A carefree and warm moment between a father and his son‚ or is something more sinister happening behind the curtains? “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke is‚ at first glance‚ a poem about a tender father dancing with his son. However‚ using literary elements such as symbols‚ allusion‚ imagery‚ metaphor‚ tone‚ rhyme‚ and simile‚ it is revealed that the relationship between them is more complex and darker than we imagine. Despite the seemingly playful moment‚ the poem portrays the theme of violence
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My Papas Waltz‚ written by Theodore Roethke writes a poem about his childhood‚ and his drunk father who he never seemed to have a problem with‚ until he saw his father was harming him in a sense. The first stanza was talking about how he could smell his fathers breath‚ the smell of whisky‚ but he still danced on. The second stanza was still about them dancing and going on just messing around. The third stanza then starts to go away from the innocence and talk about the violence that was happening
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Quynh Nguyen Lynn Hovde English 101 February 17th‚ 2010 The Memory of the Waltz After reading the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke (807)‚ I realized that there are many different opinions about this poem. Some people think that this poem is about parental abuse‚ the other also think that it is about the happy memory of the relationship between father and son. In my point of view‚ the speaker in the poem is expressing his joyful time when he’s dancing with his father. The whole poem
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My Papa’s Waltz Theodore Roethke was born to Otto and Helen Roethke on born on May 25‚ 1908. As a child his parents and his uncle owned and operated a greenhouse in Saginaw Michigan. Theodore spent a lot of time helping with his father working in the greenhouse. In 1923 his father died of cancer and shortly thereafter he turned to literature. His poem "My Papa’s Waltz" is a very emotionally stimulating poem. Roethke’s use of ethos in this poem helps establish his creditability. He writes
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Comparison Essay: The Passionate Shepherd‚ Song‚ My Papa ’s Waltz Love and Hate: Does True Love Conquer All? In recent discussions of love and hate‚ a controversial issue has been presented: can true love conquer all adversity? On one hand‚ some argue that love has its limitation. From this perspective‚ many will claim that familial love cannot conquer a violent home with a violent father. On the other hand‚ however‚ others argue that love can conquer any obstacle that appears in a relationship
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In the poem “My Papas Waltz” by Theodore Roethke and in the short story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’ Connor they both share some similarities. Both the story and the poem illustrate topics such as family‚ innocence and selfishness. First‚ the stories are about family in “My Papas Waltz” the poem is from the kids point of view where he wants the father the male role to be more attentive and then it switches to the mother were she is shown to be depressed and In “A Good Man is
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and “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke are both poems that brilliantly describe this powerful relationship between father and son. The feelings that the poets have toward the subject are found deep within the two poems often hidden behind how the character feels toward his own father. Even though these poems were published in different time periods‚ one feels the similarities and differences within the tone‚ form‚ or even the imagery of the poems. “Those Winter Sundays” and “My Papa’s Waltz” were
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A relatable story The poem “My Papa Waltz” is a childhood memory involving a boy and his father. Some people think this poem portrays a message of abuse from the drunken father‚ others see the happiness of the relationship. This poem in my opinion shows love between the two rather than hate or abuse‚ because of the imagery‚ symbolism‚ and word choice that Theodore Roethke uses. Roethke starts the poem off talking about the whisky on the father’s breath and how it was so strong it ‘Could make
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was not going to let the present opportunity to play or “waltz” go by the wayside stating‚ “But I hung on like death.” The speaker wanted us obtain a great feel of jubilance once the two started playing. In the second stanza‚ we learn that the speaker and the father’s horse playing was so rough that even the mother of the speaker’s expression on her face told a story of discontent‚ “We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf/ My mother’s countenance could not unfrown itself.” We can conclude
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My Papa’s Waltz: brutal or lighthearted? Whenever a poem is written without a clear understanding on how it should be interpreted both positive and negative emotions arise. One might try to pick up on the catchy rhymes that are meant for it to be comical‚ while other notice the harsh adjective and nouns associating with death. When a poem combines the innocence of a child at play associating with a drunken‚ hardworking father a lighthearted and brutal mental picture arises in one’s head. In the
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