“My Papa’s Waltz” Imagery
The poem “My Papa’s Waltz” the author Theodore Roethke talks about his small boy and the relationship he has with his father who is considered drunk or incapable of walking straight, so the boy helps his father. The poem is told from the perspective of the small boy as he addresses his father’s awkward walk since he is considered intoxicated. The relationship they share is expressed by the use of imagery in the poem to show the audience the father’s drunk behaviors and the small boys reactions. The poet uses imagery to explain the amusing moments between the son and his father together. However, parts of this poem shows the fear the son has for his father. The poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke uses kinesthetic …show more content…
The father drank so much that even the boy can smell it on his breathe. This smell in actuality irritates the boy because it even makes it hard for him to be around his father. “Could make a small boy dizzy. But I hung on to him like death: Such waltz was not easy” (Roethke 656). What could be seen as a dance in actuality is the little boy trying to keep up with his drunken father? The constant walking movement of the father that is referred to in the poem as the waltz, causes a disarray of damage in the kitchen as he moves. “We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf” (Roethke 656). The waltz the father and boy share is quite loud, indeed with lots of movement they start to move even the pots and pans in the kitchen. The annoyance this must bring on the small boy unable to control his father and feel helpless gives way to their one-sided …show more content…
The relationship the boy and father is viewed as is a complex one. From the drunken actions the father is described of doing to the boy and the little boy still wanting to be around him through all of these action shows a love and abusive relationship. The poem ends with the father waltzing the boy off to bed but the boy may not want to go to bed because he is seen clinging to his father’s shirt. “Then waltzed me off to bed, still clinging to your shirt” (Roethke 656). Maybe all of this was just a plot to get the boy tired and to get him to sleep.
In the end “My Papa’s Waltz” is well written poem that shows the relationship of the hard to deal with father and the dedicated son who spends every moment of the poem with his father gives meaning to the word family. In the poem no matter wat, the son dealt with the drunken father’s unnecessary actions and the father spent every moment with his son and his loving hold to try and help the father until in the end he waltzed him off to
The poem “My Papa’s Waltz” the author Theodore Roethke talks about his small boy and the relationship he has with his father who is considered drunk or incapable of walking straight, so the boy helps his father. The poem is told from the perspective of the small boy as he addresses his father’s awkward walk since he is considered intoxicated. The relationship they share is expressed by the use of imagery in the poem to show the audience the father’s drunk behaviors and the small boys reactions. The poet uses imagery to explain the amusing moments between the son and his father together. However, parts of this poem shows the fear the son has for his father. The poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke uses kinesthetic …show more content…
The father drank so much that even the boy can smell it on his breathe. This smell in actuality irritates the boy because it even makes it hard for him to be around his father. “Could make a small boy dizzy. But I hung on to him like death: Such waltz was not easy” (Roethke 656). What could be seen as a dance in actuality is the little boy trying to keep up with his drunken father? The constant walking movement of the father that is referred to in the poem as the waltz, causes a disarray of damage in the kitchen as he moves. “We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf” (Roethke 656). The waltz the father and boy share is quite loud, indeed with lots of movement they start to move even the pots and pans in the kitchen. The annoyance this must bring on the small boy unable to control his father and feel helpless gives way to their one-sided …show more content…
The relationship the boy and father is viewed as is a complex one. From the drunken actions the father is described of doing to the boy and the little boy still wanting to be around him through all of these action shows a love and abusive relationship. The poem ends with the father waltzing the boy off to bed but the boy may not want to go to bed because he is seen clinging to his father’s shirt. “Then waltzed me off to bed, still clinging to your shirt” (Roethke 656). Maybe all of this was just a plot to get the boy tired and to get him to sleep.
In the end “My Papa’s Waltz” is well written poem that shows the relationship of the hard to deal with father and the dedicated son who spends every moment of the poem with his father gives meaning to the word family. In the poem no matter wat, the son dealt with the drunken father’s unnecessary actions and the father spent every moment with his son and his loving hold to try and help the father until in the end he waltzed him off to