He Loves Me
In the poem "My Papa 's Waltz" written by Theodore Roethke, most readers believe that it is about abuse. Is it possible? Of course it is, it depends on who’s reading the poem and their interpretation of the poem. The use of language, diction, imagery, and symbols, along with the tone helps to influence how readers come to their own conclusion on what the poem is really about. I choose to look at the poem in a brighter light. With so much negativity in the world and with so many children growing up without fathers or father figures I believe this poem is more positive than it initially seems. I choose to look at the poem base on the relationship. This poem is about a loving father spending time with his son.
The poem is written in iambic meter and uses slant rhymes and exact rhyme. The poem also mimics a waltz, which is a dance that is measured in triple time. This causes it to read in a certain manner. The diction in this poem plays to the reader 's mind and sense of rhythm. Imagery and symbolism are used to suggest possible abuse, however, it is important to keep in mind …show more content…
The speaker shares with us that the father’s knuckles are battered and his palms are dirty, which tells me that he is a hardworking man. When the speaker refers to his ear scraping the fathers’ belt buckle, this isn’t a sign of abuse. The boy is small and only comes to his father’s waist, so “At every step missed” there were times when his ear would meet the buckle of the belt. That in no way is a sign of abuse, and there is no mention of pain or blood. The fact that the father is holding on to his son’s wrist instead of his hands has been viewed as abusive. The child again is small and it is difficult to hold a child’s hand as you would an adult while dancing. So the father holds on to his son’s wrist to ensure that as they are dancing he does lose grip of his tiny
In the poem "My Papa 's Waltz" written by Theodore Roethke, most readers believe that it is about abuse. Is it possible? Of course it is, it depends on who’s reading the poem and their interpretation of the poem. The use of language, diction, imagery, and symbols, along with the tone helps to influence how readers come to their own conclusion on what the poem is really about. I choose to look at the poem in a brighter light. With so much negativity in the world and with so many children growing up without fathers or father figures I believe this poem is more positive than it initially seems. I choose to look at the poem base on the relationship. This poem is about a loving father spending time with his son.
The poem is written in iambic meter and uses slant rhymes and exact rhyme. The poem also mimics a waltz, which is a dance that is measured in triple time. This causes it to read in a certain manner. The diction in this poem plays to the reader 's mind and sense of rhythm. Imagery and symbolism are used to suggest possible abuse, however, it is important to keep in mind …show more content…
The speaker shares with us that the father’s knuckles are battered and his palms are dirty, which tells me that he is a hardworking man. When the speaker refers to his ear scraping the fathers’ belt buckle, this isn’t a sign of abuse. The boy is small and only comes to his father’s waist, so “At every step missed” there were times when his ear would meet the buckle of the belt. That in no way is a sign of abuse, and there is no mention of pain or blood. The fact that the father is holding on to his son’s wrist instead of his hands has been viewed as abusive. The child again is small and it is difficult to hold a child’s hand as you would an adult while dancing. So the father holds on to his son’s wrist to ensure that as they are dancing he does lose grip of his tiny