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My Papa's Waltz By Theodore Roetheke

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Theodore Roetheke’s poem, My Papa's Waltz, is one of Roetheke’s best poems he has ever written according to sources. While reading this poem, I had a sense of shock. This poem could be taken in so many different ways, which all depends on your perspective and you, of course, as an individual. At first, I had a sense of the father beating his child, which is told in a way of a beautiful dance, which is The Waltz. The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple time which is usually performed primarily in a closed position. A couple of lines had stood out to me the most as to why I first thought the father was abusing the child.
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142 Words | 1 Pages

“My Papa’s Waltz” is a simple and short poem that is filled with ambiguities, tensions, and metaphors, well articulated to create a unified piece of writing. The wordplay here creates a major impact to the overall theme of the poem creating a strong emotional connection to the boy 's experience. It is evident with the title which is essentially transparent. It sets the poem up for expectation before we even read the first line. This allows the author to concentrate on the rhythm of the language rather than using up precious lines to explain what 's going on.

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541 Words | 3 Pages

Back in the day, children were being abused by their parents, but it is still happening in today’s society. “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke explains his life when he was still a child back in the 1900s. Theodore Roethke was born on May 25, 1908 and lived until August 1, 1963. He had an abusive father growing up and the poem gives the reader a taste of what he had to go through, in the form of waltzing. Roethke uses literary devices, such as metaphor, imagery, and rhyme to allure the reader into his poem.

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536 Words | 3 Pages

The subject of “My Papa’s Waltz” poem by Theodore Roethke has spurred passionate academic debate from professors, scholars, and students alike, the imagery, syntax, and diction of the poem clearly support the interpretation that Roethke writes “My Papa’s Waltz ” to describe the fond relationship with his father as a child. It has been argued that If he was being abused that he would have run away when he had the chance, rather, he didn’t want to let go of his father because they both were having fun. The son’s mother was growing due to motherly instinct out of her son’s safety of how crazy they were walzting, but made no attempts at the son and father’s intervention because it wasn’t necessary to interrupt them. Ultimately to describe

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631 Words | 3 Pages

The poem, My Papa’s Waltz, is one of Theodore Roethke’s most renowned poems. A father and son are dancing in the kitchen really close to the boy’s bed time and the mother is displeased by the racket and noise. The father is drunk and his cheery attitude is amplified by the whisky he had earlier on. Tone and Style Roethke's style of poetry is an interesting mix of introspection, intense lyricism, and naturalism. Some of his poems revolved around his own subconscious emotions and thoughts.

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690 Words | 3 Pages

In discussions of “My Papa’s Waltz,” one controversial issue has been that several people believe it’s an abuse issue. On the other hand, some readers argue it is not abuse although, a loving dance between a father and son. While the subject of “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke has spurred passionate academic debate from professors, scholars, and students alike, the imagery, syntax, and diction of the poem clearly support the interpretation that Roethke writes “My Papa’s Waltz” to show a beating of a son by his father that is told in a beautiful dance. Roethke uses imagery, syntax and diction which brings his poem together to reveal a profound meaning.

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648 Words | 3 Pages

Roethke's poem is structured around the metaphor of the waltz, which is used to represent the relationship between the father and son. The dance is described as "clinging" (Roethke, line 16) and "waltzing,"(Roethke, line 4) suggesting a close physical bond between the two. However, the dance is also described as rough and scraping which can also be seen as a metaphor for the difficult and sometimes painful interactions between fathers and sons. Similarly, Hayden's poem uses the metaphor of fire to represent the father's love and sacrifice for his family. The father's early morning efforts to warm the house are described as cracking and firing, which can be seen as a metaphor for his own inner strength and determination to provide for his family.

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437 Words | 2 Pages

She has seen the abuse previously, and is hoping, for her son’s sake, that this time the father simply puts him to

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354 Words | 2 Pages

I liked this poem because it was a little easier to analyze and interpret. Through the use of negative connotation within the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke creates a more complex tone in which feelings of discomfort, tension and affection are both present. The author uses imagery and figurative language to paint a picture of a father and his son dancing around the kitchen. Roethke uses words like “dizzy,” “battered,” and “scraped” to describe the physical state that the speaker is in when they interact with their father, and that might be suggestive of violence between a father and his child, which might make one uncomfortable, or uneasy. T It also talks about being able to smell the whiskey on his breath.

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357 Words | 2 Pages

¨My Papa's Waltz¨ by Theodore Roethke is a poem about a mother and a ¨small boy¨ who are abused by an aggressive father. In fact, Roethke uses a great amount of descriptive language to make us feel this way about the poem. For example, on line 5 and 6 ¨[w]e romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf ¨ gives us a negative picture in our minds of someone being brutally abused. Perhaps, the author writes this poem for the reason of him suffering with depression and mental illness. The author always had a rough relationship with his father; Roethke's father died when he was just 15 years old, which was a painful event in his life.

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762 Words | 4 Pages

Theodore Roethke is a great poet, who uses figurative language to help the reader of his work to help grasp the topics that he writes about. In one of his most well known works, “My Papa’s Waltz,” he uses imagery and simile throughout that poem. However, his other poems practice figurative language the same amount or even more than “My Papa’s Waltz.” He often blends similes, imagery, and enjambment into many of his poems. The combination of figurative language helps the author create his own unique style in his writings.

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489 Words | 2 Pages

The waltz, a smooth controlled dance is used to summarize a rocky, unstable relationship with and abusive father in the poem My Papa’s Waltz. A small boy is dazed by the whirlwind of the evenings with a father controlled by whiskey. The author shares his experiences as a child in this poem.

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752 Words | 4 Pages

Theodore Roethke introduces us to a domestic scene that takes place in a kitchen. The speaker is engaging in a waltz with his father, and Roethke supplies the story of the relationship between an alcoholic father, and a naïve son through stanzas that align with the rhythm of a waltz. Through the imagery depicted through analyzing the poem, we can understand briefly what the speaker remembers and feels about this dance. The speaker of this poem speaks about his father in a saddened way. Introducing the poem in these two lines: The whiskey on your breath/…make a small boy dizzy” (1-2).

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808 Words | 4 Pages

Papa’s Waltz is a love hate poem toward the authors parents. This poem was a way for the boy to get his anger out. Behind the darkness of the poem lies the loving side of the boy dedicating this to his parents. Showing them that even though all these things that happened he will still love him until the day he dies. Which is the overall message of this poem loving someone and accepting everything about them even if they have hurt you.

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684 Words | 3 Pages

In the Short story “The waltz” by Dorothy Parker we are in the woman's perspective, and what she is dealing with whilst dancing with a man. We can conclude that she does not like the man, but how she presents herself to him makes her seem like she is enjoying herself. In actuality, her inner dialogue is filled with criticism and hatred for this man and his poor dancing abilities. Throughout this story, you can deduce that Parker is using her protagonist's point of view, symbolism, and Diction. To show how women feel and how they must conform to society's standards to please a man in the 1940s.

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621 Words | 3 Pages

Diction has a strong affect on how readers interpret a passage. This is proven through Theodore Roethke’s poem, “My Papa’s Waltz”. The poem presents a boy roughhousing with his father. However, some critics see the roughhousing taking place as abusive, due to the negative word choice displayed throughout the poem. The author set a positive and negative tone throughout the poem, representing the respect and fear he had for his father.

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