A Negative Experience In this poem, it is decided whether or not a father treats his son well or not. The poem conveys a very broad spectrum through the ways that the son is treated and the items that are discussed. It seems like the son is unsure of what is going on throughout the story and during the events that occur and are discussed, the context seems to change that idea a few times. “My Papa’s Waltz” written by Theodore Roethke displays a negative experience for the child through tone, rhyme, and diction. The tone that is expressed in this poem is confused and angry. The speaker who is a child in this text is unable to really locate the exact understanding that is going on during the entire poem. He is just following his father around
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The rhyming that happens in the poem deals with exact or slant rhyming. In the text, the rhyming includes text that says: “Was battered on one knuckle (10). As well as, “My right ear scraped a buckle” (12). Knuckle is compared to buckle because it conveys exact rhyming. This examines the way that the child is physically injured during the waltz that he and his father do together. This is something that shows a negative experience to the child that also displays that he is actually aware of some of the actions that happen. To further illustrate this idea, exact rhyming occurs in the text: “With a palm caked hard by dirt” (14). And, “Still clinging to your shirt” (16). In this quote, it refers to exact rhyming how the speaker is beaten so much on the ground that he has dirt covering his palms of his hands. He also is still clinging on to the father’s shirt as he is dragged to bed because he is still looking for some sign of hope that maybe the father still loves him and did not really mean to do what he did. On the other hand, slant rhyming is displayed in the poem with: “Could make a small boy dizzy” (2). As well as, “Such waltzing was not easy” (4). The author makes this comparison so that the reader will be able to understand the situation that is presented. In other words, this quote explains how the father is very intoxicated and it is difficult for the son to be able to keep up with the pace that the father is making
The rhyming that happens in the poem deals with exact or slant rhyming. In the text, the rhyming includes text that says: “Was battered on one knuckle (10). As well as, “My right ear scraped a buckle” (12). Knuckle is compared to buckle because it conveys exact rhyming. This examines the way that the child is physically injured during the waltz that he and his father do together. This is something that shows a negative experience to the child that also displays that he is actually aware of some of the actions that happen. To further illustrate this idea, exact rhyming occurs in the text: “With a palm caked hard by dirt” (14). And, “Still clinging to your shirt” (16). In this quote, it refers to exact rhyming how the speaker is beaten so much on the ground that he has dirt covering his palms of his hands. He also is still clinging on to the father’s shirt as he is dragged to bed because he is still looking for some sign of hope that maybe the father still loves him and did not really mean to do what he did. On the other hand, slant rhyming is displayed in the poem with: “Could make a small boy dizzy” (2). As well as, “Such waltzing was not easy” (4). The author makes this comparison so that the reader will be able to understand the situation that is presented. In other words, this quote explains how the father is very intoxicated and it is difficult for the son to be able to keep up with the pace that the father is making