The whipping by robert hayden - Essay Example

The Whipping by Robert Hayden (A Poetry Analysis) The Whipping, throughout its six unrhymed stanzas, depicts one of the typical painful instances of domestic abuse against a child which takes place on a regular basis as literally stated through the second line ‘is whipping the boy again’ of the first stanza. The poem develops from concretely describing the boy’s excruciating fate in the hands of the old woman into relating such an experience with the tormenting remembrances of the past in which the poet expresses connection and understanding of a situation similar to one his own during the unpleasant days of childhood.

Evidently, the author in part aims for the readers to figure how defenseless the boy is that despite his ‘circling’ efforts and the woman’s crippling fat, he does not stand even the feeble chance of being freed from the constant striking of the mad old woman. At this stage, the male child may be imagined to have possessed anxiety and unfairly low levels of self-esteem due to the poignant circumstances of physical and emotional pain that certainly would ring a bell in the future filled with embitterment.

On the second half of the narrative, Robert Hayden enters into a dimension in the past that quite explains the reason he establishes focus and interest with the current subject through the boy’s life. Recollecting and pondering on the similarities between this and Robert’s dark encounters of his early youth, he points out how such picture of violence could be devastating especially when executed in a verbal manner or one that sticks to mind more than actual blows do. Mentioning ‘Words could bring, the face that I no longer knew or loved’ somehow indicates that at a later time, the impact which this state of suffering bears on a child can lead to fatal consequences where the oppressed young individual learns to turn all signs of affection for the beloved into hatred.

All the hurting and actions of incessant beating stop however and settle to subsidence until as the poet calmly conveys ‘Well, it is over now, it is over’ without any further regard to resumption of the same event or possible complications thereof. Hayden consequently finalizes his composition with the tone and lines that allude deeper and more sensible understanding of the child’s issue for which the whipping woman can be felt to have embedded concerns herself. Though the author does not specify, ‘avenged in part for lifelong hidings she has had to bear’ could well imply that the old woman was once a victim of injustice either through a boy’s blood relation or someone else against whom she had not the slightest opportunity to resist or be fought back by any external support.