In the poem "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke, one man recalls some of his childhood memories. I think that this poem tells us about a darker memory a little boy has of his father. This man recalls his dad as a hard working man, who comes home every night, gets a glass of whiskey and tries to relax after a hard working day. This poem shows how much this little boy loves his father and how he hung on to him no matter how difficult it is. .
The fist two lines of this poem show me that this is not one of the happy memories that any little boy would have: "The whiskey on your breath / Could make a small boy dizzy" (1-2). In the next two lines he says that he had to "hung on like death" (3) and that was not easy for him at that time. He chose the word "death" and this word doesn't usually go with happy memories. Then this man talks a little about his unhappy mother, and how kids were playing and making a lot noise and mess: "We romped until the pans / Slid from the kitchen shelf" (5-6). The expression on his moms face: "Could not unfrown itself" (8), tells that she is a tired, too. Papa was a working man whose hand: "Was battered on one knuckle" (10). Every step papa missed this boy's right ear got scraped by a buckle on his papa's belt. This man was a little 8-10 years old boy at that time, since his ear was on the same level as his dad's belt. "a palm caked hard by dirt" (14), tells that papa was a middle class working man, he worked somewhere where his hands were in dirt. In the last two lines of the poem you can feel that this little boy was emotionally attached to his Papa. Caring father takes his little boy to bed, and boy didn't want to let go: "clinging to you skirt" (16), probably cause he wanted to spend more time with his working papa. .
I think that this poem talks about darker memories of this man's childhood. The choice of words tells me that this is a dark memory.
"My Papa's Waltz" vs. ... This poem deals with affectionate memories of the narrator and his father. ... 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. ... Relatively, "Those Winter Sundays," has a downhearted memory that the narrator has for his father. ...
A Memory of My Father Judith Ortiz Cofer's "My Father in the Navy: A Childhood Memory" and Theodore Rothke's "My Papa's Waltz" are poems which were written with a positive theme toward the father figure. ... Cofer and Rothke's poems depict fond childhood memories from each speaker. ... As the title itself explained, this was Papa returning home from a long and hard day at work. ... As bedtime grew near, he would cling to his shirt wishing there were more time to play with papa. "My Papa's Waltz" and "My Father in the Navy: a Childhood Memory" are two memor...
The scene portrays a pleasant memory of a father and son roughhousing before the boy's bedtime. ... The title of the poem reveals Roethke's intention to show the boy's love for his father by using the comfortable word papa instead of the formal father. ... "My Papa's Waltz." 791) The reader can imagine a picture of the son and his papa having a fun time as they are playing rough with each other. ... In his poem, "My Papa's Waltz," Theodore Roethke writes: "The hand that held my wrist, Was battered on one knuckle" (10-12). ...
The adult narrator presents happy memories about past when his father was alive. ... The tone of the first poem "My Papa's Waltz" is full of humorus warm fillings at the beginning. ... The brutal existence is contrasted with love and warm memories. ... Instead his father "Papa" is drunk and his hands are "caked hard by dirt". ... Theodore Roethke's poem " My Papa's Waltz" attitude toward a father was very strong and emotional. ...
My Papa's Waltz is a perfect example of such unique characteristic that time represents. Born in a greenhouse in Michigan, Theodore expresses his infantile family memories in an extraordinary way, that brings to the readers the true feelings he had when he wrote it. ... 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 realize, makes the readers...
"My Papa's Waltz" is a poem that can be viewed with two completely opposite views, one as positive and the other as negative. ... 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 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 following poems, "My Papa's Waltz," "Those Winter Sundays," and "Legacies," attempt to touch on the issue of "connection". In "My Papa's Waltz" and "Those Winter Sundays," the narrators reflect back on the memories of their boyhood relationship with their father. ... "My Papa's Waltz," by Theodore Roethke, shows a connection between a father and son during a rambunctious dance scene. ... "My Papa's Waltz" provides readers with the opportunity to see life through the eyes of the boy, dictated by his father's drunken whims and his mother's quiet resignation. ...
In "My Papa's Waltz," a child deals with an alcoholic, controlling father. ... His tears are rainy weather/ to wound like memories:" (Lines 11-12) to express how watching the beating makes the memories of his own childhood beatings more painful. ... Watching the boy cry rouses painful memories in the observer who has gone through a similar situation. ... In Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz" a child recalls his father coming in drunk and dancing with him. ... I believe that the poem of these four that best illustrates the theme of childhood is "My Papa's Waltz." ...
Farewell to Manzanar is Jeanne Wakatsuki's memories of her experiences at Manzanar during WWII. ... For the first year the Wakatsuki's were at Manzanar, they had to live without "Papa". ... Papa started out in the story as a strong, traditional man of great pride and dignity, Manzanar transforms him into a man full of shame and fury, a bitter, sad man. ... Papa had lost both of his countries and felt helpless, and hopeless, he ended up "pursuing oblivion through drink- He never fully recovers, Manzanar is the ending point of Papa's life as he knew it. ...
