Chiu Ching 3U (8) My Papa’s Waltz Questions 1. Comment on the simile in the first stanza. (3 marks) The simile used in the first stanza is “I hung on like death”(3). The next line, “Such waltzing was not easy”(4) suggests that the father and son’s boisterous, wild “romping”(5) around was difficult for the child, and he had to hang on tightly because the father was romping around drunkenly and did not hold onto him well.
In “My Papa’s Waltz,” poet Theodore Roethke uses sensory details and ambiguous language to persuade both the boy and the reader that the boy still loves his father, despite him being an alcoholic. On the third sentence of the first stanza, Roethke uses ambiguous language by stating: “But I hung on like death. Such waltzing was not easy.” Although this plainly means that the boy was holding onto his father without ease, it can be interpreted in another way; the boy still loves his father, even though it is hard to love him with his alcoholism at times, and the boy still loves his father very much. The boy is reflecting on this idea while waltzing with his
These two lines in the poem make it seem as if words were able to make children fear as well as make them relieved, so the parent had to choose words
The poem My Papa Waltz by the title sounds like it could be sweet and loving. The poem is actually very dark in my opinion. In the poem the father is drunk, stumbling and hurting the boy. Even though they could just be having a good time, running around, and the father could also be trying to teach the boy to grow up, I believe that the poem is about a boy being abused by his father. Because he also states that the father is so drunk that his breath could get a small boy drunk.
Although “Papa” may not be the most sensitive man around, but he is still to be a hero in his son's eyes. Referring from the title of “My Papa’s Waltz”, “Papa” does not seem like he’s being violent intentionally but not accidentally hurting his son. This poem also, symbolizes dance in the relationship of a father and
The use of irony is present in the idea that what the church has taught Billy Collins is truly irrelevant in how he perceives religion, and how their strong hold no longer affects him. For example, the poem states in its very first sentence, “ the only one you ever hear is how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. ” (1). This symbolises the strong control the church has over the questions that are posed about religion. There are also phrases such as “No curiosity”, and “ Throne chanting in Latin.”, which is meant to show that the church is killing individual 's curiosity about expanding their own knowledge in religion, in order to be dependent on the church for their interpretation of religion, and worshiping.
“You beat time on my head, With a palm caked hard by dirt, Then waltzed me off to bed, Still clinging to your shirt” (Lines 13-16). The line, “You beat time in my head,” (Line 13), may be misunderstood to indicate physical violence. However, because the waltz begins in a slow rhythm that gradually, increases in tempo, the boy is dizzy and breathless, and yet happy, by its end. Although exhausted the narrator still desires to continue prancing around with the father. Given the opportunity, he would gladly experience his childhood memories exactly the same – bruises, cuts and all.
The relationship between father and son is one that is both sacred, yet complex as each side of the relationship faces hardships. This relationship between a son and his role model, a father and his child, is one, has its ups, but one must also know it has downs. In Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz,” Roethke’s use of ambiguity through diction allows room for the audience to interpret the text in a positive or a negative way, representing the relationship between a father and a son, which on the outside can be interpreted in an either positive or a negative way. Roethke’s use of diction creates an element of confusion for the audience of his poem.
My papa’s waltz his/her dad was drunk while his son/daughter trying to teach waltz and in Grape sherbet his/her dad made recipe of swirled snow. “But I hung on like death/ Such waltzing was not easy” (line 3 and 4). “Dad appears with his
At the start of the poem, the narrator states, “The whiskey on your breath / Could make a small boy dizzy;” (Roethke lines 1-2). The man described has clearly been drinking, and is most likely drunk. From this, the reader could infer that the poet included these lines for a reason. The most likely reason is that the father is an alcoholic, and cannot control his drinking problems. While the father was drunkenly dancing with his son, Roethke describes his mother by saying, “
The father/son relationship are shown in both poems. Both are adults reflecting on their past. “My Papa’s Waltz” is about how the father would dance daily with the son. Although it was painful when he sometimes missed a step and his “right ear scraped a buckle”, this was a memorable memory for the son (Line 8). The poem has a happy tone of the sons childhood days.
The first two lines of the poem paint a picture that play to our sense of smell, “The whiskey on your breath. Could make a small boy dizzy.” (1-2) His father is obviously inebriated past
In the poem, My Papa’s Waltz, the speaker, Theodore Roethke, writes about a father and son waltzing. Further investigation suggests there is more going on than a waltz. The poet utilizes figure of speech and a negative toned vocabulary throughout the poem. Thus, alleviating the reader of the harsh truth of an abusive relationship whilst never dehumanizing the father.
In the poem, “My Papa’s Waltz”, Theodore Roethke illustrates the complex relationship between a little boy and his father by juxtaposing images of love and violence through word choices that portray feelings of fear yet affection for his father. Roethke’s shifting tone encompasses distress and a sense admiration that suggests the complexities of violence both physically and emotionally for the undercurrents of his father and son relationship. The poem begins with a series of negative images, each of which are considered violent and undesirable in a family. For example, “The whiskey on your breath” suggests alcoholism, and “Could make a small boy dizzy” emphasizes that a boy is suffering from the effects of the alcoholic parent.
He uses an agrarian imagery and further he questions whether he has lost his own child, his son due to the distance between them or was the son on a mental plane that was entirely his own and which, the father cannot access. The father uses ‘I’ in these lines admiting his own role in making this communication gap between them. The father and son have become strangers with no understanding of each other. Conventionally, the son’s nurturing is in the very environment and with the values the father provided.
