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“my papa’s waltz” by Theodore Roethke analysis
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“my papa’s waltz” by Theodore Roethke analysis
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Her repetition in the last line with the “get back, back, back to you” could suggest she is referring to getting back to her father and to her husband. However, here we can see an inkling of the way she truly feels about her father. If she really felt this extreme hate towards him, why would she want to kill herself in order to get back to her father? She either misses him a painstaking amount, or feels that she has dire unfinished business with him. She then adds to this by saying that her suicide attempt was unsuccessful. But, she realized that instead of being stuck on him, she needed to find a “model” of him that reminded her of him. A man who looks like her father, making him instantly comparably evil. Then she, almost regretfully, says …show more content…
However, this is countered by his first stanza, “The whiskey on your breath/ Could make a small boy dizzy;/ But I hung on like death:/ Such waltzing was not easy. (1-4)” From the first two lines, we as the reader get the impression that his father is possibly an alcoholic. While this may be the case, Roethke also shows that despite his father’s habits, he couldn’t resist holding an unbreakable connection to him. This is apparent because this incident seemed to be recurring enough to write a poem about it. In addition, Roethke writes that he “hung on like death,” and since death is inescapable and hangs on to everyone, we can assume that as a child he never wanted to be separated from his father. He then writes, “such waltzing was not easy.” This line itself speaks to the relationship between him and his father. The “waltz” of life between the two was not easy, but it is an inseparable dance between two entities. It isn’t until the next stanza where Roethke really shows us what is happening in this poem. “We romped until the pans/ Slid from the kitchen shelf;/ My mother’s countenance/ Could not unfrown itself. …show more content…
He is unable to see him in a negative light, and doesn’t want to be separated from him. “You beat time on my head/ With a palm caked hard by dirt,/ Then waltzed me off to bed/ Still clinging to your shirt (13-16). In accordance with the narrative of this poem, “You beat time on my head” does not suggest that the father is purposefully abusive of the boy. It suggest a scenario where a drunk man waltzing would be very loose and would sometimes hit the child unknowingly. The line, “With a palm caked hard by dirt” also does much to throw the meaning of the poem off. It is assumed that his father’s hands are dirty in some relation to his alcoholism, but in reality his hands are dirty because his father often worked in a greenhouse as a farmer. This leads to the last two lines of the poem where the boys feelings about the father come full circle. When the waltz is finished, and despite the aggressive nature of the dance, the boy in the poem does not want to stop and go to bed. He remains clinging to his shirt, as well as clinging to this memory of their dance together. Perhaps these were the moments where he felt closer to his father than ever before? This poem, unlike Plath’s, does not seem to be an angry letter in hopes of coping, it is more of a reminiscent memory. It is also worth noting that in the title of this poem, Roethke uses the word, “Papa” instead of father. Not
The poem imaginatively re-creates a childhood encounter with his father. It may be read as an uplifting memory of a happy day, however when one engages further into investigating Roethke’s work, a darker perspective of the event emerges (Bachelorandmaster, 2015). Although we cannot identify that this poem is explicitly about his father from just simply reading it, when deeply exploring Roethke’s relationship with his father further, it can be identified that both the poem and relationship are connected in this way. The story conveys both the fathers love for the son and the son’s fear of this overpowering event, a combination which explains why the poem haunted so many of it’s readers (Shmoop,
In the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, the speaker is reflecting on a childhood experience involving his father. Some people assume that this poem is about a happy relationship between a father and son while other people assume that this poem emphasizes hidden messages of parental abuse. In my
Roethke uses imagery and diction that makes the reader feel different emotions. The imagery of a father with whiskey on his breath and battered knuckles paints a picture of a scruffy, rugged man. On the other hand, the diction and imagery of “waltzing” in line 4 creates a soft and sweet image of a father and child dancing. The image of “My right ear scraped a buckle / You beat
Today, people tend to believe that hitting a person is abuse. Although, many people can connect with ¨My Papaś Waltz¨ by Theodore Roethke, the intended audience is himself illustrating a past memory of his childhood. The controversy of the poem is whether itś a good or bad memory. While the subject of “My Papa’s Waltz” has spurred a passionate academic debate from professors, scholars, and students alike, the imagery, syntax, and diction of the poem clearly supports the interpretation that Theodore Roethke wrote “My Papa’s Waltz” to illustrate on a past memory of his drunk and abusive father.
The poem "My Papa's Waltz" uses imagery by especially appealing to the sense of touch. The sense of touch also helps the reader to better understand the abusive father theme. The third stanza concentrates on the actual act of abuse. The author, Roethke, describes the battle wounds on the father and son that are inflicted by the father. The father's hand "was battered on one knuckle" from hitting his son with a belt (10). This is apparent because the son's "right ear scraped...
“My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke is a representation of the journey toward reconciliation of the love and the fear that the speaker, a young boy, has for his father, and is an extended metaphor for the way that we balance the good and bad in our lives. Whilst reading this poem it is impossible to determine definitively whether it is truly about a dance or if the speaker is actually being abused. However, I don’t believe that it really matters either way. Actually, I believe it is this ambiguity and push and pull between the two extremes that creates the overall sense of struggle that comes with the reconciliation of the facets of the father and son’s relationship. This dance between love and fear is accentuated by Roethke’s use of ambiguous diction, end rhyme, and iambic trimeter.
When one becomes a father, he undertakes many responsibilities: setting a positive example, enforcing discipline for misbehavior, overviewing the safety of his children, providing a loving atmosphere, and numerous other tasks. In Theodore Roethke’s poem, “My Papa’s Waltz,” the narrator reminisces on the memories of his “papa” through the metaphor of an aggressive “waltz.” Using descriptions of the father’s actions and the reactions of the mother, Roethke illustrates the situation with carefully selected vocabulary. These actions of the narrator’s “papa” can be interpreted as either positive and loving or as inappropriate and unnecessary. After a brief analysis of the poem, readers might assume that the narrator’s memories of his father reflect Using a strand of harsh words including “beat,” “scraped,” “battered,” and “whiskey,” the narrator suggests an idea of a harsh relationship despite any fond memories that were discussed.
Poetry is a special gift, which unfortunately is not given to all of us. Mr. Theodore Roethke (1908-1963) was an American poet with this magnificent gift. Mr. Roethke is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential poets of his generation (Wiki). His poems present figurative language, which means that it says something, but is not actually what it means, or it can be interpreted in a totally different way. Theodore Roethke’s poem, “My Papa’s Waltz” has imaginary and mixed feelings between the speaker, which is a child, and his father. After having researched a lot more about the Poet’s life I find this poem highly eloquent and fallacious. Even though, it’s a brief poem I can say that this talks about Mr. Roethke’s childhood. This
The word ‘beat’ in itself carries the underlying tone of abuse and violence that goes beyond the typical meaning of keeping time to the dance. Looking into the line itself, this could mean that the boy had been suffering from this abuse for some time. The abuse made the days seem to stretch, and a day could feel like a week, and a week a month. The next line, “With a palm caked hard by dirt” (Roethke line 14) could have indicated that his father was a manual field worker, a job with long hours and little pay that could easily lead to things like frustration and depression which could be easily diverted to a scapegoat, in this case his son, with a bit of impaired judgement that is brought along with alchohol. Perhaps in his mind, his son was guilty of costing him money, living as a dependent in need of food and clothing. The father then “waltzed me off to bed/ still clinging to your shirt.”(Roethke line 15 / 16). Meaning that after the beating, the narrator followed the father and went to bed without any complaints; still dreaming of the days when his father was still kind and sober, ‘clinging’ onto the hope that they one day will
The author somewhat implicates feelings of resentment fused with a loving reliance with his father. For example, the first two lines of the poem read: "The whiskey on your breath/ Could make a small boy dizzy;" (Roethke 668). This excerpt appears to set a dark sort of mood for the entire rest of the poem. By the first two lines, the reader may already see how this man feels about his father's drunkenness. It seems as if Roethke has preceded his poem with this factor in order to demonstrate the resentment that he feels toward his father.
Indeed, the satirical tone of this poem suggests that the speaker is somewhat critical of his father. The whiskey smell, the roughness, the inconsiderate and reckless actions are under scrutiny. The mother's frowning countenance suggests she too is rather unhappy with the scene. However, the winning tone of the poem is the light and comical one.
While reading the poem the reader can imply that the father provides for his wife and son, but deals with the stress of having to work hard in a bad way. He may do what it takes to make sure his family is stable, but while doing so he is getting drunk and beating his son. For example, in lines 1 and 2, “The whisky on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy” symbolizes how much the father was drinking. He was drinking so much, the scent was too much to take. Lines 7 and 8, “My mother’s countenance, Could not unfrown itself.” This helps the reader understand the mother’s perspective on things. She is unhappy seeing what is going on which is why she is frowning. Although she never says anything it can be implied that because of the fact that the mother never speaks up just shows how scared she could be of her drunk husband. Lines 9 and 10, “The hand that held my wrist Was battered on one knuckle”, with this line the reader is able to see using imagery that the father is a hard worker because as said above his knuckle was battered. The reader can also take this in a different direction by saying that his hand was battered from beating his child as well. Lastly, lines 13 and 14, “You beat time on my head With a palm caked hard by dirt” As well as the quote above this quote shows that the father was beating his child with his dirty hand from all the work the father has
The poem takes the reader back in time for a moment to a small kitchen and a young boy at bedtime. The dishes have been cleared and placed on the counter or in the sink. The family is seated around the table. The father having a glass of whiskey to relax after a very hard day working in the family owned twenty-five-acre greenhouse complex. He is asked to take his small son to bed. The poem begins, “The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy” (Roethke line 1) enlists the imagery of what the young boy was smelling as he most likely climbed aboard his fathers’ large work boots for the evening waltz to bed. It is obvious this is an evening ritual, one that is cherished. The boy is aware of his fathers’ waltzing abilities and he concedes that he is up for the challenge. The irony of the statement, “I hung on like death” (Roethke line 3) is a private one, yet deeply describes his yearning for one more waltz with his father who passed away when Theodore was only fifteen years ...
To be honest, it still is. Yet, my desire to bond with him mattered more to me. Roethke’s narrator in “My Papa’s Waltz” says, “I hung on like death” (l. 3) while waltzing with the child’s father. Whereas, I ask that my father doesn’t invite my siblings because “Just you and me is better” (l. 6) Both children desperately wanted quality time with their fathers because they knew at the end of the night their father would leave them whether it was because the father “waltzed [the child] off to bed” (l. 15) or because he is leaving for a trip (l. 10). “Daddy’s Girl” portrays my youth and natural tendency to desire my father’s
Her family life is depicted with contradictions of order and chaos, love and animosity, conventionality and avant-garde. Although the underlying story of her father’s dark secret was troubling, it lends itself to a better understanding of the family dynamics and what was normal for her family. The author doesn’t seem to suggest that her father’s behavior was acceptable or even tolerable. However, the ending of this excerpt leaves the reader with an undeniable sense that the author felt a connection to her father even if it wasn’t one that was desirable. This is best understood with her reaction to his suicide when she states, “But his absence resonated retroactively, echoing back through all the time I knew him. Maybe it was the converse of the way amputees feel pain in a missing limb.” (pg. 399)