"My Papa's Waltz" Annotated Bibliography Bogen, Don. "'Intuition' And 'Craftsmanship': Theodore Roethke At Work." Papers On Language & Literature 18.1 (1982): 58. Literary Reference Center. Web. 3 Apr. 2016. This article is a poetry review by Don Bogen. Bogen discusses the work of Theodore Roethke, with focus given to his poet composition process. He analyses' Roethke's writing process. Also, his composition of the poem, "Where Knock Is Open Wide" is spoken about. And his use of symbolism. Janssen
The poem My Papa’s Waltz can be interpreted in different ways. The poem states that papa and his son shared a dance called a waltz. Papa had too much whiskey to drink meaning he had drank too much and could possibly be an alcoholic. The son hung to his father probably because he was frightened . “Like death” implies that this behavior from his father seems to be endless. “Such waltzing was not easy” implies that this action may have occurred many times and it was very difficult to handle or deal
In the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Roethke, the initial form of the way the poem is set up is normal relative to other poems of this time. Also, in terms of flow and progression in the poem, nothing seems incredibly out of the ordinary. However on the topic of structure and the physical way it is written, this may be a cause for notice in the mind of the reader. This idea that the way it is scribed on paper may give us more on the motive of the poem itself, is key to understanding that in the poem
that helps interpret the meaning accurately. Images also helps to convey the idea of what's happening in the poem. “My Papa's Waltz” by Theodore Roethke sentence says “But I hung on like death” shows an idea of a little boy holding on tightly, not really dieing, getting the point across. Imagery also helps give a sense of feel to the reader of what's going on. “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke line “We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf” allows the reader to feel the pans making
“Daddy” and “My Papa’s Waltz” are poems written about the author’s father. In the year 1948, Theodore Roethke wrote “My Papa’s Waltz,” a short poem about dancing, as a small boy, dancing with his father before bedtime. However, the title to this poem is completely ironic because they do not waltz, but it is more of a rough dance. “Daddy” was written by Sylvia Plath in the year 1966; Plath’s father died when she was a small child and her poem expresses her rage against him, but also against all males
Father Daddy Papa Walter McDonald’s “Life with Father” and Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” similarly describes a childhood dealing with an alcoholic father, however, the poets’ experience with the situation differs. In Walter McDonald’s “Life with Father” and Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” the poets use figurative language and tone to reveal their shared themes regarding the tension and fear of living with an alcoholic father [in their childhood but evoking a hint of affection.] In a
audience” (McKenna 1998). Roethke wrote about the reality of how life was around him and also how his poetry was also the reflection of himself. One of these poems that defined the definitions of what was reality was for him is the poem entitled “My Papa’s Waltz”. In analyzing the short poem, literary elements presents themselves are the use of imagery, the different tones of the poem, and the critical approach of structuralism all plays the role in making this particular poem to become a whole.
“My Papa’s Waltz” is the illusive narrative of Theodore Roethke’s speaker’s childhood. The speaker is a boy who deeply loves his father despite him being a drunk. Even though his father could be rough at times, this boy’s childhood memories are well treasured in his heart and mind. Roethke sets the tone to the ‘waltz’ by utilizing situations, descriptions, and unique characteristics throughout his character’s childhood associated to his father. Roethke allows the reader to experience situations throughout
My Papa’s Waltz Theodore Roethke, an eighteenth-century poet who had a way of showing and teaching future generations of American poets to pursue the mysteries of one’s inner self. Roethke, however, had a very hard life. He grew up in Saginaw, Michigan. His father was a German immigrant, who owned and ran his own greenhouse. Roethke loved to read and write in his high school days. When Roethke turned fourteen years old his father passed away with cancer and his uncle that we don’t hear about as
“My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke is about a son who still loves his father, even through his dad’s alcoholism and abuse. The author uses slant rhyme to demonstrate that something is amiss in what could easily be interpreted as just a poem about a loving father-son relationship. The father’s alcoholism is evident from the beginning of the poem, in the lines “The whiskey on your breath/Could make a small boy dizzy” (1-2). This shows that during their “waltz”, the father is drunk enough that just