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.
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.
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.
From beginning to end, the son calls his father “Baba” to show his affection and admiration. Despite the father’s inability to come up with a new story, the son still looks up to him. This affectionate term also contrasts with the father’s vision of the “boy packing his shirts [and] looking for his keys,” which accentuates the undying love between the father and son (15 & 16) . The father’s emotional “screams” also emphasize his fear of disappointing the son he loves so much (17). Despite the father’s agonizing visions, the son remains patient and continues to ask for a story, and their relationship remains “emotional” and “earthly”--nothing has changed (20-21).
What makes a memory so memorable? In My Papa's Waltz , by Theodore Roethke, he writes about a childhood memory, that seems bittersweet to the author. A memory that he appreciated remembering about his father and him in the middle of the night, waltzing around. The author uses connotation devices that hold deeper meaning to the poem and what waltzing really means to him.
A father and son romping around in the kitchen as the mother is looking. While others may view this poem as a family torn by a father's misfortunes. In line 1, the word “Whiskey” gives some characteristics of the fathers crooked ways. Continuing on, the signs of foul play and roughness with his hands, "battered on one knuckle", and "a palm caked hard by dirt".(11-14) More so, some of “Papa” few escapes most likely consist of a drink when he gets home from a rough day. Concluding, “Papa”makes his own family feel very uncomfortable around him.
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.
In Theodore Roethke’s poignant poem, “My Papa’s Waltz,” the speaker’s lack of enjoyment during a waltz with his father forms the central theme, unraveling layers of discomfort and tension beneath the seemingly innocuous act. Initially, the speaker’s unease is evident as he describes the waltz as difficult. Though there could be moments of apparent enjoyment, they are overshadowed by tension, notably reflected in the disapproving expression of bystanders. Despite the possibility of finding solace in the rowdy dance, the overall tone, filled with vivid imagery and emotive language, conveys the speaker’s aversion to the experience. The main factors contributing to this claim of lack of enjoyment are: the father’s intoxication, the speaker feeling
In the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke expressed the tone depressing yet hopeful using metaphors, similes, and imagery. In the beginning, the boy thinks the dad is a terrible alcoholic, but still loves him but hope he changes. As the poem goes on, the boy is wanting his father to tuck him in at night. The reason why the poem has the tone depressing yet hopeful is because the boy and his mother are depressed. The reason why the mother and the boy are depressed is because the father is always drunk and doesn’t care about them.
Specifically this poem tells of the time when the author’s father would pick him up and happily waltz around the house with him while creating a somewhat chaotic scene. From the first reading of “My Papa’s Waltz”, the piece could be simply seen as a playful and lively waltz between a father and
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
The child try to teach the father waltzing but while they are doing it the father messed things up. But at the end his/her dad dances him all the way to bed, and the child still wants to cling on to the whirling, waltzing man the the child loves, doesn’t matter how much the father’s breath smells like whiskey, or how battered his knuckles may be. The father (from Grape Sherbet) made his sherbet, that masterpiece of swirled snow, gelled light. It’s a memory of a Memorial Day picnic with the speaker now realizing there was something to
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 ruminate on the abusive memory of his alcoholic father. Roethke uses playful imagery and a rhyme scheme to lighten the traumatic tone. Without a doubt, personal experience shapes one’s interpretation of “My papa’s Waltz”. One can say the “waltz” means Roethke and his father joyfully and formally dance , others say it means a continuous cycle of abuse. Ultimately , I believe that during our analysis of the poem we will come to find it is quite dark in tone.
Plath wants to get away from the psychological grip her father had on her without letting go of the parts of him she still loves. Through Roethke’s poem “My Papa’s Waltz,” we can see the portrayal of a negative father when Roethke says “The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy; but I hung on like death: such waltzing was not easy”
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 son 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. This poem employs diction and varying points of view to emphasize the lack of understanding between the two characters, while symbols and figurative comparisons express their mutual love; this poem analyzes the loving, yet dysfunctional relationship
