Final answer:
Robert Hayden's 'Those Winter Sundays' depicts regret and sadness through reflection on unacknowledged sacrifices, cold winter imagery, and a somber tone. The speaker realizes as an adult the loving actions of their father, which they failed to appreciate in their youth, intensifying the emotional weight of the poem.
Step-by-step explanation:
Robert Hayden creates feelings of regret and sadness in Those Winter Sundays primarily through option (d) By portraying the speaker's reflection on unacknowledged sacrifices. This is depicted in the poem through the use of cold winter imagery which serves to highlight not just the physical coldness of the winter season but also the emotional coldness that the speaker feels in retrospect for not having appreciated the sacrifices made by their father. The cold, austere environment of the poem contrasts with the warm actions of the father, stoking the fires early in the morning to warm the house, which the speaker did not acknowledge at the time. As an adult, the speaker regrets their lack of appreciation and understanding of these loving acts, recognizing them as expressions of love that went unnoticed and unthanked.
The sadness in the poem is encapsulated by the reflective tone and the sense of regret for not recognizing the father's efforts during childhood. The somber tone and choice of words such as "fear-frozen" and "coldness" both in literal and figurative senses add to the vivid depiction of the speaker's emotional state. The regretful realization that comes with maturity and hindsight intensifies the feelings of sadness for what was overlooked and taken for granted.