Theodore Roethke

Jianou Gao Instructor: Jennifer Alberghini ENG165H October 13, 2016 Family affection is an important part of the life, and everyone has some special memories that related to the family. “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke is a poem that describe a scene of a family, which is the mother looks at the father and the son who are romping around and dancing in the kitchen. It seems like a normal scene of a family, however, this poem makes readers confused about the relationship of this family, that…

“My Papa’s Waltz” is a poem written by Theodore Roethke in 1941. His poem is structured around a young boy’s relationship with his intoxicated father. The story takes place in the 1940’s. The family couldn’t have had television at that time, so probably a radio instead. The rhythm of a waltz could’ve been initiated from a radio. But, the author uses symbolism such as the waltz, to describe the boy’s relationship to his father. The speaker uses various themes such as family, respect, manliness,…

In the poem “My Papa’s Waltz,” Theodore Roethke develops the idea that complicated family relationships teach lessons for the future, it prevents an individual from missing a step in life. The poet uses imagery and metaphors to enhance the theme of the poem. Individuals can portray the images developed by the poet differently but the same theme is taken from these images. The first stanza in the poem already depicts the idea of complicated relationships being compared to the waltz, which…

realized it was much more and a puzzle piece to the author’s past. Theodore Roethke, the author of “My Papa’s Waltz,” was a victim of an early childhood death. His father died tragically of cancer…

“My Papa’s Waltz” Author Theodore Roethke wrote “My Papa’s Waltz”. Is a poem where the father is introduced as papa, and son is helping the father once more as they reenact the waltz through the house because he has been drinking too much. The son, and father have a close relationship because he doesn’t call him dad or “father” like most do. The young boy calls him “papa” in the poem as he helps him through the kitchen. Since papa is drunk again, the mom who is also there does not help him, and…

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…

Theodore Roethke’s poem “My Papa’s Waltz” is an interesting poem because of the different ways it can be interpreted. While there are many ways readers interpret the poem, the two extremes usually lie between an alcoholic father abusing his son and a loving father playfully rough housing with his son. However, when I read and interpreted the poem for myself, my optimistic tendencies at first lead me to read the poem with the brighter meaning in mind, but as I kept reading my perception of the…

In “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, the interpretation of the poem depends on the readers perspective. It is a great poem that can give different ideas to different people. Some people believe that this poem has a hidden message of parental abuse. But other people think that this poem is one of happy moment shared between father and son. According to the images and language, the symbols and tone, in the poem gave me the clue of the love between father and son, not of an abusive…

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…

“My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke describes a young boy’s relationship with his father. The use of imagery throughout shifts the way in which the reader interprets the poem. The relationship between the father and the son appears to be strained, only holding on by a thread. The descriptions of the father help the reader understand the reason behind the strained relationship. His father is a hardworking blue-collar worker who comes home drunk but still has to put on a good face for his son.…