What Is An Example Of Connotation In My Papa's Waltz

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After reading Virginia Graves’ information about connotation and denotation, it is understood that while denotation is the literal representation of a word, connotation is the context the word is used in. For example, in the poem “My papa’s waltz” by Theodore Roethke on page 552 in the text, the word “waltz” has both a denotative and connotative meaning. The word “waltz” is traditionally meaning a type of formal dance shared between two people. In this poem however the speaker and his father do a type of “waltz” as the speaker’s father is beating him around the house. In this poem the theme is abuse and the speaker uses the word “waltz” to describe the events unfolding around his house between himself and his father. Another example of denotation

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