The Whipping
By Robert Hayden
The old woman across the way
is whipping the boy again
and shouting to the neighborhood
her goodness and his wrongs.
Wildly he crashes through elephant ears,
pleads in dusty zinnias,
while she in spite of crippling fat
pursues and corners him.
She strikes and strikes the shrilly circling
boy till the stick breaks
in her hand. His tears are rainy weather
to woundlike memories:
My head gripped in bony vise
of knees, the writhing struggle
to wrench free, the blows, the fear
worse than blows that hateful
Words could bring, the face that I
no longer knew or loved . . .
Well, it is over now, it is over,
and the boy sobs in his room,
And the woman leans muttering against
a tree, exhausted, purged-avenged in part for lifelong hidings
she has had to bear.
Balliett 1
Jessica Balliett
AP Language and Composition
Mr. Lane
11 December 2009
Poetry Explication
“The Whipping,” a poem by Robert Hayden, is about a young boy being abused by an
older woman. Furthermore, the narrator of the poem is a nearby neighbor who is witnessing the
action. While watching the violence unfold before his or her eyes, the neighbor relays his or her
own personal memories of being a victim of abuse. Considering the poem’s outline summary, the
theme of “The Whipping” does deal with abuse, pain, and suffering. The text communicates this
theme by using many devices, such as imagery, tone, alliteration, and consonance.
The most obvious literary device in the poem is imagery. A few examples of said
imagery are “[h]is tears are rainy weather,” “crippling fat,” and “bony vise of knees” (7, 11, 13).
All of these phrases force the senses to be depressingly or disturbingly aroused. “[T]ears are
rainy weather” triggers the sense of sound, sight, and touch (7). The imagery describes the young
boy’s outpour of tears and misery. “[C]rippling fat” allures the sense of sight. This use of
imagery negatively portrays the older woman and automatically gives her a villain persona (11).
A “bony vise of knees” treats the senses of sight and touch (13). This quote is from the narrator’s
own painful experience and also gives bestows an off-putting cold-hearted, frosty description.
The imagery throughout the text is able to convey the stinging emotions caused by cruelty and
exploitation.
Tone is another basic device used to convey the theme of “The Whipping.” “The
Whipping” also has tone, which is another basic device used to convey the theme. “The
Balliett 2
Whipping[’s]” tone is also able to convey the theme.Some instances of tone examples of tone
from the text are “woundlike memories,” “no longer knew or loved,” and “leans muttering” (12,
18, 21). Words like “woundlike” and “muterring” relate to the main theme because of their
depressing and hurtful denotations (12, 21). “[W]oundlike memories” are from the narrator’s
point of view (12). The abuse the narrator is viewing takes him or her him back to a time where
he suffered from the same mistreatment. The quote “no longer knew or loved” is also from the
narrator’s point of view (18). The narrator relays that the pain he or she felt from being abused
has emotionally caused both victim and abuser to be forever estranged. The poem ends by saying
the old woman “leans muttering” (21). The final line leaves the tone emotionally damaged or
scarred in tact by having the woman not feel any better after beating the boy.
Alliteration is a musical device throughout “The Whipping.” Examples of alliteration
from the poem are “crashes” and “corners,” “strikes,” “shrilly,” and “stick,” and “writhing,”
“wrench,” and “worse” (5, 8-10, 14-16). The text uses alliteration in verses and stanzas where
abuse is readily mentioned. “[C]rashes” and “corners” both begin with a c- hard “c” sound.
These words describe the boy trying to escape from the old woman (4, 8). “[S]trikes,” “shrilly,”
and “stick” all begin with an s- sound (9-10). These actions and adjectives describe the woman
and how she abuses the boy. “[W]rithing,” “wrench,” and “worse” all begin with a w- sound (1416). In using these expressions, the poem describes connects the narrator’s experience with
abuse. The alliteration in the text fully describes the type of pain received by the boy.
Another musical device in “The Whipping” is consonance. Much like the alliteration
used in the poem, the consonance accentuates the actions of abuse. Examples of consonance
from the text are “whipping” and “shouting,” “strikes” and “breaks,” and “exhausted,” “purged,”
and “avenged” (2-3, 9-10, 22-23). “[W]hipping” and “shouting” both end in an –ing sound (2-3).
Balliett 3
These words are the direct actions of how the woman gains the boy’s attention before abusing
him. The sounds of these words, seeing as they end in –ing, remind one of a constant action.
“[S]trikes” and “breaks” both end with a –ks sound (9-10). These verbs are the actions of the
woman actually abusing the boy. “[E]xhausted,” “purged,” and “avenged all end with an –ed
sound (22-23). By creating a sense of tiredness and emotion, the poem describes the feelings of
the woman after mistreating the boy. Also, these set of words differ from the first few examples
because they end in –ed, which shows the action is over and done with.
“The Whipping” is a poem with many literary devices spread throughout the text. These
devices, such as imagery, tone, alliteration, and consonance, all help convey the theme presented.
The poem purposefully tries to relay a message of abuse and firmly uses literary devices to its
advantage.
Balliett 4
Work Cited
Arp, Thomas R., and Greg Johnson. Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Ninth ed.
Massachusetts: Thomas Higher Education, 2006. 656-57. Print.
Topic/Title
Area
Ideas and Content
Organization
Word Choice
Sentence Fluency
Voice
Lower Order Concerns
Presentation (Research Guide)
Insight
Support
Introduction and Conclusion
TOTAL
GRADE out of 50
Score
Comments
9
10
9
9
10
9
10
9
10
9
94
47 nice job with a challening poem; good choices for examples; see
comments regarding alliteration's connection to theme; revise LOCs