Thursday, September 9, 2010

Cold


When I read "Those Winter Sundays," I interpreted it as a grown (wo)man looking back on her younger years, spent in a home with chronic apathy-inducing tension. It felt like there was just so much anger that she couldn't muster the strength for reciprocal anger.

The imagery of the poem fits the title; it's wintery. The air is cold and dry, as is the atmosphere. The "fire" image accentuates this, which might be juxtaposition. Also, the fire and the shined shoes point out a second message of the poem. The speaker seems to regret his or her lack of gratitude toward the father figure. This regret combined with the specific mention of Sundays bring to light the possibility of a religious thread. The father could mean the Father, for our gratitude toward Him will always be a little bit insufficient, so regret for this seems logical.


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