Lucille Clifton Forgiving My Father

One of the most difficult, yet rewarding roles is that of a parent. The relationship between and parent and child is so complex and important that a parents relationship with her/his child can affect the relationship that the child has with his/her friends and lovers. A child will watch their parents and use them as role models and in turn project what the child has learned into all of the relationship that he child will have. The way a parent interacts with his/her child has a huge impact on the child’s social and emotional development. Such cases of parent and child relationships are presented in Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” and Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy”. While Roethke and Plath both write about a dynamic between a child-father relationship that seems unhealthy and abusive, Plath writes about a complex and tense child-father relationship in which the child hates her father, whereas Roethke writes about a complex and more relaxed child-father relationship in which the son loves his father. Through the use of tone, rhyme, meter, and imagery, both poems illustrate different child-father relationships in which each child has a different set of feelings toward their father.

As human beings we are often reluctant to let go of our anger and unwilling to forgive others. This becomes especially true in the case of loved ones or family members. The poem, “How Do We Forgive Our Fathers?,” written by Dick Lourie, addresses the different dilemmas associated with a child forgiving his/her father. In his six-stanza poem, the poet discusses how a child should forgive their father for traumatic events imposed on the child. This includes reasons for forgiveness, appropriate time to forgive, and whether or not to even forgive at all. Detailed through the different stanzas, the poem suggests that until one learns how to appropriately forgive another for wrongful behavior, they will never be able to let go of resentment and

Everyone has a father. No matter if the father is present in a child’s life or not, he still exists and takes that role. A father has a major impact on his child whether he knows it or not, and that impact and example shapes the child’s perspective on life, and on love. The authors, Robert Hayden and Lucille Clifton, share the impact of their fathers through poetry, each with their own take on how their fathers treated them. The poems “Forgiving My Father” and “Those Winter Sundays” have significant differences in the speaker’s childhood experiences, the tone of the works, and the imagery presented, which all relate to the different themes of each poem.

Throughout literary history, authors have categorized mothers as nurturing, critical, and caring; works of literature characterize fathers, however, as providers who must examples for their children and embrace their protective, “fatherly” instincts. However, many works’ fathers fall short when it comes to acting the role of the ideal dad. Instead of being there for their children, they are away and play very miniscule roles in their children’s lives; instead of protecting he actually ends up hurting their kids. Thus, the paternal literary lens tries to determine whether or not the work’s father figure fits the “perfect father” archetype. This lens questions whether or not the father figure is his children’s active example, provider, and

Although single parenthood is on the rise in homes today, children still often have a father role in their life. It does not matter who the part is filled by: a father, uncle, older brother, grandfather, etc...; in almost all cases, those relationships between the father (figure) and child have lasting impacts on the youth the rest of their lives. In “I Wanted to Share My Father’s World,” Jimmy Carter tells the audience no matter the situation with a father, hold onto every moment.

In their recent work, Brad Manning and Sarah Vowell have written about more than one way to have a close, but different relationship with their fathers. There is has always been a belief that to get along with someone you would have normal conversations, enjoy each other’s company, or share a common interest. In the story they love their father as any other child would, but their ways of communication are not the same and are different from a common father-child relationship. Both authors use rhetorical devices as a framework for differentiating their relationships with their fathers by characterizing them.

Throughout time, fathers and daughters have had special relationships. Some, the best relationship a girl could ever hope for. For others, the relationship is not so great. Sylvia Plath and Lucille Clifton wrote poems describing the darker side of a father-daughter relationship. Their poems demonstrate them in different ways. The poets of “Forgiving my Father” and “Daddy” demonstrate the theme, unresolved anger leads to lifelong bitterness, because both narrators hate their fathers for lying, blame their fathers for ruining their lives, and, finally, learning to cut their fathers out of their lives.

The controversial poem, “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke has spurred passionate academic debate from professors, scholars, and students alike; the imagery, syntax, and diction of the poem clearly support the interpretation that Roethke writes “My Papa’s Waltz” to reminisce on a bittersweet memory with his father. His unclear commemoration has sparked a divide on what the true purpose of the poem is. Some may argue the poem’s purpose is to shine light on the subject of abuse, whereas others believe the father and son were sharing a moment while “roughly playing.” However, the more one examines this piece of literature, it becomes undeniable that the poem portrays a scene of a toxic father-son relationship. Although there are a

In this response, I am comparing and contrasting the emotions that the speakers Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” and Hayden’s “ Those Winter Sundays” have towards their fathers. In “ My Papa’s Waltz”, get the feeling that the father abuses the speaker and has a strong dislike for the speaker. According to the text, “ The hand that held my wrist, Was battered on one knuckle, At every step you missed, my right ear scraped a buckle” (Roethke 9-12). In “ Those Winter Sundays”, I get this feeling that the speaker’s father is a hardworking man that keeps clothes on their back and keeps the house warm, but the speaker has to wake up early on Sundays to help his father. In comparison the both talk about their father, but mostly contrasting that “ My Papa’s

Theodore Roethke’s poem “My Papa’s Waltz” illustrates a nightly ritual between a working-class father and his young son. In the first stanza a young boy holds tightly to his father. The second stanza describes a playful roughhousing between father and son. The fourth stanza shows again the boy’s unwillingness to let go of his father. Roethke’s AB rhyming scheme and waltz-like meter set a light and joyful cadence. The music of the waltz comes through in the reading and with it a carefree and innocent tone for the telling of the short amount of time between a hard-working father arriving home and the time when his son must go to bed.

While the subject of the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke has spurred passionate academic debate from professors, scholars, and students alike, the imagery, syntax, and diction of the poem clearly support the interpretation that Roethke writes “My Papa’s Waltz” to look back at the fond memories he has as a child with his father. Roethke’s poem was published in 1961, he was born in 1908 so at the time of this memory he was only about five or six years old. In discussions of “My Papa’s Waltz,” one controversial issue has been that Roethke’s poem is about the abuse he suffered through as a child. On the one hand, some readers argue that it isn’t when looking at the denotative meaning. On the other hand, many readers contend that it

Theodore Roethke was a poet who was born in Saginaw, Michigan and was influenced greatly by his father. His educational background is rather extensive, he attended The University of Michigan, took courses at Harvard University, and would then become poet-in-residence at the University of Washington. Having published several works of literature “My Papa’s Waltz” is among one of his most famous. In this poem, Roethke shows his audience a plethora of viewpoints and opinions; which are free to interpretation however one sees fit. I on the other hand feel that this poem is more of a memory to this writer. He is looking back on a fond memory with his father, perhaps his last memory of his father.

In discussions of “My Papa’s Waltz,” one controversial issue has been about a fond memory of his father . On the one hand, some readers argue The poem was about abuse . On the other hand, many readers contend It was a somber poem that expresses a son’s love for his father, despite his father’s alcoholism and abusive ways. Others even maintain that the poem had everything to do with something positive and memorable. However, after deconstructing the poem, it becomes increasingly clear that the poem is about kid who's dad is an abusive alcoholic father and still seeks ways to admire him. While the subject of “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke has spurred passionate academic debate from professors, scholars, and students alike, the imagery, syntax, and diction of the poem clearly support the interpretation that Roethke writes “My Papa’s Waltz” to reflect on a memory portraying the abusive nature alcoholic father.

Theodore Roethke’s poem “My Papa’s Waltz” is written in a way that brings a wide range of emotional feelings to the reader. To some readers there is a description of a loving relationship between a father and child, yet to others there is a description of a relationship filled with abuse.

In Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz,” the troubles of alcoholism are addressed. To explain the situation, Roethke writes about an unhealthy family in which the father comes home every night drunk and abuses his son. Roethke explains the cultural values of the father by acknowledging the smell of whiskey on his breathe and revealing his abusive personality (Roethke lines one and thirteen). The father has upset everyone in his family and continues to tear the family apart. Despite being abused mentally and physically, the son still somehow finds it in his heart to love his father unconditionally and give him as many second chances as it takes (Roethke line sixteen). All the son wants is to restore order to his family and love his father like a perfect human being. Theodore Roethke talks about the recurring themes of alcohol troubles, an upset family, the metaphor of dancing, and how a son’s love for his father is strong enough to forgive and see through any hardships, including imperfections and unhealthy relationships.