many of us can agree that Hayden had described what a good father does rather accurately. While the title at first glance seems dull, it has a hidden meaning in the poem that somehow makes the title more interesting than a title thought up by Dr. Suess. To many of us, Those Winter Sundays, is a real man s bible.