Analysis Of My Papa's Waltz Poem By Theodore Roethke

"My Papa 's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke is an interesting poem that begins with complexity. Theodore Roethke implicates the aspects of his childhood experience in this poem. This poem is immersed in metaphors, symbolism, and imagery that can overwhelm the readers with vagueness and doubts. Upon this poem 's interpretation, some people consider this poem as a parental abuse and some people see it as a son 's cheerful memory of an evening dancing with his father. The metaphors, symbols, and tone of this poem bring the impression of a child 's unconditional love for his abusive father.

But, others depict the story as a dark one. In this case it is interpreted as Roethke’s relationship with his abusive and alcoholic father and the hardships he must face due to the situation. These plot lines are almost complete opposites of each other, yet are the interpretation of the same poem. Roethke’s wording allows for contradicting meanings to be seen depending on how the reader chooses to analyze and understand the poem, because of this contradictory “My Papa’s Waltz” is still discussed to this day.

The speaker used that word so he could take the audience back to his pass to when he was a child. Irony is used in the poem in lines one and two, “The whiskey on your breath – Could make a small boy dizzy’ (Rocthke). The ironic part of these lines is that a boy cannot get drunk by just the whiff of another person’s breath that smells like they have been drinking a lot of whiskey. The lines suggest that Papa is drunk that could lead to the situation of violence toward the boy. Another view can be that the boy is small compared to the father.

In the poem, he speaks about racism in the law, as well as how you are treated in society depends on your skin color. The poem is not good to read only because of its subject, however. The use of repetition and symbolism in “Blink Your Eyes” adds more depth to the poem, and highlights the societal issues that the author and others of his race have felt. Use of repetition in poetry directs the reader 's attention to that word or phrase, as Sundiata does in “Blink Your Eyes.” Along with how the stanzas are formed, the repetition used sets a pace to the poem.

Edgar Allan Poe and Roald Dahl have some similarities and differences, in consideration of their childhood experiences, background, plus writing. To begin with, Poe and Dahl experienced death at a young age with some of their family members. Additionally, Poe’s mom died of tuberculosis at 24 years old and his dad died of alcoholism. Also, he abandoned the family when Poe was only the age of 2. Likewise Poe’s foster mom who died of tuberculosis too.

Different Angles Mean Different Interpretations How is one’s interpretation formed when exploring a literary work? Theodore Roethke’s poem “My Papa’s Waltz” shows the angle a literary work is viewed from is a decisive factor in forming a perception. The poem’s persona gives plenty of information for the reader to interpret contrasting positions through the use of subtleties, metaphors and irony. This will depend largely on how the reader interprets the speaker’s literary meaning while the father and son waltz to bed.

It’s said that Thomas was an alcoholic and it was deemed that the cause of his death was because of the obsession and also it was accentuated with the grief he felt for his father approaching death. The form of the poem is elegy whereby Thomas used the poem by expressing his grief for his father’s impending death. It is vital to know the poet state of mind in order to relate or understand the poem. Therefore, descriptive language used by the poet should be focused to further know the poet’s is trying to impose.

This then leads to why Alexie has maybe chosen to write this poem. You get the idea that this is based off him because, he starts out his poem saying, “I prepare the last meal for the Indian man to be executed” (1-2). The Indian man in the story could be Alexie. He is an Indian male, who also has to deal with an alcoholic father

Although one may misinterpret the first paragraph, “the whiskey on your breath, could make a small boy dizzy; but I hung on like death: such waltzing was not easy” (Line 1- 4), it means that, despite the fact that the father was slightly drunk, he was capable of waltzing with his son, albeit clumsily. He was excitedly frolicking with his son and certainly not pummeling him as some readers may think. Lines in the second stanza, “we romped until the pans, slid from the kitchen shelf; my mother’s countenance, could not unfrown itself” (Line 5-8), suggests that the child was clearly enthusiastic about the waltz only to the penitence of his concerned mother. To further suggest that the poem is written as a warm nostalgic memory, the author employs a waltzing tune and

Another reoccurring theme in the poem is love. The reader can see from the very beginning that this poem is about someone the speaker loved very much. It’s clear that all the man wants is his dear Lenora back, although that is impossible. Knowing this, the reader can infer that Poe struggled with love in his own life, so much so that he took to writing about it. Although he never comes out directly and says that this is a poem about love, the reader can recognize the deeper meaning of his writings.

Music can inspire person’s emotion positively or negatively in various ways by its rhythms, melodies, and lyrics. In the 1930s, a song, which was named “Gloomy Sunday,” became a phenomenon because it led to many suicides in Hungary. At least eighteen suicides were reported to have had close links “Gloomy Sunday.” The song then became a legend rumor by anguished lyrics goes along with depressing melody which makes the listener has suicidal ideation. The song was banned in many countries for years as a

Some people are never ready to be parents. Even when the baby is about to come out, people aren’t prepared for the life of a parent. It isn’t until you hear your child cry that your instincts flare up and you just take control, and in that moment you are a parent. However not everyone takes control in that moment because even in that moment they just aren’t ready. It’s a tragic topic that ties into two poems: “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke and “The Mother” by Gwendolyn Brooks.

In the poem, My Papa’s Waltz, the speaker, Theodore Roethke, writes about a father and son waltzing. Further investigation suggests there is more going on than a waltz. The poet utilizes figure of speech and a negative toned vocabulary throughout the poem. Thus, alleviating the reader of the harsh truth of an abusive relationship whilst never dehumanizing the father.