1. Explication- MY Papas Waltz
In writing, several techniques are used to develop a desired feeling within the reader. These techniques describe a feeling a particular way, using a concise description through the use of imagery; to communicate the authors desired effect on the reader. 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. .
Duality in interpretation is established immediately with the description "The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy." This picture elicits a widely varied image of a man based on personal feelings and experiences. A reader who has experienced an alcoholic father develops an image of a drunken man towering over his child, while a reader without that experience draws an image of a man who, after a drink or two, is playing with his son. Elizabeth Bishop, in the opening lines of "The Fish" wrote: "I caught a tremendous fish and held him out of water, with my hook fast in a corner of his mouth." (751) The image that develops within the reader is exact and measured, leaving no doubt what is being described. 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 second stanza continues the same way as the first, using language designed to allow different interpretations. "We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf", can be interpreted to mean that the father beat his son around, knocking things asunder in his drunken haze, or that the son and father played roughly, and in their fun, knocked the pans around. "My mother's countenance could not unfrown itself" is interpreted by readers to mean that the mother was upset by the way the father was beating the son, or that the mother was simply frowning because the father and son were a bit too rambunctious, messing up her kitchen in their fun.
The famous animated documentary film Waltz with Bashir attempts to and does draw our attention on turning against wars. As an anti-war film, Waltz with Bashir applies a highly unique form and an original narrative perspective. ... This essay is composed, with reference to my definition, to against the idea of recognizing this film as a mockumentary, or in other words, to support that Waltz with Bashir is a documentary. ... The meaning of this documentary could be like what the maker has said, "maybe I am doing all this for my sons. ... " Waltz With Bashir Pressbook)3. ...
What is the attitude the child has towards his father in Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz"? ... He then comes home and "Waltzes" through the door to continue the waltz with his son. ... Regardless of the mother's frown, the child continues to waltz with his father. In lines 9-12, it suggests a more rough and rugged waltz. ... In my opinion this just shows how much the child want's to stay with his father and also, how much the father loves his son. ...
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. According to McKenna, "My Papa's Waltz" is not a complex or long poem, but it has "intriguing ambiguity that elicits starling different interpretations" (1). ... 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 Cou...
"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. ... The words that the writer used reinforced my thoughts, "death", "romped", and "dirt"; all these were not pleasant imagery. ... This clinging could mean that he wanted to waltz more. ... Besides the rhyme it seems the structure of the poem is like a waltz, the steps of it. ...
"My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke is a poem overstuffed with many mixed interpretations. ... Although there are many different ways to interpret "My Papa's Waltz", there are various lines in each stanza to indicate there is an incident of abuse. ... In line four, stanza one; the boy refers to his situation of abuse as a "waltz". Waltzing is a dance that is thought of to be intimate. ... In the first line of stanza three the boy talks about, "The hand that held my wrist"(9). ...
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. ... Therefore, we might think of "the waltz- as an actual dance and not as a metaphor for a fight. ... In conclusion we may say that, de...
"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. ... In "My Papa's Waltz," the narrator remembers the pleasurable moment between the father and son. ...
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. ... The reading of this poem can also be interpreted as an actual waltz between a hardworking father and his son. ... The longer this waltz continues the more difficult it becomes for the...
