Preview

Response To 'My Papa's Waltz'

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
256 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Response To 'My Papa's Waltz'
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. Before hearing it aloud I understood that it was the story of a father putting his son to bed. Hearing it aloud just made it easier to understand the emotion and the love of a hardworking man and his son. The verses that stuck out the most to me
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    HANSEN Assignment 2 My Papa S Waltz Final Draft
    • 1060 Words
    • 3 Pages

    HANSEN Assignment 2 My Papa S Waltz Final Draft

    His poem "My Papa's Waltz" is a very emotionally stimulating poem. Roethke’s use of ethos in this poem helps establish his creditability. He writes the poem from a first-hand perspective, recounting some very vivid memories from a night with his father. With his use of pathos and ambiguity usually leaves the interpretation of the poem up to the reader. Some people may consider this poem to describe an abusive relationship between a young boy and his father. On the contrary, some believe this poem reflects on fond memories between a father and son.…

    • 1060 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Summary Of My Papa's Waltz By Theodore Roethke
    • 1109 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Summary Of My Papa's Waltz By Theodore Roethke

    The speaker remembers all the good that his father did and doesn’t emphasize all of his father’s faults. The title of the poem is “My Papa’s Waltz”. This is the first place you see that the speaker thinks of his father fondly and kindly. Although his father may have had a few flaws, he still refers to him as his Papa, a term that is normally used lovingly and fondly. The speaker loves his father, he used to trust to him, rely on him, and clutch to him, feeling safe in his father’s hands. This feeling of protection and love from his father is conveyed in the last two lines of the poem, “Then waltzed me off to bed \ Still clinging to your shirt.” [line 15-16]. The speaker clung to his father’s shirt because he trusted that his father knew what he was doing and would protect him. Line 15 also illustrated that it wasn’t a group effort. The speaker as a child trusted in his father and allowed his father to take him with wherever he went. The speaker and the father did not waltz off to bed together. Instead, the speaker allowed the father to lead him, giving him full faith and believing that his father would protect him…

    • 1109 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Tone Of My Papa's Waltz By Theodore Roethke
    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Tone Of My Papa's Waltz By Theodore Roethke

    In “My Papa’s Waltz’ by Theodore Roethke, the speaker’s tone towards his father is one that is loving and admiring. This is seen in the word choice of the speaker when interacting with his father.…

    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Analysis Of My Papa's Waltz By Theodore Roethke
    • 665 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Analysis Of My Papa's Waltz By Theodore Roethke

    "Inside is where the son and father will always be holding hands"(Adam Johnson). All children one way or another have a special bond between them and their father. But, a father and son form an unbreakable bond. It's natural for a father to groom his son and teach him things he himself faced when he was once young. The poem "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke entails a memory of a small boy and father perceived to be having a good time and having a good time and dancing despite the father being drunk. “My Papa’s Waltz” is a positive childhood experience because the drunk father made time for his son, the father worked hard to provide for his family and the small boy loved his father unconditionally.…

    • 665 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Compare And Contrast My Papas Waltz And A Good Man Is Hard To Find
    • 325 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Compare And Contrast My Papas Waltz And A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    Next, the articles both have to do with innocence. In “My Papas Waltz” it’s the boy’s innocence and how he sees everything.…

    • 325 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    My Papa's Waltz Figurative Language
    • 421 Words
    • 2 Pages

    My Papa's Waltz Figurative Language

    In the poem, “My Papa’s Waltz”, Theodore Roethke uses many connotations and detail that could be understood as positive or negative, but in my eyes, the word choice and intense details seem indicate a more sullen tone and a more abusive behavior towards the speaker. This poem is about a father and a son “waltzing” in their kitchen with their mother watching. Roethke does use a few words such as clinging and romped that could indicate a playful dance and a child clinging to their loving father not wanting to go to bed; however, there is more predominant language that shows an abusive father. The author first indicates that the whiskey on the father’s breath could make the son dizzy. This shows that the father has been drinking a large amount…

    • 421 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    My Papa's Waltz By Theodore Roethke
    • 790 Words
    • 4 Pages

    My Papa's Waltz By Theodore Roethke

    "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 dirt" and "battered on one knuckle". The speaker in the poem, the son, is clearly holding onto this memory of his father for whatever reason: maybe he died early, was working all the time, or abandoned the family.…

    • 790 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    My Papa's Waltz Poem Analysis
    • 882 Words
    • 4 Pages

    My Papa's Waltz Poem Analysis

    The tone and subject create a major impact to the overall theme of the poem, creating a strong emotional connection to the boy's experience. It is evident from the author’s use of the title, “My Papa’s Waltz.” Its transparency sets up the readers’ expectation before we even read the first line. This allows the author to focus on the lyrical form and wordplay of the poem eliminating the need to explain the situation any further. A waltz is a ballroom dance that comes with a rhythmic beat of three which mimics the prevailing iambic trimeter of the poem. Furthermore, the alternating rhymes in the poem metaphorically tie in with the constant swaying back and forth found in waltz dancing. The waltzing in the poem signifies an extended metaphor for the father-son relationship, therefore, is also symbolic and ultimately ties in organically to the sensitive and delicate significance of this…

    • 882 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    english graphic organizer
    • 479 Words
    • 2 Pages

    english graphic organizer

    The poem created vivid images for me, I seen a person drowning in sorrow. I felt the heart break that followed throughout this poem.…

    • 479 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    My Papa's Waltz By Theodore Roethke
    • 1017 Words
    • 5 Pages

    My Papa's Waltz By Theodore Roethke

    In Theodore Roethke’s poem, My Papa’s Waltz, there seems to be a bit of controversy about what actions are taking place within it. From the title, it appears that the father and child were dancing, seeing as a waltz is a type of dance. But this is no dance. While waltzing, one person leads while the other follows. The father is the leader in this situation, showing dominance over his child. This “waltz” is simply something that the father does often. The narrator is the child. The vague and patchy description of the actions taking place would indicate that this is but a memory the narrator is trying to recall about his childhood. The poem, when read over quickly and lazily, may appear to be about this dance,…

    • 1017 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    My Papa's Waltz Analysis
    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages

    My Papa's Waltz Analysis

    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 poem distracts from the underlying dark metaphor of a son being beaten by his drunk father to a graceful waltz.…

    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Walk With The Wilds Rhetorical Devices
    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Walk With The Wilds Rhetorical Devices

    I love how the poet compare and contrast conflict using his own experiences to tell a story to his son. This make the readers connect so much with the poem because, it illustrates the levels…

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Child Abuse In My Papa's Waltz
    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Child Abuse In My Papa's Waltz

    At first glance, My Papa's Waltz plants an image of child abuse in the reader's mind. Certainly to a reader of the 21st century generation, everything has a "dark meaning" behind it. But, with a closer look at what Roethke is really implying, it becomes clear to the audience that the story alludes to a much lighter meaning. To better understand this poem, it helps to know that this was written in 1942, when people's activities, habits, and even the language were quite different than they are today.…

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Jasmine's Papers
    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Jasmine's Papers

    In music, I compare my troubles and tribulations with the lyrics. Towards the middle of the piece, it begins to build up. When I was around 9 years old, my mom passed away from failure to receive a liver transplant. This hit my family hard and to this day, we are still haunted by the day God took her away. Since this is the middle of the piece, it's starting to have emotion and deep feelings within it. Anger, hurt, and sorrow was what I was feeling when my mom passed away. I was confused and mad at the world. I didn't quite understand why people had to die since I was only 9 after all. There was always a question of why and to this day, there still is.…

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    My Favourite Poem
    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages

    My Favourite Poem

    This is why the poem is so significant, unlike any other poem; this one has a meaning which I can relate my past experiences from one which actually bonds with me. A true meaning which I can remember forever.…

    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More

Related Topics