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 create a setting, where the characters are introduced and the action that the title stated is in progress. One thing that the reader does sense is that this whipping is not unusual. It is happening again and whoever the narrator is, he is not surprised or alarmed that this is happening. The last two lines of the stanza describe the mother very well. She is "shouting to the neighborhood/ her goodness and his wrongs" (3-4). Its as if she feels that by yelling her son's faults and her goodness, she is trying to justify he

" And the woman leans muttering against / a tree, exhausted, purged- " (21-22). The opening line of the sixth stanza shows the reader the fat old woman leaning against a tree physically tired. Hayden also states that the woman is purged, meaning she has cleansed herself from all guilt, sins, and impurities. This usage of purged guides the reader into the next two lines. " avenged in part for lifelong hidings / she has had to bear" (23-24). The woman feels redemption after beating her child because she was abused in her life also. This final stanza answers the question of why is the mother so abusive to her child?

r own wrongfulness of beating her son. She chose to shout, so that everyone would hear, almost as if she was confessing her sins. She seems to be making a show, a production out of this beating. She is trying to humiliate her son even more by beating him outside, instead of inside the house. A simple, four- lined introduction creates a perfect image of the event that is unfolding.

In no way does the "Whipping" justify child abuse just because the parent had been abused in the past. However, it does reinforce the fact that abuse is past on from generation to generation and happens everywhere. Hayden uses the perfect point of view in this scenario. The omniscience from the third person allows the reader to feel the personal connection of the narrator and of the family he views across the street. The excellent selection and usage of "purged" lead the reader right into his conclusion of the poem. In using many of the weapons in writing Hayden strategically conquers the reader's thoughts and emotions in the poem "The Whipping".

"She strikes and strikes the shrilly circling / boy till the

Some common words found in the essay are:
Robert Hayden's, poem whipping, usage purged, , fear person, / boy, beating son, woundlike memories, allows reader, beaten remembers,
Approximate Word count = 1164
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)