My Papas Waltz Analysis Essay

In “My Papa’s Waltz” there are a plethora of word twists, hidden meanings, and thought provoking terminology. According to the Oxford English Dictionary the meaning of the word waltz is “a dance performed to music in triple time by couples who, almost embracing each other, swing round and round in the same direction with smooth and even steps, moving on as they gyrate.” The term of the “waltz” in this poem has many intricate, definitions and meanings. The waltz is a formal dance that is being held inside of a kitchen, in a not so formal way or setting. As stated in line 5 “We romped until the pans / Slid from the kitchen shelf;” with the term “romp” meaning “to play roughly or energetically (esp. of children and animals); to sport or frolic in a lively, light-hearted, or boisterous manner.”(5-6) The son in this poem is enjoying the memory of their time romping whilst the father is being commemorated by his son.

In the poem "My Papa's Waltz" written by Theodore Roethke, the interpretation of the poem depends on the readers` perspective. Some people think that this poem is one of a happy exchange between a father and son. Others believe that it has a hidden message of child abuse. In my point of view, the imagery and language, the symbolism, and tone in My Papas Waltz gave me the impression of the abusive relationship between the father and son, but then later realizing the positive side.

“My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke sparks differing opinions within the minds of many. Roethke was influenced greatly by his experiences as a young boy. For instance, his uncle and father both died when he was the age of fourteen. “My Papa’s Waltz” is written in remembrance of his father after this dreadful occurrence. The author’s use of imagery brings light to the his adoration for his father. Notably, his way of stringing together ideas reinforces the fond memories they shared. Roethke’s captivating choice of words supports his purpose to make known the love he has for this man. While the subject of “My Papa’s Waltz” has spurred passionate academic debate from professors, scholars, and students alike, the imagery, syntax, and diction of the poem clearly support the interpretation that Theodore Roethke writes “My Papa’s Waltz” to bring attention to the loving relationship he had with his father.

In “My Papa’s Waltz,” Theodore Roethke illustrates an image of a father-son romp around the kitchen that is both harsh in its play and delicate in its memory. Roethke illustrates the poem’s images from his own childhood memories. Roethke uses simple words to create puzzling phrases that could be interpreted in different ways. The poem is ambiguous due to certain word choices that have baffling double meanings. Roethke’s poem paints an image of his childhood interactions with his father. Roethke paints this picture by using ambiguity within a waltz-like structure.

Theodore Roethke’s poem “My Papa’s Waltz” illustrates a nightly ritual between a working-class father and his young son. In the first stanza a young boy holds tightly to his father. The second stanza describes a playful roughhousing between father and son. The fourth stanza shows again the boy’s unwillingness to let go of his father. Roethke’s AB rhyming scheme and waltz-like meter set a light and joyful cadence. The music of the waltz comes through in the reading and with it a carefree and innocent tone for the telling of the short amount of time between a hard-working father arriving home and the time when his son must go to bed.

In the ending of the poem it becomes clearer that the boy is experiencing the dance of abuse. The dance is his innocence by

Roethke uses dramatic irony throughout the poem due to the fact that the reader knows what is going on, but the child does not. The reader knows that the father is under the influence of alcohol and is being abusive to the child and his mother, but the child does not know that, or he does not see it that way at least. In line four Roethke says, “Such waltzing was not easy.”. The child sees it as a graceful dance, for in this line he is saying that he cannot keep up with his father’s waltz since it is complex. That is only one side though, he might know the truth, but he just does not understand the reason for the choreography being used, that being his father’s despicable actions. He is covering the reality with the idea that he does not understand the steps to his father’s dance. He is in fact creating a happy

In the third stanza of the poem, Roethke points out to the readers that his father was continuously missing steps while they were waltzing. “At every step you missed / my right ear scraped a buckle.” (11-12) . This demonstrates that because of the fact that his father missed steps since he was drunk, resulted in the poet being physically hurt. This part of the poem reveals that the father is now becoming abusive. Roethke’s use of the word “death” in the first stanza, right away implies that the poet was frightened by his father. In the second stanza the poet uses the word “romp” which is associated with playing roughly. This also indicates that it was not very safe for the poet to be waltzing with his father. The mother frowning also demonstrates that she does not approve of this activity. The last stanza of the poem reaffirms that there was violence present. Roethke states “You beat time on my head / With a palm caked hard by dirt.” (13-14) . The father’s hand “caked hard by dirt” demonstrates that the father was a hard labor worker but the use of the word “beat” makes this line

The poem "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke is a moving representation of childhood spent in a working middle class family. The speaker of this poem is a man recalling his childhood, his father and his mother through the means of a waltz. The following essay will present a detailed analysis of the dramatic situation and speaker through the explanations of the various poetic tools used in this poem such as similes, choice of words and style.

In “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, was a great poem that can mean many different things to many different people of this world. To me I think it was just a boy who just wanted to spend time with his dad before he has to go to bed. The boy probably does not get to spend time with his dad that much. The father probably works all day and all week and this is the only time the boy gets to spend with him. Roethke use of words in this poem is amazing. The use of the words in this story can mean different things to the reader. The first word to look at is the word waltz. In the dictionary the word waltz is a dance for a fast triple meter song. This is just what the father is doing with his son but his is drunk and dizzy. “But I hung on

In the poem "My Papa's Waltz" written by Theodore Roethke, the interpretation of the poem depends on the readers`perspective. Some people think that this poem is one of a happy exchange between a father and son. Other people believe that this poem has a hidden message of parental abuse. In my point of view, the imagery and language, the symbolism, and tone in the poem gave me the impression of the love between the father and son, not of an abusive relationship.

The writer is describing that even when he cannot physically endure the smell of his father's liquor, he is still fastened to him no matter the obstacle. After all, Roethke is comparing the physical abuse to an elegant dance: the waltz. On a different note, it is vital to identify the importance the titles play in the poems.

In the last two stanza's, Roethke describes the vivid details of the beating. He describes how one hand clinches the boy's wrist. Clinch seems to be a rather strong word and it indicates a use of forceful grabbing. If this were a happy dance, the author would not use such a strong description. Lines 11-12 shows how the father tries to hit the son but due to his intoxication he misses and grazes the son's ear with the belt buckle. The fourth and final stanza sums up the feelings of the boy towards the father. The words seem to be directly spoken to the dad. This is not the first time this type of action has taken place. The reader gets this interpretation because the boy says," you beat time on my head"

The controversial poem, “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke has spurred passionate academic debate from professors, scholars, and students alike; the imagery, syntax, and diction of the poem clearly support the interpretation that Roethke writes “My Papa’s Waltz” to reminisce on a bittersweet memory with his father. His unclear commemoration has sparked a divide on what the true purpose of the poem is. Some may argue the poem’s purpose is to shine light on the subject of abuse, whereas others believe the father and son were sharing a moment while “roughly playing.” However, the more one examines this piece of literature, it becomes undeniable that the poem portrays a scene of a toxic father-son relationship. Although there are a

In the poem, Roethke uses diction that shows his emotions towards his father. In the first stanza, the poet says:” The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy.” Even though his father is a drunk he still loves him. He says “I hung on like death” which emphasizes the bond he has with his father while they are waltzing together. This also shows a strong sense of love and affection he has for him. Because his father’s breath reeked of whiskey, it was hard for them to waltz with ease. Also, the poet somewhat describes pain in way as well when he uses the words “battered” and “scraped” in the third stanza. He uses these word battered because he's describing that his father’s hands as worn out and beat up because he probably works really hard at his job which requires a lot of labor and the description of that word shows the reader that he works hard at what he does. With the word scraped, this shows pain because when the poet and his father waltz, his right ear scraped because his father was drunk on the whiskey and it made him a little dizzy and the poet most likely hit something which scraped his ear. The poet also uses the word “romped”; this describes that the son and the father are having fun together waltzing even though they are being careless as they are bumping into the pots and pans in the kitchen which annoys the mother as described in the second stanza in the last two lines.