Paraphrase: The smell on your breath can affect a child; but I would never give in for it wasn't easy. We frolicked so much pans slide from the shelf; my mom didn't have much tolerance to put up with this. Part of you was injured but every thing I did somehow it was a mistake. You never let me forget because we were God, and then took me to bed because I was forever yours.
Connotation: "My Papa's Waltz" presents similes, metaphors, and personification. An example of a simile would be, "But I held on like death." The author means that he could never let go he is so desperate. A personification example would be, "My mother's countenance could not un-frown itself." By this the author means that even tolerance can't handle such a person when they are under the influence. The author provides very brief words throughout the poem to quickly get his poem's meaning across to the reader.
Speaker's Attitude: The speaker evokes sympathy as they read the poem. What evokes such a tone could possibly be the mood. The mood of this poem is sad and pitiful. Words in the poem give this feeling to the reader. Some would be "battered on one knuckle," "un-frown," and "death." Such a word gives off a vibe of what the mood is therefore resulting in the tone of the speaker.
Shifts: There are very minimal tense shifts if any. The poem begins sad because it talks of Whiskey on someone's breath but as the poem moves along the reader comes across "romped" which also means frolicked. Frolicked gives the reader a sense of happiness because when someone hears the word frolic the reader thinks of happiness because most little kids frolic. After that there are hardly any shifts in the poem.
Theme: This poem presents the idea that the theme would be that no matter what someone can do, there will always be someone who depends on him or her and will always love him or her. An example of the poem helps support this, "Still clinging to your shirt," this implies that they do depend on them because this is an act of immaturity. "Held on like death," provides another example because the death grip is a never ever letting go grip, it holds on forever and doesn't want to let go.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
5.In "The Weary Blues" what words set a tone for the poem? What is the tone?…
- 443 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
In the first stanza, Roethke starts off by setting a sort of ominous tone. “The whiskey on your breath / Could make a small boy dizzy” (1-2). Here he reveals to his readers that his father was drunk and the smell of his breath was unbearable. Subsequently, he goes on to describe the manner in which he was holding on to his father. “But I hung on like death / Such waltzing was not easy” (3-4). The simile here shows the boy holding onto his father as tight as he possibly could. It was not an easy task for the child but he was determined not to let go.…
- 1060 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The speaker remembers all the good that his father did and doesn’t emphasize all of his father’s faults. The title of the poem is “My Papa’s Waltz”. This is the first place you see that the speaker thinks of his father fondly and kindly. Although his father may have had a few flaws, he still refers to him as his Papa, a term that is normally used lovingly and fondly. The speaker loves his father, he used to trust to him, rely on him, and clutch to him, feeling safe in his father’s hands. This feeling of protection and love from his father is conveyed in the last two lines of the poem, “Then waltzed me off to bed \ Still clinging to your shirt.” [line 15-16]. The speaker clung to his father’s shirt because he trusted that his father knew what he was doing and would protect him. Line 15 also illustrated that it wasn’t a group effort. The speaker as a child trusted in his father and allowed his father to take him with wherever he went. The speaker and the father did not waltz off to bed together. Instead, the speaker allowed the father to lead him, giving him full faith and believing that his father would protect him…
- 1109 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
"Inside is where the son and father will always be holding hands"(Adam Johnson). All children one way or another have a special bond between them and their father. But, a father and son form an unbreakable bond. It's natural for a father to groom his son and teach him things he himself faced when he was once young. The poem "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke entails a memory of a small boy and father perceived to be having a good time and having a good time and dancing despite the father being drunk. “My Papa’s Waltz” is a positive childhood experience because the drunk father made time for his son, the father worked hard to provide for his family and the small boy loved his father unconditionally.…
- 665 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Next, the articles both have to do with innocence. In “My Papas Waltz” it’s the boy’s innocence and how he sees everything.…
- 325 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Alexie sets the mood of the excerpt through his use of tone. For instance, he wrote, “At the hospital, my mother wept and wailed.” Usage of the words “wept” and “wailed” establish a distressful tone. In addition, he included, “I think it hurts the same as if you were only five years old, you know?” Here, he makes a connection to the sensitivity of a five-year-old and pain by using a melancholy tone. Alexie’s overall grim tone effectively sets the mood of the passage, as it is meant to be perceived as depressive and heartbreaking.…
- 445 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The tone and subject create a major impact to the overall theme of the poem, creating a strong emotional connection to the boy's experience. It is evident from the author’s use of the title, “My Papa’s Waltz.” Its transparency sets up the readers’ expectation before we even read the first line. This allows the author to focus on the lyrical form and wordplay of the poem eliminating the need to explain the situation any further. A waltz is a ballroom dance that comes with a rhythmic beat of three which mimics the prevailing iambic trimeter of the poem. Furthermore, the alternating rhymes in the poem metaphorically tie in with the constant swaying back and forth found in waltz dancing. The waltzing in the poem signifies an extended metaphor for the father-son relationship, therefore, is also symbolic and ultimately ties in organically to the sensitive and delicate significance of this…
- 882 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The poems title, “My Papa’s Waltz”, is the first indication of the authors intended tone. Roethke had innumerable choices for the title of his poem, so we must…
- 877 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
"My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke is a four quatrain poem written in iambic trimeter. The rhyme scheme present is abab, cdcd, efef, and ghgh. In the poem, the son is remembering a time when his father, who was excessively drunk at the time, carrying him through the kitchen off to bed. It was a rough, almost abusive, journey though because his father, who is already drunkenly waltzing him, is probably not used to handling things with care at work since his hands are described as "caked hard by dirt" and "battered on one knuckle". The speaker in the poem, the son, is clearly holding onto this memory of his father for whatever reason: maybe he died early, was working all the time, or abandoned the family.…
- 790 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
When I read a story I decide if I like the story by the way I feel . That is called the tone of the story. In the poem “There Will Be Soft Rains.” the author sets a tone of loveliness and loneliness. The author goes into a tone like fear and loveliness like when the house was on fire the house could not tack the fire it was completely helpless.…
- 454 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Roethke perfectly captures the speaker’s innocence and confusion through his utilization of both sanguine and somber diction and imagery paired with the poem’s melodious rhyme scheme and…
- 731 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In Theodore Roethke’s poem, My Papa’s Waltz, there seems to be a bit of controversy about what actions are taking place within it. From the title, it appears that the father and child were dancing, seeing as a waltz is a type of dance. But this is no dance. While waltzing, one person leads while the other follows. The father is the leader in this situation, showing dominance over his child. This “waltz” is simply something that the father does often. The narrator is the child. The vague and patchy description of the actions taking place would indicate that this is but a memory the narrator is trying to recall about his childhood. The poem, when read over quickly and lazily, may appear to be about this dance,…
- 1017 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
Theodore Roethke, in his poem, “My Papas Waltz”, recounts his childhood and his experiences with his drunken father, where he compares it to a waltz. Roethke’s purpose was to illustrate his love for his father even though he drank. He adopts a contemplative tone in order to reflect similar feelings and experiences in his scholastic readers.…
- 668 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In the first two stanzas, a very young Roethke tells of his drunken father dancing with him in the kitchen. The imagery of the smell of whiskey on his fathers breath, and the stumbling through the kitchen making mother angry, certainly doesn't make this dance seem to be as elaborate and beautiful as a waltz. With the combination of whiskey, pots and pans falling off the shelf, and a young boy involved, its easy to assume that there is some sort of violent act in effect here.…
- 599 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
It wasn't an incredibly advanced piece, not unattainably difficult, but to me, the unfamiliar rhythms and new patterns required more thought and effort than most of the usual classical songs. The defining feature of this song, the motific triplet-against-eight note pattern, would simply not stay in my brain. Late nights lying in bed, in between classes, tapping on my desk, that rhythm always slipped through my fingers just as I thought I had it. I even asked a few drummers from marching band to help me, who would spend their lunch time with their practice pads and drumsticks on top of ritzy school pianos, drilling me while I practiced that elusive rhythm. My metronome became my best friend and my worst enemy, and secondary source of frustration as it pointed .…
- 376 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays