Kenneth Waltz

In “My Papa’s Waltz,” Roethke uses an extended metaphor, but uses different language to describe it as the poem is read. “My Papa’s Waltz” has the metaphor of dancing throughout the poem, more correctly, waltzing between a father and son. Everything from the description of the fluidity of the dance to the speakers feeling towards the dance helps create a stronger meaning behind the metaphor. Roethke uses dancing as a metaphor for the relationship between the son and the father, according to the…

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…

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. Where the father would pick him up, strap him in his boots and dance with him all throughout the…

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…

Imagine it, a hardworking father coming home to his son after a long day and playing with him, dancing the night away. On the surface, that is what the poem, “My Papa’s Waltz,” is about but a closer look at Roethke’s choice of words, the poem’s imagery, emotions, and irony reveals a painful and probably confusing encounter between a boy and his drunken father. The poem shows how some things that are bad can be described as good. Many people believe that Theodore Roethke was the small boy in the…

My Papa's Waltz In the poem my “ My Papa’s Waltz”, written by Theodore Roethke is sought to show a grief emotion of sorrow that the narrator is experiencing with his father. He provides hints and uses imagery and personification to conceal the truth about what is occurring in his life. Although, the poem may sound simple and easy to understand “ My Papa’s Waltz” is really a complex narrative of parental love and abuse. As, the story is being told he incorporates a song that has a beautiful…

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. It all depends on which words stand out to the reader.…

My Papa 's Waltz, by Theodore Roethke is a lyrical poem told by the narrator looking back on his relationship with his father when he was a young boy. It is an iambic trimeter written with an ABAB rhyme scheme. There is a definite mixed tone in the poem and depending on perspective, it can be read as light and playful, or dark and violent. The boy obviously cares very deeply for his father, but there are undertones of a darker side filled with abuse, violence and alcoholism. The waltz could be…

Similar to ‘Half-Past Two’ the poem ‘My Papa’s Waltz’ includes an authority figure of whom abuses their power over the child; in ‘Half-Past Two’ the teacher forgets about the child then when she remembers she attempts to blame the child for his own lateness, while in ‘My Papa’s Waltz’ the child and father are in a possibly physical and corporal relationship yet the child loves his father nonetheless. The strong feeling I will discuss in ‘My Papa’s Waltz’ is the fondness the child has of the…

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…