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My Papa's Waltz by Theodore Roethke

            "My Papa's Waltz" is a poem that can be viewed with two completely opposite views, one as positive and the other as negative. The basic theme of the poem is the waltz with the drunken father. From reading the poem for the first time it seems that the waltz with the father was a very unpleasant event. The words that the writer used reinforced my thoughts, "death", "romped", and "dirt"; all these were not pleasant imagery. Therefore I viewed the poem negatively and thought that the boy would think the waltz with his father as a very uncomfortable but unforgettable memory. .
             But reading the poem again I see that the poem can also be interpreted as the boy enjoying the waltz because he was stilling "clinging on the shirt" when he was off to bed. This clinging could mean that he wanted to waltz more. So, the meaning of the poem is unclear. But I think that the writer wanted to write down his memory of dancing with his father although it might have been unpleasant at the time it is now a memorable memory of the time he spent with his father. .
             The structure of the poem seems to be in rhyme because the first four lines he made the last words rhyme every other line "breath" and "death" "dizzy" and "easy". Then for the middle stanzas he rhymed every other line and the last stanza he went back to like the first stanza. Besides the rhyme it seems the structure of the poem is like a waltz, the steps of it. The lines go back and forth which is very interesting. .
            


Essays Related to My Papa's Waltz by Theodore Roethke

1. My Papa's Waltz by Theodore Roethke

Professor Emeritus John McKenna has a critical essay of Theodore Roethke's poem, "My Papa's Waltz", which he analyzes and points out the different ways that people read the poem. ... In the poem, "My Papa's Waltz," Roethke shows a picture of a playful moment between a son and his father: We romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf; My mother's countenance Could not unfrown itself. (qtd. in Roethke, Theodore. "My Papa's Waltz.... In his poem, "My Papa's Waltz," Theodore Roethke writes: "The hand that held my w...

  • Word Count: 612
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Explication- MY Papas Waltz

Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz" is a fixed form poem of sixteen lines. Roethke created the rhyme scheme abab, cdcd, efef, ghgh. Roethke uses this rhyme scheme to make it sound as if the poem is a waltz. ... The waltz is an overall extended metaphor. ... Roethke uses the words "battered" and "death" to make the tone of the poem sad (3,10). ...

  • Word Count: 278
  • Approx Pages: 1
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3. Theodore Roethke

"My Papa's Waltz," by Theodore Roethke depicts a father's rough behavior towards his young son. ... At the same time the boy summarizes these events as a "waltz." ... Roethke's use of the terms "Papa" and "Waltz" in the title, as opposed to "Father" and "Dance" stand for a relationship that, at its core, is loving and genuine. ... His mother disapproves, as the speaker shows when he says, "My mother's countenance/ Could not unfrown itself." ... Though Roethke portrays this "waltz" in a harsh and almost painful manner, it is obvious that the father and son are having a playf...

  • Word Count: 932
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Theodore Roethke's My Papa's Waltz" : Abuse or Play?

I first thought of "My Papa's Waltz- by Theodore Roethke as a disturbing portrayal of a father beating his child, despite it's playful form, which imitates the cadence of a waltz in the meter of its stanzas very well. ... Therefore we can say that "My Papa's Waltz- accommodates starting points for multiple interpretations. By citing ambivalent expressions and lines I am going to support my first as well as my second impression of the poem. Roethke's use of very strong and powerful language and words such as "death-, "beat- as well as "battered- directs the reader'...

  • Word Count: 660
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5. My Papa's Waltz - Perception and Reality

Theodore Roethke "My Papa's Waltz" can be used as an example of this theory. ... The poem "My Papa's Waltz" has a double meaning it is either a waltz between a father and son, thus bringing them closer together, or on the darker side it is a fight between a drunken father and his son where the intimacy of the dance is overshadowed by the anger the reader feels from his her past. In this poem Theodore Roethke finagles our emotions with his literary conventions. ... To determine the true understanding of this poem the reader must first learn the background of Theod...

  • Word Count: 1627
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Grade Level: High School

6. "My Papa's Waltz by Theodore Roethke

In the poem "My Papa's Waltz," by Theodore Roethke, the speaker is talking about childhood experience that involved his father. ... The reason why I believe that this is nothing but a playful relationship between the father and son is for example when Roethke says "My mother's countenance / Could not unfrown itself "(1l. 7-8) it basically means that if child was actually getting beat, Roethke's mother would have reacted more than with just a simple face expression on her face if she realized it was getting intense. ... Also throughout the poem Roethke quotes, " Still clinging t...

  • Word Count: 491
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

7. My Papa's Waltz And Do Not Go Genle Into That Good Night

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  • Word Count: 829
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8. My Papa's Waltz

Theodore Rathkes "My Papa's Waltz", purposefully denies us that concise description, using simile imagery that allows a widely varied opinion of the characters playing out the events within the household, based on the readers feelings and experiences. ... Comparing that with Roethke's opening lines, his similes have a designed lack of exactness, ensuring that the reader will not be steered into any predetermined picture, but instead, can draw from a multitude of different images based on their personal experiences. ... The two sentences, "My right ear scraped a buckle, every t...

  • Word Count: 652
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

9. My Papa

A lot of that can be found in Theodore Roethke's poems, written back in the 40's. My Papa's Waltz is a perfect example of such unique characteristic that time represents. ... Considering the title of the poem, the word "Waltz" should mean some kind of music / dance typical to them. ... But the last part of "My Papa Waltz" will probably drive the audience to a mistaken point once again. ... Concluding the analysis of "My Papa's Waltz", from the author's second volume of poems The lost son (1948), with the clear and specified idea Theodore Roethke wanted the audience to ...

  • Word Count: 540
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

10. My Papa's Waltz" vs. "Those Winter Sundays

"My Papa's Waltz" vs. "Those Winter Sundays" The poem "My Papa's Waltz," by Theodore Roethke describes the scene of dance between a father and his son. ... The tone of "My Papa's Waltz" differs from the tone in "Those Winter Sundays". ... "My Papa's Waltz" has image of excitement and enjoyment. ... Apparently the works of Theodore Roethke and Robert Hayden have certain similarities, such that the poems deal with men remembering their father's attitude. ...

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