Comparing The Past In My Papa's Waltz 'And' The Past
522 Words3 Pages
The thing I love about poems is that the emotional responses to them aren’t always the same; each response is unique. I believe that someone’s response to a poem depends on his or her background. “My Papa’s Waltz” and “The Past” were two poems that truly related to me. By the title of, “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, I thought that it would be about the ballroom dance. As I continued to read the poem, I felt fear from the speaker’s words. While reading “The Past” by Ha Jin, it made me think of my own past and how there are times where I would like for it to stop following me like a shadow. “The Past” used symbolism to show characterization and allowed me, the reader, to view the past as tangible object. “My Papa’s Waltz” and “The Past” could be…show more content… Meanwhile, “The Past” used an abundance of symbolism to describe the past that cannot be escaped. Stories about fathers always have an impact on me. As I began to read “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, I took note that the speaker was the son. Because he was the speaker and I was only exposed to his point of view, I felt sympathy for him and not the father. Throughout the poem, it is in 2nd person point of view and the son is speaking to his father. Roethke began the poem: “The whiskey on your breath” (1). Through this line, I came to a realization that the father could be an alcoholic. I have never experienced an alcoholic first hand, but from what I have seen in films, alcoholics are usually portrayed as