My Papa's Waltz By Theodore Roethke
Theodore Roethke once said, “Love is not love’s vulnerable”. Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” is a short poem about a dance between the father and the son. In each line, there are many consonance which makes specific words to be important or strong. This makes the dance to sound like a fight which in fact many readers might mistakened by a coverup of a fight. Even though the poem has strong words, there are deeper analysis that shows the son and the father actually having a nice dance. From this, there are evidence that this poem has a positive tone between the father and the son. To analyze that the poem, the reader must find words that mean something deeper. At the commencement of the poem, the son had held on from his father’s bad breath
while dancing with him. He waltzed with his father not for himself but for his father. To set an example, the son said, “ The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy” (Roethke 1-2). Near the denouement, there is another word which summaries the poem which the poem says, “Then waltzed me off to bed” (Roethke 15). This illustrates that the father is dancing with his son to his bed gracefully from the word waltz which is close to the word is romped which means to play roughly or energetically in line 5. Here is what shows an example of the idea that the action between the father and son is close to line 15, “We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf”(Roethke 5). Since the father took him to bed and played roughly like a normal father would do, this could mean that he is a good father. If he wasn’t a good father he won’t do something like this. Therefore shows the father and son have a positive tone.
Another way to analyze the poem is to see which words confuses the readers to think that the father and the son is fighting. The first word that confuses the reader is mostly the word death. During his dance with his father, he said, “But I hung on like death” (Roethke 3). This shows his dad dancing with his father’s horrible breath which could make him nauseous. However, the son is holding on just for his father which he held on like “death” while waltzing. The reader think the word death to something dark and eerie but it is just a word that helps the poem to be more emotional and show how much he tried to ignore his father’s breath. The word unfrown which is found in the line that shows the mother can’t unfrown herself which could also mistaken as a person who can’t stop frowning. Actually, it deeply means that the mother can’t unfrown physically but inside she is smiling or happy.
All the evidence now brought into the cessation to conclude that the father and son has a positive tone to each other if it was read deeply and understanding the important words that connects to the relationships between each lines. The father from line 5 and 15 shown that he is a good father who actually cared about his own son from the image that they are just playing rough and dancing gracefully because the father drank his whiskey after his long day at work. In line 3 with the word death had shown that the word was mistakened as the word that could kill someone but it was showing that the boy was dancing while trying not to breath in his father’s unpleasant smell of whiskey and keep on dancing for his father. From all the examples, it has shown that the father and son was waltzing gracefully and positively.
while dancing with him. He waltzed with his father not for himself but for his father. To set an example, the son said, “ The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy” (Roethke 1-2). Near the denouement, there is another word which summaries the poem which the poem says, “Then waltzed me off to bed” (Roethke 15). This illustrates that the father is dancing with his son to his bed gracefully from the word waltz which is close to the word is romped which means to play roughly or energetically in line 5. Here is what shows an example of the idea that the action between the father and son is close to line 15, “We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf”(Roethke 5). Since the father took him to bed and played roughly like a normal father would do, this could mean that he is a good father. If he wasn’t a good father he won’t do something like this. Therefore shows the father and son have a positive tone.
Another way to analyze the poem is to see which words confuses the readers to think that the father and the son is fighting. The first word that confuses the reader is mostly the word death. During his dance with his father, he said, “But I hung on like death” (Roethke 3). This shows his dad dancing with his father’s horrible breath which could make him nauseous. However, the son is holding on just for his father which he held on like “death” while waltzing. The reader think the word death to something dark and eerie but it is just a word that helps the poem to be more emotional and show how much he tried to ignore his father’s breath. The word unfrown which is found in the line that shows the mother can’t unfrown herself which could also mistaken as a person who can’t stop frowning. Actually, it deeply means that the mother can’t unfrown physically but inside she is smiling or happy.
All the evidence now brought into the cessation to conclude that the father and son has a positive tone to each other if it was read deeply and understanding the important words that connects to the relationships between each lines. The father from line 5 and 15 shown that he is a good father who actually cared about his own son from the image that they are just playing rough and dancing gracefully because the father drank his whiskey after his long day at work. In line 3 with the word death had shown that the word was mistakened as the word that could kill someone but it was showing that the boy was dancing while trying not to breath in his father’s unpleasant smell of whiskey and keep on dancing for his father. From all the examples, it has shown that the father and son was waltzing gracefully and positively.