The way something crafted and shaped is always intentionally created for the purposes of providing something to whatever is produced. The way a car is shaped and produced, what it looks like, this can change the way it drives, or how to driver feels when behind the wheel of their vehicle. The same sentiment holds for a piece of art, as the style or the way a painting or poem is composed can have drastic effects on the way someone interprets it. In the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” Theodore Roethke, the form in which it is written is absolutely essential to the meaning of the poem. The form is not only imperative to deciphering the meaning of the poem, but the structure and scheme in which it is written enable it to be interpreted in many different ways, each way drastically different from the last. …show more content…
This is due to the form in which the poem is written, as the structure, rhyme scheme and tempo of the poem provide a very playful tone to the poem. Because of this, there are two different ways to determine the meaning of the poem, a positive and a negative connotation. These ways differ drastically from each other, but this contradiction is what makes this poem so great and artistic. The pure essence of its form is what makes it an incredible piece. The first way this poem can be interpreted is with a positive connotation. The rhyme scheme and tempo make the poem sound very playful, and as a result, the underlying story seems very positive as well. The poem, in this interpretation, tells the story of a young boy whose seemingly playful father is dancing or wrestling with him in a very jovial manner. This story tells of a very close father son relationship, one that does not include any sort of abuse or troubles with the father or
First of alll, the poem is divided into nine stanzas, where each one has four lines. In addition to that, one can spot a few enjambements for instance (l.9-10). This stylistic device has the function to support the flow of the poem. Furthermore, it is crucial to take a look at the choice of words, when analysing the language.
At the beginning of the poem, the audience is able to witness an event of a young boy asking his father for story. While the father was deemed a “sad” man, it is later shown that his sadness can be contributed to his fear of his son leaving him. The structure then correlated to the point of going into the future. The future was able to depict what would happen to the loving duo. The father's dreams would become a reality and the son's love and admiration would cease to exist as he is seen screaming at his father. Wanting nothing to do with him. The young, pure child can be seen trying to back lash at his father for acting like a “god” that he can “never disappoint.” The point of this structure was not really a means of clarification from the beginning point of view, but more as an intro to the end. The real relationship can be seen in line 20, where it is mentioned that the relationship between the father and son is “an emotional rather than logical equation.” The love between this father and son, and all its complexity has no real solution. But rather a means of love; the feelings a parent has for wanting to protect their child and the child itself wanting to be set free from their parents grasp. The structure alone is quite complex. Seeing the present time frame of the father and son
Donald Hall describes the use of imagery in poetry as a device that "makes us more sensitive to [literature], as if we acquired eyes that could see through things"(p 530). Imagery creates vivid details that deal with one's sense of sight, sound, touch, smell, or taste. These details can be seen in Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz" because the senses of touch, sight, sound, and smell appeal to the reader in order to better explain the feelings of each character in the poem. Roethke's use of imagery creates a negative picture that is painted by the son of an abusive father.
Despite the use of certain words such as “papa” and “waltz,” the overall connotation represented throughout the poem seems to concentrate more heavily on the negative aspects of the narrator’s memories. For these reasons, one can conclude that the poem aims to illuminate the immaturity and irresponsibility of the
...s to show the authors’ deep meaning. I always feel surprised and amazed when I read the poems which can takes advantages of the several words to either create a vivid picture in the readers’ mind or convey the deep meaning, or encourage people to do something meaningful and never waste the valuable time.A good poem should tell peoplesomethingimportant.
The poem is written in the father’s point of view; this gives insight of the father’s character and
Furthermore, poetic devices were used in both poems to make them especially unique. In “My Papa Waltz” there was a ABAB rhyme scheme. Meaning that every other line in a stanza rhymed. For example, in the first stanza, he used breath and death for lines A. He also used dizzy and easy for lines B. In addition, he also added alliteration in this poem. Alliteration means the repetition of initial consonant sounds in a series of words. Roethke wrote “The hand that held my wrist” this is a perfect example of alliteration. Another poetic device that is used in this poem is irony. In the poem, it describes the father waltzing around with his son but in reality, he is abusing him while being drunk. This can be clear in the first stanza “The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy.” Theodore Roethke used imagery as a poetic device. He
A poem’s diction plays a fundamental role in analyzing a poem, considering the text is all one needs in order to discover the meaning. My Papa’s Waltz is a fairly short poem, but the words have major impact. The word “whiskey” (Line 1) implies that the father is a drunk, and this makes the boy “dizzy,” (Line 2) or in other words, it sickens him. The poem claims the boy is small, making him sound fragile, playing into the next few lines of the poem. “Death” (Line 3) is a negative connotation, along with “battered” (Line 10), “beat” (Line 13), and “caked hard” (Line 14). “Romped” (Line 5) has a positive denotation suggesting harmless roughhousing. The word “countenance” (Line 7) does not flow within the stanza, sounding sharp and negative, paralleling the mother’s stern disapproval. “Hung” (Line 3) is past tense, therefore the poem is a reflection of an earlier time. “Waltzed” (Line 15) takes on a different meaning beyond the dance, making it a synonym for taking someone somewhere. Understanding the words of a poem was the first step in order to analyze My Papa’s Waltz using this methodology.
My Papa’s Waltz has been compared to a generational litmus test. Depending on what generation the reader was born, could determine how the reader would interpret this poem. Each generation has its own views that have been developed in them for the language used to describe Papa in this poem. The whiskey on his breath and Papa’s hand beating on his head, both sound like a negative connotation. Depending on the experience of the reader, they can either be disturbed by these words or be drawn in closer to the poem. Theodore Roethke loved his father. Not only did he love him, but he idolized him and unfortunately lost him at an early age. This poem is a reflective memorial waltz written in iambic trimeter to honor his father and mother.
Garble Versification For a long period of decades, students through their education are being taught about poetry, however, it has been controversial due to the connotations, figurative language, and the sequence in author's word choice. Critics articulate this type of poetry on My Papa’s Waltz poem written by Theodore Roethke ventilated child abuse. A young undiscovered poet to be, Born on May 25, 1908 in Michigan. He grew up playing in his father greenhouse, his life experiences consequence his later writings.
This ballad shows a sentiment disjointedness incredibly well, since it contemplates and separate the measure of his father respected him and how he didn't comprehend it's something he disparaged. This poem might be a slight bit uneven, adhering on to the father's side since this song was possibly made to express fault and regret. The outlook of the story is about how the storyteller regretted being so unappreciative toward his father. It positively shows how he feared his father and respected him now that he comprehends what he once had, his father's valuing and minding. Regardless, starting right now of the poem, it's demonstrating that his father left nearby all the not entirely obvious points of interest he'd once finish for the storyteller.
Regardless of the interpretation one possesses, may it be seen as abusive or loving, it is clear that the poem is more "richly ambiguous" than onlookers might have felt in the first reading (McKenna). After analysis of the poem, Bobby Fong compares it to that of a seesaw in saying, "the elements of joy, are balanced against the elements of fear." Although the certainty of tone may never be known, a further look at aspects that contributes to the writing give viewers' good insight in the mind of Theodore Roethke. Readers frequently hold contradictory interpretations of "My Papa's Waltz," depending on what personal experience they filter the reading through. In the end, critics agree that there is a darkness to the poem that is definite, but equally so, an abundance of love that is undeniable.
The theme of My Papa's Waltz is about a little boy spending quality with his father learning how to do the classic dance the waltz. While his father is teaching him, there's a lot of things that the child is either concerned about, or doesn't like. But he is willingly to suck it up to enjoy this special time his dad before bed. The reason I know that this is the theme of the poem is simply because this is what the poem is about. The poetic devices that are seen in this poem is rhythm, hyperbole, and metonymy.
meanings are true in some parts of the poem, as for me, no one meaning
Not only do the words express the speaker's feelings. The structure of the poem has a memorable effect as well. The sentences in the first half of the poem are shorter with a two-line, a four-line, and a six-line sentence. Even in the six-line sentence there are pauses to keep order. However, there are only two sentences in the second half, with one being eight lines. This sentence also has very little structure and runs on. There is no caesura present in the second half, even though there is plenty of it in the