Symbolism And Metaphor In My Papa's Waltz

The meaning of a poem can be expressed through literary devices such as a metaphor or symbolism. When we look at the poem “My Papa’s Waltz,” Symbolism and metaphor are used strategically by the author to express the meaning of a poem. A metaphor is comparing two unlike things without using like or as and symbolism is to give more meaning and life to a certain thing. The poem highlights the experience of a child who was living with an abusive, drunk father and a mother who could not stand up for herself or her child. The following lines exemplify the author’s use of symbolism and metaphor.

The whiskey on your breath

Could make a small boy dizzy;

But I hung on like death;

Such waltzing was not easy.

We romped until the pans

Slid from

Symbolism is used in this poem for the characters and what is going on between them. The lines in this short poem suggest that the spoons symbolize a couple who was doing great together and then slowly started drifting apart. When they become forks, it symbolizes the issues they are having and how they are arguing all the time. Afterwards, it gets to the point where they hire knives to separate them. The symbolism occurring emphasizes the stages of their relationship and how it fell apart. Metaphors are also noticeably visible in this poem with one being “two spoons in bed,” This metaphor shows that the couple is not a pair of spoons but is a couple who is loving and affectionate. Another metaphor that is in this poem is in the second line when it says “now tined forks” Tined means sharp and the couple wasn’t actually a pair of forks that were sharp but a pair that was more sharp and hostile towards each other. The last metaphor shown in the poem is “and the knives they have hired.” Knives are known for being sharp and have a reputation of hurting people, mainly physically. But in the sense of this poem, it means the people who are now breaking them apart and separating them for good. Whenever people think of spoons they might think of cuddling and love going on between the couple but as forks and knives are used to describe their relationship, they think of sharpness and pain which mean the arguments and