My Father's Song Poem Analysis
Billions of people live in this world, each one taking part in countless relationships. These relationships form through the various interactions of everyday life. There are the relationships between friends, teachers and their students, and even the relationships between pets and their owners, all of which develop unique and amiable friendships over time. These relationships, however, often end and cannot withstand life’s hard ways, leaving only the strongest and deepest bond to survive the storms—the bond within the family. Simon J. Ortiz and Robert Hayden both depict this family bond differently in their poems. In “My Father’s Song,” Ortiz describes the caring and tender relationship between a father and his son. Hayden, however speaks in …show more content…
Speaking in past tense, Ortiz seems to hint that this man’s father must either be gone or have passed away. The son tells of the memorable days farming with his father. He even recalls the exact feelings and details of one particular time saying, “I remember the soft damp sand / in my hand” (11-12). Throughout the poem we see a continual use of the pronoun “we.” The speaker describes his experiences with his father, saying, “We planted corn one Spring at Acu— / we planted several times / […] We took them to the edge”(8-9, 21). The frequency of this word suggests that the father and son regularly spent time with each other, not completing daily tasks separately, but together. This type of unity will often improve the dynamic of a loving relationship. To further emphasize the pleasant father-son relationship, Ortiz writes his poem in a soft, warm tone. His word choices and illustrations aid in creating this calm atmosphere. Utilizing words like “soft,” “cool,” “gently,” and “warm”; Ortiz gives his poem a calm appearance. Words such as these help the sentences to flow flawlessly, reflecting the father and son’s tender relationship with each other. Ortiz also fills his poem with lively descriptions of pleasant experiences between the father-son duo. The son shares of a time when he and his father came across a nest of mice, …show more content…
“My Father’s Song” describes the close, tender relationship between a father and his son, while “Those Winter Sundays” depicts a more distant, strained relationship between the father and his family. Ortiz’s lively descriptions of pleasant memories, illustrate how the father’s interactions with his son reveal his love and strengthen their relationship. A darker, emotionless tone fills Hayden’s poem as he emphasizes a father’s austere, yet sacrificial love toward his family. These poems both set different examples of how some families choose live out the bond between one
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.
My Papa's Waltz And Those Winter Sundays Analysis
871 Words | 4 PagesA Father’s Affection “My Papa’s Waltz” and “Those Winter Sundays” describe a character who reflects on their childhood. Although they based on the same theme, the two poems have very different perspectives. “Those Winter Sundays” talks about how the son regrets for not showing his love for his father, when all his actions went unnoticed. “My Papa’s Waltz” reflects on a son 's memory with is father where his danced around the house after the father long day at work. Both poems reflect on how their fathers showed his love for his son, the time spent with their fathers, a maternal conflict, and their relationship with their father.
Poem Analysis Of 'A Story' By Li-Young Lee
793 Words | 4 PagesThe poem “A Story” by Li-Young Lee depicts the complex relationship between a boy and his father when the boy asks his father for a story and he can’t come up with one. When you’re a parent your main focus is to make your child happy and to meet all the expectations your child meets. When you come to realize a certain expectation can’t satisfy the person you love your reaction should automatically be to question what would happen if you never end up satisfying them. When the father does this he realizes the outcome isn’t what he’d hope for. He then finally realizes that he still has time to meet that expectation and he isn’t being rushed.
Connotation In My Papa's Waltz
902 Words | 4 PagesThe relationship between father and son is one that is both sacred, yet complex as each side of the relationship faces hardships. This relationship between a son and his role model, a father and his child, is one, has its ups, but one must also know it has downs. In Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz,” Roethke’s use of ambiguity through diction allows room for the audience to interpret the text in a positive or a negative way, representing the relationship between a father and a son, which on the outside can be interpreted in an either positive or a negative way. Roethke’s use of diction creates an element of confusion for the audience of his poem.
Analysis Of Morning Rain By Sigrid Nunez
1001 Words | 5 Pages‘Morning Rain’ by Hisaye Yamamoto and ‘Chang’ by Sigrid Nunez are short stories in the center of which remains a father – daughter relationship motif. It is not a very common topic in Asian American literature, and according to Wong and Santa Ana its representation in a literary texts is ‘a fairly recent phenomenon.’ Both Yamamoto and Nunez are creating the picture of the fathers through the eyes of their daughters. In these short stories, the children are discovering various parts of their dads’ identities by looking at their words and silences. The latter aspect of their behaviour becomes especially important, in understanding the true selves of the fathers, as they are an extremely quiet characters.
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
Contradiction In The Road By Cormac Mccarthy
1529 Words | 7 PagesIn everyday life, there are so many people worth to love and worth for giving them much affection. But have you ever thought, who is your dearest? For everyone, the answer may be grandparents, mothers, siblings or friends. For the boy in McCarthy's novel,"The Road", his father's image will forever be the sacred fire that warms his soul forever. "The Road" written by McCarthy not only about the relationship between a father and his son but also about the contradiction in itself every human.
Compare And Contrast Sylvia Plath And My Papa's Waltz
846 Words | 4 PagesComparing and contrasting Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy” and Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz”, one finds the two poems are similar with their themes of abuse, yet contrasting with how the themes are portrayed. Furthermore, the speaker 's feelings toward their fathers’ in each poem contrast. One speaker was hurt by the father and the other speaker was indifferent about how he was treated by his father. The fathers’ feelings toward the children are also different despite how each treated the child. Both poems accurately portray the parent-child relationships within an abusive home, even if they have different
My Papa's Waltz Devices Analysis
563 Words | 3 PagesAlthough “Papa” may not be the most sensitive man around, but he is still to be a hero in his son's eyes. Referring from the title of “My Papa’s Waltz”, “Papa” does not seem like he’s being violent intentionally but not accidentally hurting his son. This poem also, symbolizes dance in the relationship of a father and
Examples Of Loneliness In The Road By Cormac Mccarthy
863 Words | 4 Pages“You remember what you want to forget and you forget what you want to remember,” (McCarthy 12). With most aspects of life, the horrendous moments are the times that no one can erase. This applied to The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Towards the end of the novel when the son loses his father proves to be the most indelible moment with the assistance of the feelings experienced during that part. The son encounters a variety of emotions including loneliness, loss and hope.
Alliteration In 'Sonrisas' By Pat Mora
493 Words | 2 PagesThe peaceful melody of this new room allows the reader to have a more relaxed and trusting mindset about this group of women. In addition, a lullaby is a song a mother sings to a child, giving these women motherly qualities in the reader’s mind. Because these women seem sweet, gentle, and motherly, the poet conveys that they are genuine and can be trusted. Though the world in “Sonrisas” may be fictional, through her usage of poetic devices Pat Mora paints an accurate picture of real life, where not everyone means everything that they
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.
Elegy For My Father Who Is Not Dead Poem Analysis
1043 Words | 5 PagesThere are many poems that discuss the relationship between a poet and their parents. The poets Andrew Hudgins and Dylan Thomas were in their late 30s when they wrote poems about their fathers. Thomas ' father was ill during the time that he wrote the poem. It is unknown if Hudgin 's father was ill during writing of his poem (Kirszner & Mandell 890-891). Andrew Hudgin 's poem, “Elegy for My Father, Who is Not Dead,” and Dylan Thomas ' poem, “Do not go gentle into that good night,” explore their feelings of their fathers ' imminent deaths.
Eating Alone Li Young Lee Analysis
437 Words | 2 PagesThe techniques, such as, imagery and tone, help create the theme of memory and loneliness throughout the poem. The poem is very simple and complex as the same time where the speaker is using simple everyday objects to represent life and death. Using those literary techniques, Lee creates a tone and image of grief over the father’s death where the speaker lives through his memories leaving him forever
Song Analysis Of The Relationship Between Walls Family And Their Father
171 Words | 1 Pages, also shows how the family never learned how to truly love someone. They were all in an abusive relationship with their father. As this song progresses, it changes from a soft singing with piano, to shouting over guitar-riffs. I feel that this accurately describes life for the
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