Theodore Roethke

Fong, Bobby. "Roethke's `My Papa's Waltz'." College Literature 17.1 (1990): 78. Academic Search Premier. Web. 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. "Roethke's MY PAPA's…

My Papa’s Waltz Sometimes memories are more powerful than the events themselves. Theodore Roethke utilized the poetic devices of similes, metaphors, and alliterations to demonstrate a vivid experience of the power of a memory. Theodore Roethke, a well-known poet, wrote a narrative poem called My Papa’s Waltz. The theme of the poem is to cherish memories that occur with your family such as: Dad, Mom, and Grandparents. The subject of the poem is to show that the reader should enjoy the fun…

“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…

reminiscing can change our mood and how much joy it brings. A trip down memory lane is priceless and good for the soul. We get to visit with our loved ones, who are no longer with us, or those far away. In the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” written by Theodore Roethke, the speaker, reminisces back to his childhood with his father. The speaker reflects—through the rhythm, word choice, theme, and tone—on the ritual of the special nightly bedtime waltz that father and son…

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…

depth. Each poetic element is chosen by the writer to add meaning to the poem, the meaning of the element is left up to the reader to interpret. The Waking, Theodore Roethke uses literary elements to talk about how there is not much one can do about their density so relax and enjoy life. “I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow” (Roethke 1). is mentioned multiple times throughout the poem. Waking is life and sleep is death, thus he means I live to die and take my life slow. This portrays…

While this poem may not be directly related to the writing process, I feel Hughes and Roethke may have had similar opinions on the origins of creativity. Hughes talks of a thought as “Coming about its own business” (line 20); Similarly, Roethke talks about coming to learn (or write) just by showing up. These two would seem to think creativity is an arbitrary bombshell coming about on its own, and in order to find…

The poem “Elegy for Jane” by Theodore Roethke is a free verse poem in which a teacher reflects on the death of one of his former students. He is heartbroken over the tragic event. However, it is unclear what kind of relationship between the teacher and student. Audiences who read the poem might believe that the teacher and student are in some kind of romantic relationship, but they relationship is nothing more than just a student and teacher. This poem demonstrate the reflection of Jane’s death…

paper weight," (Roethke lines 1-2) In the very first two lines of the poem the narrator paints the vivid picture of an office worker struggling with every day life. Early in the poem Roethke starts by using repetition giving the reader the beauty of a poem coupled with the sadness of everyday office life. Roethke wants the reader to feel the sadness oozing from the office worker and he does so with clever repetition, alliteration and strong personification. "Dolor" by Theorore Roethke is a…

can be can completely indifferent to all it’s beauty, and thus taking life for granted. In the poem “Spring” by Edna St. Vincent Millay, it is communicated that spring is deceiving and it is shown that there is no point to life. “The Waking” by Theodore Roethke is more about going with the flow and appreciating life as is. The poems are similar because they both approach death and what is to come. Whereas, the two poems are different in their theme, tone, and use of literary devices. Both…