The Whipping=evaluation=1200 W Essay examples - 1091 Words

Upon reading Robert Haydens 1970 poem, The Whipping; (1075), one may find themselves feeling very disturbed. The title is not subtle in hiding the fact that the plot of the poem is of a mother beating her son. The tone of the poem is very violent, and filled with a lot of anger. The boys character immediately demands sympathy from the reader and just as instantaneously, the mother is hated by the reader. From his first stanza, to his sixth, Hayden utilizes an arsenal of words, symbols, and images to create a scene that is intense and emotional to the reader. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Hayden introduces his poem with the first stanza, which begins with The old woman across the way/ is whipping the boy again; (1-2). These lines†¦show more content†¦This line compares the mother to some kind of a beast, whom stalks her prey and entraps it right before she devours its helpless flesh. In addition, the crippling fat; paints a grotesque image of the mother allowing us to form a bias of this fat, ugly, child-beating beast. Hayden has set the foundation for his poem with his brilliant usage of the setting and characterization. Hayden uses his third stanza to develop the action in the poem. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;She strikes and strikes the shrilly circling / boy till the stick breaks in her hand.; (9-10). These two lines describe the kind of sadistic beating that the boy is receiving. This is not an average everyday spanking. The antagonist actually hits the child until the stick cannot withstand anymore. The usage of alliteration allows the reader to incorporate that the boy is screaming and running in circles all while receiving the beating. Hayden then says, His tears are rainy weather to woundlike memories:; (11-12). This line is very significant to the poem. The narrator is making a connection to himself at this time. The boys tears are bringing back memories from his past. Hayden uses the colon marks to show that the preceding text is going to be the narrators woundlike; memories. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The fourth and fifth stanzas are used to show the thoughts of the narrator. The narrator is remembering an incident that has happened in the past when he was beaten. He