Hayden, “The Whipping”, is written in the first person and deeply illustrates the poet's harsh childhood. Such intense writing reveals the experiences and memories that never left Hayden. The setting of this poem is in a garden where a lot of violence takes place. The poem expresses images and metaphors. In the first sentence “The old woman across the street whips the boy again” (Hayden), it describes how many times Hayden had to see these unbearable whips, because of the word “again”. As Hayden writes about his injury-like memories, he includes powerful details that give the reader a shrill scream: "She hits and hits the boy who runs in circles until the stick breaks in his hand » (Hayden). Imagery is shown when the poem shows the boy's emotions after he is beaten. “Her tears are rainy weather that hurts like memories” (Hayden). This quote does not refer to the weather but is actually a metaphor for the child's tears. As the poem reaches the fourth stanza, Hayden's narration shifts to the first person: "My head clamped in the bony vise of the knees" (Hayden). Towards the end, Hayden suddenly feels for the woman, even though she constantly does horrible things to the child. “Revenge in part for the lifelong cover-ups she had to endure” (Hayden). The woman has likely experienced many struggles and failures throughout her life, and to cover this up, she unleashes violence on an innocent child. Making him feel his pain as well. As we know, Hayden lived in poverty. However, Hayden had a lot of difficulty living with her adoptive parents. “Hayden witnessed frequent verbal and physical arguments between his adoptive parents during his childhood. The trauma he suffered from this experience caused periods of disability and depression” (Biography.com editors). Looking at this information we can conclude why