Comparing Poems 'Rush Hour And My Papa's Waltz'
The Use of Imagery in “Rush Hour” and “My Papa’s Waltz”
Gregory S. Holland ENG 113-82 May 2, 2013 Mrs. Urban Poetry Project
In Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” and Elaine Terranova’s “Rush Hour” the authors use imagery to express their themes. Imagery is often used in poetry to evoke emotions and to help the reader see the words with their senses. In both poems, Roethke and Terranova use imagery to convey a child’s perception of a parent or adult. Both authors also use imagery to demonstrate the theme of dysfunctional families and how the family members are affected by this dysfunction. Finally, the authors use imagery in both “Rush Hour” and” My Papa’s Waltz” to develop …show more content…
the underlying theme of rough behavior or violence.
Both Roethke and Terranova use imagery to convey a child’s perception of a parent or adult. In “My Papa’s Waltz,” the child perceives that his father is drinking when he states “the whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy” (l. 1-2). The father drinking is apparently quite frequent in the household. The boy is excited and at the same time frightened by the waltz when he says “But I hung on like death: such waltzing was not easy” (l. 3-4) Roethke conveys the image that the child loves his father but is still apprehensive of the nightly ritual because he cannot keep up with the dancing. Roethke also points out, the child perceives that the mother disapproves of the so called waltz when it is stated “my mother’s countenance could not unfrown itself” but she did nothing to stop the dance even when the pans “slid from the kitchen shelf” (l. 5-8). In Terranova’s “Rush Hour,” the author uses imagery to show how uneasy the little girl is with her mother and adults on the train when she points out “the little girl has not once moved to touch her or to be touched” (l. 8-9). This is unusual behavior for a small child. The author further points out, that the child refuses to speak to or look at the adults when they question her such as when the conductor asked “how she broke her arm” when, in fact, most young children love to tell everyone what has happened to them (l. 24). She “looked out to the big, shaded houses” ignoring the man (l. 25). This indicated that she had been taught to be quiet when questioned by an adult outside the family.
In both “My Papa’s Waltz” and “Rush Hour” the authors used imagery to demonstrate the theme of family dysfunction.
In “My Papa’s Waltz,” Roethke also uses imagery to show a dysfunctional family but a different type of dysfunction. The author states “I hung on like death; such waltzing was not easy, and again when he notices that his father has been drinking and has “whiskey on his breath” (l. 1-4). The child does not like the nightly dance ritual but wants to please his father. Roethke shows how regardless of the circumstances of the father being drunk, the child still loves and adores him and at bedtime the child is “still clinging to your shirt” (l.16). This is the child’s way of coping with the dysfunction. In Terranova’s “Rush Hour,” there are many references that give us a picture of a family that is dysfunctional. When she states “the baby’s scabbed face peeking over the woman’s shoulder” and “the little girl at her side with her arm in a cast” this gives us a picture of children who are undergoing some sort of abuse at home (l. 1-3). Terranova notes that the young girl’s behavior is not that of a normal little girl with her mother. When the kind man and the conductor make inquiries about the children’s injuries the mother is quick to speak for her children and defend the “dog” who supposedly injured the baby (l. 20). She pleads, “It was an accident. He didn’t mean to do it” (l. 22). We can tell that she is really defending the father because she is afraid …show more content…
of anyone finding out about the dysfunction within her family and unstable home life. Again, when the conductor asked about the broken arm, the woman says “She doesn’t like to talk about that,” we can tell that the mother is trying to protect the secrets within her family (l. 26).
Roethke and Terranova both use imagery to develop an underlying theme of rough behavior or violence.
In “My Papa’s Waltz,” Roethke shows rough behavior on the part of the father when he says “the hand that held my wrist was battered on one knuckle” (l. 9-10). The battered knuckle seems to be an extreme description of a knuckle and implies rough behavior. The boy indicates that his father frequently waltzed him around rather roughly before he took him to his bed each night. We get the image of a child who loves his father but is perhaps a little wary of him when he is drinking. He notes “at every step you missed my right ear scraped a buckle,” which indicates the father was drinking and not aware of how rough he was with his son (l.11-12). Terranova in “Rush Hour,” uses the imagery of rough or violent behavior in many of the lines when she describes the condition of the children such as a “scabbed face” in the baby and the little girl with “her arm in a cast” (l. 1-3). The imagery of the mother in dark glasses is a more subtle reference to the violence of the father because the author states, “no one has seen what is behind her own dark glasses” which indicates that the father uses violent behavior not just with the children, but with the mother too (l. 27-28). The mother indicates violence when she says “It was an accident. He didn’t mean to do it,” which gives us a picture of a father who has a tendency toward violence with all the family members (l.
22-23).
First, we can see that both Terranova and Roethke used imagery to show us how the children in the story perceived a parent or adult. Also, both authors used imagery to help us see these children were coming from a dysfunctional family and they were learning to cope with this situation. Then, both Terranova and Roethke used vivid imagery to show us an underlying theme of rough behavior or violence that was present and how it affected the family members. Both of these authors used imagery to help us to understand what kind of life the children had because they had to cope with and learn to live with parents that inflicted rough behavior or had violent tendencies in their life.
Works Cited
Roethke, Theodore. “My Papa’s Waltz.” Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Robert Zweig. 10th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2012. 856. Print.
Terranova, Elaine. “Rush Hour.” Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Robert Zweig. 10th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2012. 664-665. Print.
Gregory S. Holland ENG 113-82 May 2, 2013 Mrs. Urban Poetry Project
In Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” and Elaine Terranova’s “Rush Hour” the authors use imagery to express their themes. Imagery is often used in poetry to evoke emotions and to help the reader see the words with their senses. In both poems, Roethke and Terranova use imagery to convey a child’s perception of a parent or adult. Both authors also use imagery to demonstrate the theme of dysfunctional families and how the family members are affected by this dysfunction. Finally, the authors use imagery in both “Rush Hour” and” My Papa’s Waltz” to develop …show more content…
the underlying theme of rough behavior or violence.
Both Roethke and Terranova use imagery to convey a child’s perception of a parent or adult. In “My Papa’s Waltz,” the child perceives that his father is drinking when he states “the whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy” (l. 1-2). The father drinking is apparently quite frequent in the household. The boy is excited and at the same time frightened by the waltz when he says “But I hung on like death: such waltzing was not easy” (l. 3-4) Roethke conveys the image that the child loves his father but is still apprehensive of the nightly ritual because he cannot keep up with the dancing. Roethke also points out, the child perceives that the mother disapproves of the so called waltz when it is stated “my mother’s countenance could not unfrown itself” but she did nothing to stop the dance even when the pans “slid from the kitchen shelf” (l. 5-8). In Terranova’s “Rush Hour,” the author uses imagery to show how uneasy the little girl is with her mother and adults on the train when she points out “the little girl has not once moved to touch her or to be touched” (l. 8-9). This is unusual behavior for a small child. The author further points out, that the child refuses to speak to or look at the adults when they question her such as when the conductor asked “how she broke her arm” when, in fact, most young children love to tell everyone what has happened to them (l. 24). She “looked out to the big, shaded houses” ignoring the man (l. 25). This indicated that she had been taught to be quiet when questioned by an adult outside the family.
In both “My Papa’s Waltz” and “Rush Hour” the authors used imagery to demonstrate the theme of family dysfunction.
In “My Papa’s Waltz,” Roethke also uses imagery to show a dysfunctional family but a different type of dysfunction. The author states “I hung on like death; such waltzing was not easy, and again when he notices that his father has been drinking and has “whiskey on his breath” (l. 1-4). The child does not like the nightly dance ritual but wants to please his father. Roethke shows how regardless of the circumstances of the father being drunk, the child still loves and adores him and at bedtime the child is “still clinging to your shirt” (l.16). This is the child’s way of coping with the dysfunction. In Terranova’s “Rush Hour,” there are many references that give us a picture of a family that is dysfunctional. When she states “the baby’s scabbed face peeking over the woman’s shoulder” and “the little girl at her side with her arm in a cast” this gives us a picture of children who are undergoing some sort of abuse at home (l. 1-3). Terranova notes that the young girl’s behavior is not that of a normal little girl with her mother. When the kind man and the conductor make inquiries about the children’s injuries the mother is quick to speak for her children and defend the “dog” who supposedly injured the baby (l. 20). She pleads, “It was an accident. He didn’t mean to do it” (l. 22). We can tell that she is really defending the father because she is afraid …show more content…
of anyone finding out about the dysfunction within her family and unstable home life. Again, when the conductor asked about the broken arm, the woman says “She doesn’t like to talk about that,” we can tell that the mother is trying to protect the secrets within her family (l. 26).
Roethke and Terranova both use imagery to develop an underlying theme of rough behavior or violence.
In “My Papa’s Waltz,” Roethke shows rough behavior on the part of the father when he says “the hand that held my wrist was battered on one knuckle” (l. 9-10). The battered knuckle seems to be an extreme description of a knuckle and implies rough behavior. The boy indicates that his father frequently waltzed him around rather roughly before he took him to his bed each night. We get the image of a child who loves his father but is perhaps a little wary of him when he is drinking. He notes “at every step you missed my right ear scraped a buckle,” which indicates the father was drinking and not aware of how rough he was with his son (l.11-12). Terranova in “Rush Hour,” uses the imagery of rough or violent behavior in many of the lines when she describes the condition of the children such as a “scabbed face” in the baby and the little girl with “her arm in a cast” (l. 1-3). The imagery of the mother in dark glasses is a more subtle reference to the violence of the father because the author states, “no one has seen what is behind her own dark glasses” which indicates that the father uses violent behavior not just with the children, but with the mother too (l. 27-28). The mother indicates violence when she says “It was an accident. He didn’t mean to do it,” which gives us a picture of a father who has a tendency toward violence with all the family members (l.
22-23).
First, we can see that both Terranova and Roethke used imagery to show us how the children in the story perceived a parent or adult. Also, both authors used imagery to help us see these children were coming from a dysfunctional family and they were learning to cope with this situation. Then, both Terranova and Roethke used vivid imagery to show us an underlying theme of rough behavior or violence that was present and how it affected the family members. Both of these authors used imagery to help us to understand what kind of life the children had because they had to cope with and learn to live with parents that inflicted rough behavior or had violent tendencies in their life.
Works Cited
Roethke, Theodore. “My Papa’s Waltz.” Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Robert Zweig. 10th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2012. 856. Print.
Terranova, Elaine. “Rush Hour.” Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Robert Zweig. 10th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2012. 664-665. Print.