"Discuss the tone of the poem. How is it achieved?"
"Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden
I found the tone of this poem to be regretful. Such phrases as "No one ever thanked him" and "What did I know..." show these feelings. While most poems use symbolism and stand for something more, I thought this poem was very literal. The writer speak of how he didn't realize everything that his father did for him. He remembers how his father got up early for him, just to make sure the house was warm. I got the feeling that this poem took place after his father died, or at least that his father was unavailable to him. It definitely seems like he can't go and tell his father how much he appreciates what he did for him. He ends the poem by saying he didn't understand love and how lonely his father was. Because I mother was never mentioned, I also think that perhaps his father raised him by himself. It is hard for a father to show his son all of the love he has, so maybe the son got a false sense of harshness from his father. Either way, his childhood seems pretty harsh, but not abusive.
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