“My Papa’s Waltz” and “Those Winter Sundays” both describe an adult man looking back and reflecting on his childhood. Even though they have similar themes, the perspectives of the two speakers are vastly different. While “My Papa’s Waltz” is reflecting on Roethke’s memories of good times he had with his dad, “Those Winter Sundays” talks about all of the regrets Hayden has now, since he has aged and has been able to reflect on his relationship with his father. Although it may seem like it, specifically in “My Papa’s Waltz”, neither of the poems talk bad about the father, rather only glorify the hard-working father’s on how amazing figures they were in their sons' lives. Along with reflecting back on their childhood, throughout both poems, the poets commonly make references to the strong tension that was running through their families at the time.
The father and son relationship are both shown all through both poems. In “Those Winter Sundays”, the speaker is
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It is in these years of a young boy's life when his fathers actions shape the way his son sees life. In most cases, the son looks up to his father, so it is the father’s responsibility to set a prime example for how to act. In both poems, the father shows unconditional love, which as a result has a different effect in each of the poems. In “My Papa’s Waltz”, the son realizes this love right away, and even though it is rough, he accepts his father, and strives to have that type of love later in life. On the other hand, the father in “Those Winter Sundays” shows an immense amount of love, but it goes unnoticed by the speaker. Later on in life, the son comes to the realization that his father gave up everything for him, and him reflecting back on that is the basis of this poem. Both of these poems are so special because they show real life experiences that many of us are able to relate