14 Jan. 2017. Fong explains ‘’My Papa’s Waltz” as a seesaw balancing the elements of joy and fear. He claims Roethke depicted the fathers “mixture of tenderness and brutality” and the child’s “admiration and fear”. He includes the claims of different critics and how a reader’s personal experience with alcohol could influence their opinions. Janssen, Ronald R. "…
As I began to read the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke I could not help but to feel mad at the the person with the smell of whiskey on his breath. But halfway through the story I began to notice that some of the words like “waltzing”, “romped” seemed to contradict my negative reading of the poem. There are two contradicting images that are created by the poem and one can see a negative experience or a fun and enjoyable experience depending on the interpretation. But as I read the new critics interpretation “that connotes Physical control to the point of manipulation and even abuse on the father’s part”, I could not help but disagree because the poem makes sense if you believe that this poem is being described through the eyes of…
In Theodore Roethke “My Papa’s Waltz” poem, readers will find one of two stories. The story of a hard-working, affectionate father or an abusive one that drinks too much. The interpretation depends solely on the readers’ perspective. The speaker is reflecting on a childhood memory involving his father. The speaker describes a beautiful but dangerous game that he and his father played as a child.…
“My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke is the second poem that was studied. The poem tells about a young boy clinging to his father as the two of them ramble throughout the house until the father puts the boy to bed. Visual imagery is used when Roethke writes, “I hung on like death/ such waltzing was not easy” (3-4). This gives me an image of a young boy clinging to his father’s waist, even as the father loses his balance, drunk from whiskey.…
Roethke poem, “My Papa’s Waltz”, presents a father and son spending quality time together after coming home from a day of work. As the small boy interacts with his dad, the smell of whisky coming off his dad’s breath could make the boy dizzy. They romped around the kitchen while the mother’s face could not unfrown itself. As the wrestling and aggravation come to a waltzing to the bed, the small boy clings to his dad’s shirt not wanting to leave his dad. “My Papa’s Waltz” presents a man reminiscing on a happy memory that he has of his father.…
When the reader first analyzes the poem, it naturally comes of as harsh or scary. The first thought that comes to mind is that the drunken father is abusing the child. Although after further analysis of the poem it seems as though that is not the case. The poem doesn’t sound as though it was the happiest memory of the child’s life, but it wasn’t a memory he feared either. In the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” written by Theodore Roethke, the speaker’s experience seems to be a positive one based on the rhythm and word choice.…
In the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, a very sad poem was about how the writer was being beaten by his father. The author’s use of the word “waltz” symbolizes the abuse that he had to go through. The author experienced being abused physically and emotionally by his dad. The father was also an alcoholic, hence "The whiskey on your breath, Could make a small boy dizzy". The father must have made many mistakes in his life and had it reflect onto his son.…
Papa is an informal way of referring to your father, one with more emotional ties. The connotative meaning is something more unsettling and the waltz becomes a form of abuse. “I hung on like death” (Theodore Roethke, 1035) and “Still clinging to your shirt” (Roethke, 1035) just as we cling to our partner when we dance with them but a bit less desperate. It becomes clear that his father was abusive “At every step you missed My right ear scraped a buckle”(Roethke, 1035), “You beat time on my head With a palm caked hard by dirt” (Roethke, 1035) and the small boy is clinging onto hope.…
Domestic abuse. This is something we take very seriously nowadays, but in the early- to mid-1900’s, it was not as easily reported. Why you might ask? There were not as many resources for reporting domestic abuse. Therefore, “My Papa’s Waltz” may not be about domestic abuse.…
The title could have been “Papa’s waltz” or “The waltz” which both implies a more neutral tone when compared to “My Papa’s waltz”. Not only does the word “My” tell that this is “my dad” and he dances, but it is the special kind of waltz which is so unique that can only be done by “my dad”, the special kind of waltz which belongs to no one besides “my dad”. It shows the poet’s pride towards his beloved father and how he treasures the memory and the time. It is the memory only belongs to him and his…
Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” is a poem that contradicts itself as a whole many times. When reading it, there are two contrasting ideas that can be visualized. He uses certain words that are playful while also using words that have a clearly negative connotation to tell this story between a father and son. Other times, there is ambiguity in the phrases he chooses. Even the rhythm of the poem can have different meanings to different people.…
But because the boy loves his father, it is hard for the boy to hold on to him during his drunken scenes. The father’s battered hands could also imply the father’s masculinity. For example, how hard the father works at his job, which the boy probably realizes by now. The son probably learns what it means to be a man from his…
“My Papa’s Waltz Tone” “My Papa’s Waltz” is a poem that can be both interpreted as “bitter” and as “sweet”. Depending upon how one views it, there are both parts that represent “bitter” and also parts that represent “sweet”. The parts that are seen as “sweet” visually describe the boys affection to his father and also the bonding between the father and son. The parts that are seen as “bitter” visually describes the fathers appearance and his actions. The quote “Life is about change.…
Theodore Roethke's poem My Papa's Waltz depicts a unique portrayal of a father from a child's point of view. The words in his poem bring to life a memory that he is clearly fond of and are written in such a way that the audience will be able to have a glimpse into his experience as a child. Roethke's recollection of a child's experience presents vivid imagery that lends the audience the opportunity to make assumptions about the author's father. Through the vivid images that Roethke's lines provoke, the audience learns of the father's habits, general nature, and influence on his child.…
Theodore Roethke had a complicated relationship with his father. He loved the man, but feared him at the same time. “My Papa’s Waltz” can be interpreted as a story of a child afraid of a violent alcoholic father or a child having a playful romp with his dad before bedtime. Through unique imagery and word choices, Roethke 's poem presents the idea that people can look back after having an unhealthy relationship with a loved one and still have an unconditional love for them. "My Papa 's Waltz" explains a moment in a family; a father and son dancing around in the kitchen and a mother watching.…