What Is The Tone Of My Papa's Waltz

“My Papa's Waltz”, by Theodore Roethke, and “Those Winter Sundays”, by Robert Hayden are the two poems that are somewhat similar and both of these poems are about beloved fathers. Father is the man who is spends time with you and takes care of you. While doing so much for the family he gains the respect and love from the family. In these two poems Roethke and Hayden take a flashback at the actions of their fathers. Even though both of these poems propose that their fathers were not perfect, they still love them.

In "My Papa 's Waltz", Theodore Roethke expressed the vivid remembrance of his childhood and his father 's boisterous behavior. Roethke condoned his father 's drunkenness, manhandling and negligence, yet remembers his everlasting affection for his "papa". This indicates Roethke 's unconditional love towards his father. Even though he was getting hurt by his father 's lapses, he willingly carried on the waltz ‘till he went to bed. The poet expressed his father 's actions uncaring and rough through the violent imagery associated with the smell of whiskey on his breath, his battered knuckle and his son 's ear being scraped.

A 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.

My Papa’s Waltz, in my belief, is metaphorically speaking about an alcoholic father who abuses his child. Delivering the reader complete contentment is clearly not a main priority in this poem. Struggle is clearly present in this case where "Such waltzing was not easy"(4). The son "hung on like death” (3) builds a dark, unsettling image in one's mind and creates a feeling of suspense that is hard to ignore. Exultance is obtained in most cases

I believe Roethke decided to use the title “My Papa’s Waltz” instead of “My Father’s Waltz” because the poem is about a memory from his childhood. The simile “hung on like death” gives us a good idea of how hard the speaker tries to keep his balance while “waltzing” with his father (lines 3-4). The facial expression of the speaker’s mother “could not unfrown itself” (8). The speaker’s mother appears to be annoyed because he and his father are making a mess in the kitchen. Even though I believe this poem can be interpreted in different ways, I feel that the speaker is portraying a positive image of his father.

Sometimes it can be difficult for sons to understand the lessons that fathers teach to them, leading to a disconnect between the two. This is the case for the son and his father in David Bottoms’ “Sign for My Father, Who Stressed the Bunt.” As a child, the speaker lacks appreciation for his father, yet nevertheless they share a common love. As an adult, reminiscing on his baseball experiences with his father, the son through his retrospective point of view now appreciates his father for all his father did. This poem employs diction and varying points of view to emphasize the lack of understanding between the two characters, while symbols and figurative comparisons express their mutual love; this poem analyzes the loving, yet dysfunctional relationship

“Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden has much significance throughout it, the poem is generally about an adult reflecting back to his childhood having regrets for not appreciating his father's love. Hayden describes a father to son relationship for the reader. This poem can be similar to the quote “ you don’t what you’ve got until it's taking away” Hayden uses imagery, diction, and emotional appeal to make it relatable to the readers. Hayden writes this poem figuratively using imagery to provide the reader with a vivid ideal for example “Blueback cold” shows imagery of how cold those winter Sundays really were, and “Blueblack cold can also be used metaphorically here to describe the bruise on the child heart from the feeling of thinking he was unloved throughout his childhood. All love is shown in a different manner you just have to understand the

Things such as “blueblack cold”(2), and “banked fires blaze”(5), show the sort of exaggeration of the endures his father did for him. The poet’s vivid words help the reader conjure visions in of a hard working father up alone in the cold darkness, all for his child.The poet also uses more figurative language, like

MLA Heading Title While the subject of “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke has spurred passionate academic debate from professors, scholars, and students alike, the imagery, syntax, and diction of the poem clearly support the interpretation that Roethke writes “My Papa’s Waltz” to reminisce on a fond recollection of dancing and spending time with his father as a young boy. Roethke’s use of phrasing and diction allows for the reader to interpret contrasting meanings and storylines. On one hand people view the poem as a playful memory of Roethke and his father dancing through their home and having fun with each other. 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.

Meanwhile, the speaker’s tone and word usage in “My Papa’s Waltz” conveys several interpretations such as a father’s love and devotion toward his son while, simultaneously, showing a son’s reflection of love and resentment toward his father in later years. One interpretation of Roethke’s work is in respect to the father: he is a fun-loving, devoted father, since he makes his son’s trip to bed interesting by “waltzing.” The author’s word choice he uses for imagery in the poem’s title acoustically paints a fun picture in the reader’s mind initially by referring to a papa’s waltz. The words papa and waltz have an initial connotation of affection and happy, respectfully, which invokes the reader to believe “Papa” is affectionate and has an energetic or happy walk about him. Subsequently, the speaker says, “We romped until the pans / Slid from the kitchen shelf;” (Roethke) [lines 5-6]. These lines show that the father does in fact have an energetic walk about him.