Waltz

Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” is a simple poem with a deeper meaning. When I first read this poem, I thought it was about a young boy dancing around the kitchen with his father. As I read it over again, I realized the sadness and despair tones of the poem. The young boy is blind to his father’s alcoholism. After analyzing the structure, diction, and overall theme of “My Papa’s Waltz”, I found a much darker meaning to this thought provoking poem. Roethke’s choice of structure has an…

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 is a…

In Paula Vogel’s The Baltimore Waltz, the most important character relationship is between Anna and Carl. Their sibling bond is close and is displayed throughout the course of one act. Since they have a particularly close relationship, Carl’s death at the end of the play is hard for Anna to take in thus resulting in an alternative fantasy where Anna is diagnosed with ATD and the pair goes gallivanting across Europe. The loss of her brother requires Anna to cope with the loss by imagining a world…

My Papa: an inspirational figure or the utter downfall of existence? “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke is a poem about living with an abusive parent. For example, Roethke uses the word “romped” to describe a situation having to do with his papa. While the subject of this poem has spurred passionate academic debate from professors, scholars, and students alike; the imagery, syntax, and diction of the poem clearly support the interpretation that you can not resist caring for those that…

“My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke was a famed poem from the nineteen forties. Roethke was an American poet and writer who was best known for his poems that depicted social struggle and class injustice. His works, especially “My Papa's Waltz”, can be critiqued heavily by Marxist critics. The Marxist critic was a specific individual that red deeply into literature, knowing every phrase and word had an inner, or aesthetic meaning. Terry Eagleton, one of the most prolific Marxist critics, can be…

Waltz, Rhythm, and Rhyme A waltz is a rhythmed dance of partners that twirl around a dance floor. If said partners are words that rhyme and rhythm, and the dance floor made of paper; literary works of a poet are created. Theodore Roethke was a poet that mastered this skill and created “My Papa’s Waltz.” The choice of words and meter of lines send your imagination on a journey envisioning what is unfolding from the words set forth before you. The speaker in the poem, the structure of the…

In class, we reviewed two poems, Ballad of Birmingham and My Papa’s Waltz. From a first glance, these poems couldn’t be anymore different. Besides, the fact that these poems have different topics, the poems differ in word choice and imagery. In My Papa’s Waltz, the author, Theodore Roethke, uses phrases such as, “palm caked hard by mud” (My Papa’s Waltz, Roethke) and “every step you missed” (My Papa’s Waltz, Roethke) to paint the picture of a drunk father who cannot keep his balance. The…

The poem, "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke, depict a conflict between a father and a son. The son portray his father as a drunk person, and his relationship with his father wasn't a lovely one. They usually waltz, a smooth dance that require close position. The son usually smell whiskey in his father's breath, which mean that the son was somewhat tall or his father short enough. Though they didn't have a close relationship, Roethke never state that he didn't like his father, whether he…

“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.…

meaning that it is sometimes confusing to understand. The actual meaning can sometimes be trapped under the beautiful display of the context, but by using literary devices such as imagery, the poem or story comes to light. This is the case in “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke. Mr. Roethke writes a poem about an early…