The speaker of the poem, "The Whipping" is the neighbor across the street of the young boy who is being whipped. This is made apparent through the author, Robert Hayden, using the phrase, "The old woman across the way / is whipping the boy again." This means that the speaker has already witnessed a previous whipping of the boy. The poem is addressed to what seems to be the general public, anyone willing to listen. The setting of this poem varies throughout. At first the poem is set in a field, and then moves towards the boy's room where he is sobbing, and then back outside under a tree. As the speaker is narrating the events to the audience, he assumes a sorrow and sympathetic tone. The speaker feels an obvious connection to the young boy, and so he can relate to the pain the boy feels. The overall...