In “My Papa’s Waltz”‚ American poet Theodore Roethke transforms the horrid experience of a child being beaten by his father into the romantic and beautiful dance of a waltz. Written in trecet iambs to imitate the relaxing beat of the waltz‚ the poet installs some sense of pleasure in the reader. In doing so‚ Roethke makes the subject of a beating more readable and lessening the effect of the drunkenness makes the speaker’s father more forgivable. The lucidity of diction and imagery throughout Roethke’s
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As I listened to “My Papa’s Waltz” being read aloud I felt a connection to it; a connection that I did not feel when I read it to myself. When I heard the poem aloud I was able to connect it my own life and the drunken “waltz” of a hard working father taking his son to bed. The performance added to the poem because it brought the words to life. I am a hearing learner so listen to the poem made it easier for me to comprehend it. However the performance did not change my perception of the poem
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In the Poem “Those Winter Sundays” the Author Robert‚ Hayden gives the readers the tragic realization that we don’t always appreciate the ones that mean the most to us. He clearly demonstrates the pain that neglecting to appreciate our loved ones can cause. Although the speaker didn’t realize at a younger age everything his father did to care for the family‚ and that his father was left unappreciated. By the end of the poem once lonely and left with time to reflect on the true value of his father’s
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"My Papa’s Waltz" by Theodore Roethke is a four quatrain poem written in iambic trimeter. The rhyme scheme present is abab‚ cdcd‚ efef‚ and ghgh. In the poem‚ the son is remembering a time when his father‚ who was excessively drunk at the time‚ carrying him through the kitchen off to bed. It was a rough‚ almost abusive‚ journey though because his father‚ who is already drunkenly waltzing him‚ is probably not used to handling things with care at work since his hands are described as "caked hard by
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Theodore Roethke wrote the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” which reflects on his childhood memories of his father carrying him to bed. He reminisces about a past memory of him clinging to his father while walking through the house in a drunken state. He remembers how the voluminous smell of whiskey on his father’s breath could make him dizzy. How his father would accidently knock the pans until they fell off the kitchen shelf still lingers in his memory. He recalls his ear being scraped against his father’s
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create his own style to show the world that habits‚ such as war can be broken even if it is in the past. He also used this poem to show order and disorder in the world. He used the waltz to do this‚ the father and son waltz‚ but the son struggle which brings to life the daily struggles for the son to keep up. The waltz was an organized dance in an unorganized life of a young boy. Roethke’s purpose in writing the poem “The Lost Son” was more to delve into his subconscious of when he was a child.
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Such waltzing was not easy. We romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf; My mother ’s countenance Could not unfrown itself. The hand that held my wrist Was battered on one knuckle; At every step you missed My right ear scraped a buckle. You beat time on my head With a palm caked hard by dirt‚ Then waltzed me off to bed Still clinging to your shirt The poem‚ "My Papa ’s Waltz"‚ written by Theodore Roethke‚ is written in such a way that creates many debate and contestation
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reading “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke‚ one might infer a violent commotion between a father and son. However‚ if read closely‚ a reader will notice that the boy hung onto his father throughout the entirety of the waltz despite becoming “dizzy” (line 2)‚ and “scrapped” (line 12). In fact‚ in this poem‚ the narrator is reflecting upon a joyful memory he had with his father. Firstly‚ if a person were to dissect the title of the poem‚ “My Papa’s Waltz‚” they would discover that “Papa” is a term
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Roethke was a German immigrant who was an American poet which characterized its imagination. Most of his poems were inspired by the image of his childhood like "My Papa’s Waltz". This poem at first reading creates an image of an abusive father who comes home and beats his son. But it is a complete opposite expression. The poem "My Papa’s Waltz" is positively and related to the son’s memories which are still fresh with all the details after he is grown. It is about the relationship between a father
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The poem My Papa’s Waltz describes a child’s nostalgia towards his conflicted relationship with his father. In this poem the tone of the speaker is characterized by the deep devotion and love he felt towards his father during his youth. Looking back on the time his father spent playing with him when he was a child‚ the speaker describes “[hanging] on like death” and “clinging to [his] shirt” (Roethke 3‚16). These childlike descriptions show that the speaker felt a deep devotion to his father and
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