ipl-logo

Diction In My Papa's Waltz

188 Words1 Pages
Theodore Roethke’s poem, “My Papa’s Waltz,” discusses a child and father’s interactions within their kitchen as the mother watches while frowning. Roethke delivers his work through the child’s perspective, an unreliable speaker, which enables an ambiguous tone. This allows the reader to interpret the child and father’s relationship in many ways. Words involved in Roethke’s diction, such as “waltzed,” “romped,” and “dizzy,” indicate enjoyment within the relationship. On the other hand, “beat,” “death,” and “battered” create a sinister picture of abuse. In addition to diction being used to formulate an abusive relationship, the simile, “but I hung on like death,” also reinforces the idea as death typically has a negative connotation. On the contrary,
Show More
Related
1559 Words | 7 Pages

It could be a subtle hint of the father’s death; both the child and death were “hanging on” the father. Looking at the larger picture, the simile is also a metaphor of their father-son relationship. Although the father causes harm to the boy sometimes, the boy still clings onto his father and cherishes the time they spend together. 2. What was the mother’s attitude to events?

Read More
1684 Words | 7 Pages

While the child was feeling down; instead of picking her son up, the mother scolds her child “[reminding] him, once again, not to shout out in public. And never to speak with his mouth full” and his sister reminds him that, “Papa’s gone” (Otsuka 50). For one of the few emotional outbursts in the novel, there is no consolation for the distressed child. There is only condemnation of his actions and a reminder of not only of how he should act but also of the very topic that is distressing him, his missing father. It is clear that it did not matter what age an individual was, it was expected that the child would remain silent and distant from

Read More
1540 Words | 7 Pages

The poem, “My Father’s Love Letters” by Yusef Komunyakaa, shares a story about a dysfunctional family. The poet, Komunyakaa uses the first person point of view to describe the separation of his parents and how it affects each one of the characters. Through a son’s eyes, the narrator paints a colorful picture of his relationship with his father right after his mother has left them both in order to escape a life of physical abuse at the hands of his father. Through the eyes of the young narrator, the audience learns much about the characters and their painful history as a family. Through the clever use of poetic devices such as imagery, metaphors, personification, and an allusion.

Read More
589 Words | 3 Pages

His five-year-old son refers to the father as “Baba”, a word filled with the boy’s entreaty towards his father as he asks for a story. However, he is later portrayed as a “...boy [who] is packing his shirts, [and] looking for his keys”. He is no longer portrayed as the five year old son, but as a grown man. However, the boy still adores his father, and the word “Baba” remains a huge role in the son’s life; it is used to express his love for his father and to ask for stories, he highly looks forward to. Despite the fear that his son will leave him one day, the relationship between the father and his son is an “...emotional rather than logical equation, an earthly rather than heavenly one…”.

Read More
446 Words | 2 Pages

He describes the anguish and pain of being separated from family members, such as when he is taken away from his mother as a young child. For instance, he writes, "I never saw my mother, to know her as such, more than four or five times in my life; and each of these times was very short in duration, and at night" (Chapter 1). This emotional appeal is particularly effective in eliciting sympathy and anger from readers.

Read More
548 Words | 3 Pages

In the poem my papa’s waltz by Theodore Roethke a fond relationship is shown between a father and his son. In “My Papa’s Waltz” the characterization of the father helps to create this fond relationship between the father and son. First the use of diction helps to build this relationship. By using the words like “whiskey,” (1) “romped,” (10) “battered,” and “scraped” (12) which connotatively are all things that are associated with rougher people.

Read More
616 Words | 3 Pages

Phrases such as “beat down”(10) and “bodies slammed”(10) emphasize the strength of the father. However, words used to describe the narrator’s writing like “Wham! Bam!”(24) communicate the opposition to the violent father where words are just as mighty. Relating back to the use of musical terms to enhance the theme, the phrase “wild solos,violent uncontrollable blows”(28) used to describe the narrator’s writings further supports the affiliation between the father’s clout and the narrator’s newly found strength. Finally, the phrase “the noisy banging and tuning of growth”(32) portrays the narrator refining his dad’s dreadfulness, and turning his negative impact into a growing art form. Moreover, the diction illustrates the father’s violence fueling the passion of the narrator’s combatant

Read More
1410 Words | 6 Pages

In Sherman Alexie’s short story, “War Dances,” the narrator unravels in thoughts and takes us through events in his life. He picks up by speaking about a cockroach that ends up dying in his Kafka baggage from a trip to Los Angeles. The cockroach still appears many times throughout the story. The narrator spends quality time in the hospital with his father, who is recovering from surgery due to diabetes and alcoholism, all along the way while he, himself, discovers he might have a brain tumor, leading his right ear to talk about his father. Using a style of tragedy and care both incorporate together a symbolic story that would make even a plain reader feel touched, leading to the major occurrence of a theme of the importance of family.

Read More
604 Words | 3 Pages

Relationships are an essential part of life. They keep us grounded and sane. Without all of our daily interactions, our mental and physical health would decline. Theodore Roethke describes a relationship between a father, son, and mother in his poem, “My Papa’s Waltz.” To some, the poem is about an abusive father who abuses his son while the mother ignores the scene.

Read More
1823 Words | 8 Pages

The author creates a vivid and powerful emotional response in the reader by using language that is both descriptive and evocative. For example, the child’s hygienic situation is described using sentences such as “It is naked. Its buttocks and thighs are a mass of festered sores, as it sits in its own excrement continually. ”The description of the child's physical appearance and condition is intended to elicit feelings of pity and compassion from the reader, as well as a sense of outrage at the injustice of the situation. She also tugs at the reader's strings with the usage of imagery to highlight the stark contrasts between the celebrations outside and the conditions inside the basement where the child lives.

Read More
883 Words | 4 Pages

Sometimes it can be difficult for sons to understand the lessons that fathers teach to them, leading to a disconnect between the two. This is the case for the speaker and his father in David Bottoms’ “Sign for My Father, Who Stressed the Bunt.” As a child, the speaker lacks appreciation for his father, yet nevertheless they share a common love. As an adult, reminiscing on his baseball experiences with his father, the son, through his retrospective point of view, now appreciates his father for all his father did. Through diction and varying points of view this poem emphasizes the lack of understanding between the two characters, while symbols and figurative comparisons express their mutual love; this poem analyzes the loving, yet dysfunctional

Read More
846 Words | 4 Pages

Comparing and contrasting Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy” and Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz”, one finds the two poems are similar with their themes of abuse, yet contrasting with how the themes are portrayed. Furthermore, the speaker 's feelings toward their fathers’ in each poem contrast. One speaker was hurt by the father and the other speaker was indifferent about how he was treated by his father. The fathers’ feelings toward the children are also different despite how each treated the child. Both poems accurately portray the parent-child relationships within an abusive home, even if they have different

Read More
871 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout “My Papa’s Waltz” and “Those Winter Sundays”, the author’s reflect on how their fathers were hard workers, although each memory is emotionally different. In “My Papa’s Waltz”, Roethke remembers his father coming home from work and his hands “Was battered on one knuckle” (Line 10). Even though the father had a long day at work, the boy recounts him coming home and dancing with him. Whereas “Those Winter Sundays”, Hayden recalls his fathers hard work by describing his “Cracked hands that ached/

Read More
366 Words | 2 Pages

In her poem “My Father Calls Me Every Sunday Morning,” Jan Heller Levi’s bitter wording contrasts with her tranquil images to evoke an ambivalent tone towards her father. This juxtaposition mirrors the conflict in Levi’s relationship with her stern father; there is genuine love in it, but also frustration over its price. Levi’s brewing aggravation regarding her father’s selfish nature is captured by her acrimonious choice of diction. While waiting for her father’s phone call, Levi’s opinion of her dad is made clear. She can feel him “punch”(8) the numbers into his phone, each note “Pulsing;/ through 200 miles of tense wire”(10-11) hurling towards her.

Read More
906 Words | 4 Pages

On the surface, this poem seems to be about two people (a father and child) dancing a clumsy version of a waltz; however, upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent that the poem is actually an extended metaphor comparing domestic abuse to what is usually a beautifully graceful dance. The brilliance of this poem is in the irony that the metaphor presents: the horror of abuse to the beauty of the waltz. What makes this metaphor most apparent is the diction. While Roethke incorporates words like “waltzing” (l.4), “romped” (l.5), and “beat time” (l.13), all words associated with jubilant dancing, other words and phrases indicate quite the opposite of jubilance. For example, in the final stanza, Roethke writes, “You beat time on my head / With a palm caked hard by dirt, / Then waltzed me off to bed / Still clinging to your shirt.”

Read More

More about Diction In My Papa's Waltz

Open Document