The Meaning Of My Papa's Waltz By Theodore Roethke
Theodore Roethke’s poem ‘My Papa’s Waltz’ always inspires many conflicting and interesting opinions from readers concerning the author’s intended meaning when penning down the poem. Despite the poem being fairly brief, it is evident that the poet made clever use of rhythm, which initiate elaborate and emotional conversations about what the poem could possibly mean. There are many opinions about what Theodore meant in the poem.
Some are of the opinion that the poem is a reflection of alcoholism and child abuse. Many condemn the father in the poem for allegedly inflicting pain upon the young boy. A second group thinks that the poem is simply an elegiac tribute of a son to his father and denotes playfulness and love between the father and his
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The title of the poem where the poet uses the word ‘papa’ to refer to his father sets an affectionate mood. If there was no affection between them, the poet would instead have used more formal words such as father or old man. The bond between them seems very close and they play with each other from when the father comes home to the last stanza when the father takes the son to bed. When the father comes home, despite smelling terribly of whisky, the son still clings on to him. If the father was abusive towards him, the son would not have run to him when he came home. However, he loves his father very much and still wants to play with him and be close to him no matter how pungent he …show more content…
According to the dictionary, to waltz is when a pair dances around rhythmically all over the dance floor. The title of the poem is ‘my papa’s waltz’ and he again says ‘such waltzing was not easy’. Thus, despite the father being drunk and presumably staggering and with little stability, he still struggled to dance with his son all over the place. This shows the affection and close bond between them. The pans slid from the shelf to the floor because of all the playing the two were doing
Comparing Poems 'Those Winder Sundays And' The Possessive
932 Words | 4 Pageshe explains how his father’s motive for loving him and raising becomes a challenge for the son to accept, because of his adolescent behavior and likewise in Sharon Old’s poem “The Possessive” the narrator would describe how uncomfortable she felt when she her daughter grow up too fast. Both poems use a narrative that suggest that there are
Why Does Theodore Roethke Use Ambiguous Language
119 Words | 1 PagesIn “My Papa’s Waltz,” poet Theodore Roethke uses sensory details and ambiguous language to persuade both the boy and the reader that the boy still loves his father, despite him being an alcoholic. On the third sentence of the first stanza, Roethke uses ambiguous language by stating: “But I hung on like death. Such waltzing was not easy.” Although this plainly means that the boy was holding onto his father without ease, it can be interpreted in another way; the boy still loves his father, even though it is hard to love him with his alcoholism at times, and the boy still loves his father very much. The boy is reflecting on this idea while waltzing with his
My Papas Waltz Analysis
657 Words | 3 PagesThe imagery of “My Papas Waltz” can clearly be understood as a father waltzing with his son in the kitchen, tapping the beat too his son’s head, and his ear scraping his buckle against his child’s ear. The poem is playful when the poem says, “At every step you missed/ My right ear scraped a buckle” (Roethke lines 11-12).
My Papa's Waltz Literary Devices
551 Words | 3 PagesThe next two lines say, “hung on like death” and “ waltzing was not easy” this shows that the child stands by their father and it wasn’t that easy. Continuing with the second stanza the child describes more about going through this crazy life. “ We romped until the pans/ Slid from the shelf;/ My mother’s countenance/ Could not unfrown itself”. The first two lines of the stanza say that the child and their father keep trying in life through the good and bad times.
My Papa's Waltz Syntax
560 Words | 3 Pages“My Papa’s Waltz,” written by Theodore Roethke, tells of a boy's waltz with his father. While light on the surface, the words hint that there may be a darker nature to the poem. The father, who is a hard-working laborer, has different sides to him that leave the son with ambivalent feelings. Told from the first person point of view of the son, the speaker describes the details of a waltz while his mother simply stands to the side. Theodore Roethke’s poem, “My Papa’s Waltz,” uses an extended metaphor and carefully placed syntax in order to portray the complex relationship between the speaker and his father with a light tone.
Compare And Contrast My Papa's Waltz And Those Winter Sundays
648 Words | 3 PagesThe use of the phrase "Sundays too my father got up early" (Hayden, line 1) creates a sense of routine and repetition, emphasizing the father's commitment to his family. The tone is also tinged with regret, as the speaker reflects on how he never “thanked" (Hayden, line 5) his father for his sacrifices. This suggests a sense of missed opportunities and a deeper complexity to the father-son relationship. Lastly, both poems use sound devices to enhance the emotional impact of the language. Roethke's poem uses alliteration, with the repeated "w" sounds in "waltzed me off to bed" (Roethke, line 15) creating a sense of movement and rhythm.
Comparing Poems My Papa's Waltz And Those Winter Sundays
691 Words | 3 PagesOne symbol in “My Papa’s Waltz” would be the dancing in general. We can easily see that the boy is having a hard time doing that dance. “My right ear scraped a buckle” (line 12). “You beat time on my head” (line 13). Although the dance was difficult for the boy, he still hung on to his father.
My Papa's Waltz And Those Winter Sundays Analysis
871 Words | 4 PagesThe father/son relationship are shown in both poems. Both are adults reflecting on their past. “My Papa’s Waltz” is about how the father would dance daily with the son. Although it was painful when he sometimes missed a step and his “right ear scraped a buckle”, this was a memorable memory for the son (Line 8). The poem has a happy tone of the sons childhood days.
Connotation In My Papa's Waltz
902 Words | 4 PagesAnother example of this, in the last stanza, lines 15-16, is made as Roethke notes “[t]hen waltzed me off to bed/[s]till clinging to your shirt.” The last lines of the poem show the true relationship at the end of all the confusion lost in the midst of the middle of the poem. The father loves his son and waltzes him to bed and the boy, loving his father, slings to his shirt to stay with him. The poem expresses the confusion and complexity created in a relationship such as this one between father and son, but at the end, the confusion is unnecessary and what prevails is not the negatives, but instead the positive aspect of
My Papa's Waltz And Those Winter Sundays
683 Words | 3 PagesEvery story consists of different elements, such as characters, plotlines, and settings. Nonetheless, many stories portray the same messages or ideas. “My Papa’s Waltz,” by Theodore Roethke, depicts a reckless father who is loved by his child, while “Those Winter Sundays,” by Robert Hayden, depicts a hardworking father whose child is indifferent to him. Though the poems depict exceptionally different childhoods, both contribute to the idea that perceptions of parents alter as one grows into adulthood. Both poems use harsh words and critical tones in order to convey this notion, however in “My Papa’s Waltz,” they signify the recklessness of the father and how the narrator perceives his father as an adult, while in “Those Winter Sundays,” they
My Papa's Waltz Devices Analysis
563 Words | 3 PagesA father and son romping around in the kitchen as the mother is looking. While others may view this poem as a family torn by a father's misfortunes. In line 1, the word “Whiskey” gives some characteristics of the fathers crooked ways. Continuing on, the signs of foul play and roughness with his hands, "battered on one knuckle", and "a palm caked hard by dirt".(11-14) More so, some of “Papa” few escapes most likely consist of a drink when he gets home from a rough day. Concluding, “Papa”makes his own family feel very uncomfortable around him.
Figurative Language In My Papa's Waltz
588 Words | 3 PagesIn 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.
Analysis Of My Papas Waltz By Theodore Roethke
764 Words | 4 PagesRoethke’s My Papas Waltz Many literary scholars, researchers and readers in general, driven by intrigue, have tried to dissect, analyze, and interpret the ambiguous meaning of Theodore Roethke’s poem, “My Papa’s Waltz.” Their explications however, result in ambivalent, and sometimes controversial views. Some critics argue that “My Papas Waltz,” portrays the physical violence inflicted by a father to his child.
What Is The Theme Of Violence In 'My Papa's Waltz'
664 Words | 3 PagesThis portrays emotional abuse that explores the possibilities of a toxic father-son dynamic. The line “But I hung on like death” then continues to imply that the father’s careless attitude is hurting the little boy internally. These images give insightful pictures to an unhealthy relationship caused by psychological violence. The speaker then adds a more positive image of dancing with, “Such waltzing was not easy” and “We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf,”. Although most associate Waltzing as an enjoyable dance, it is in reality a metaphor that represents the relationship he has with his father.
What Is The Tone Of Sylvia Plath's Daddy
304 Words | 2 Pages“Daddy” was a brutal, venomous, and painful allegory about a victim freeing themselves from their deceased father. Plath uses similes and metaphors to cast the father to several figures like a black shoe, a giant statue, a swastika, and a vampire. The speaker casted themselves as a victim ending up in some strange places like, in a black shoe or in a sack, expressing her pain of not being able to breathe properly and trying to escape. The speaker reveals how the isolation they felt after the death of her father lead to her journey of consuming their own mind into adulthood. As the poem progress the Plath uses a lot of disturbing Holocaust imagery of the violent suffering of the Jews creating a vitriolic tone to express the speaker’s hatred
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