Introduction
The evaluation of poetic form and content is an effective approach to the analysis of the author’s creative idea and message aimed to influence the reader. As the work in question, the well-known poem “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden, the pre-eminent American poet of the 20th century, will be considered. The key artistic effect of this small but capacious poem is achieved through the use of several techniques related to the structure of the versification and sound patterns. Along with the content, the poet pays particular attention to the compositional construction of stanzas, which allows him to emphasize the most important parts and convey the main idea. The rhythm and sound patterns are the strongest tools of influence on the reader in “Those Winter Sundays” and help Hayden create a unique and vibrant context.
Features of the Rhythm Structure
The poem in question is written in vers libre, a free style, which, due to a special rhythm, allows the poet to place the necessary semantic accents to enhance the artistic effect. Gasparov et al. define vers libre as a poetic rather than prose speech and refute the idea that this style does not require skills and knowledge of the principles of rhyming (136). In this structure, “some verse lines in a tactoid can also fit the pattern of the syllabic-accentual trochee, dactyl etc., but this does not affect the recognition of the poem’s meter” (Gasparov et al. 137). A leisurely reading of “Those Winter Sundays” can help find the right rhythm and pay particular attention to where it breaks. This effect allows for highlighting the appropriate logical pauses and the leading time in each of the stanzas.
When analyzing the pauses of the poem, one can notice a rhythmic method in which some phrases are broken and carried over to another line. This looks as follows: “weather made / banked fires blaze,” where “banked fires blaze” ends with a dot and starts a new sentence on the same line: “No one ever thanked him” (Hayden 4-5). This stop in the middle of the line serves as a method of persuasion and has a calming effect on the reader by plunging into the narrative. Hayden resorts to this technique to show the regularity and routine of the situation. According to Marciano and Watson, who analyze the context of “Those Winter Sundays,” the poet seeks to describe events as close to reality as possible by juxtaposing heat and cold, strength and vulnerability (338). In addition, one of the last phrases of the poem is repeated twice: “What did I know, what did I know” (Hayden 13). By emphasizing different words in two identical phrases, the reader can sense the distinctive premises for this rhetorical question. Thus, the rhythm of the poem largely influences the context and artistic effect.
Sound Pattern as a Means of Artistic Effect
The sound patterns applied in “Those Winter Sundays” are powerful tools of influence on the reader and the techniques that help shape the context and setting of the poem. In their research, Aryani and Jacobs mention the “sublexical affective sound of words,” which is expressed in the impact of specific lexical items on the subconscious of readers and determines their attitude to what they read (3). In relation to the poem in question, this practice is manifested, for instance, through alliteration, which is observed at the beginning. In the first stanza, one can easily hear the abundance of the sound [k] – “blueblack cold,” “clothes,” “cracked,” “banked,” “ached,” “thanked” (Hayden 2-5). This repetitive sound may be associated with the crackling of firewood in the stove, which the character of the poem describes. It is noteworthy that along with alliteration, the internal rhymes of the poem also serve as an instrument of sound influence on the perception of meaning.
The internal rhymes of the poem are an additional technique that emphasizes the importance of sound patterns as the tools of influence. Through the description, by carefully choosing words, the poet creates a sound picture of what is happening. One can pay attention to the fact that vers libre, despite its apparently free from restrictions form, solves a specific artistic task that forces Hayden to limit himself in the choice of lexical constructions. The aforementioned sound [k], which is often repeated, is noticeable in internal rhymes, for instance, wake – breaking, cold – call, or banked – thanked (Hayden 5-7). One can also pay attention to the sound echo through the lines of words – blueblack – labor – blaze (Hayden 2, 4, 5). All these examples prove the presence of sound patterns designed to create a unique setting and perception.
Conclusion
In “Those Winter Sundays,” Robert Hayden utilizes individual rhythmic and sound patterns that create a unique impact on the reader and, at the same time, serve as the tools of semantic coloring. Vers libre helps the poet to place logical accents and pauses without reference to traditional forms. Sound patterns that include alliteration and internal rhymes convey the special mood of the poem and serve as the tools for describing the appropriate content and setting.
Works Cited
Aryani, Arash, and Arthur M. Jacobs. “Affective Congruence Between Sound and Meaning of Words Facilitates Semantic Decision.” Behavioral Sciences, vol. 8, no. 6, 2018, pp. 1-11.
Gasparov, Mikhail, et al. “Approaches to Verse Theory in the Works of Jaak Põldmäe.” Studia Metrica et Poetica, vol. 4, no. 1, 2017, pp. 130-149.
Hayden, Robert. “Those Winter Sundays.” Poetry Foundation, Web.
Marciano, Joanne E., and Vaughn W. M. Watson. ““This is America”: Examining Artifactual Literacies as Austere Love Across Contexts of Schools and Everyday Use.” The Urban Review, vol. 53, no. 2, 2021, pp. 334-353.