My Papa's Waltz

“My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke sparks differing opinions within the minds of many. Roethke was influenced greatly by his experiences as a young boy. For instance, his uncle and father both died when he was the age of fourteen. “My Papa’s Waltz” is written in remembrance of his father after this dreadful occurrence. The author’s use of imagery brings light to the his adoration for his father. Notably, his way of stringing together ideas reinforces the fond memories they shared. Roethke’s captivating choice of words supports his purpose to make known the love he has for this man. While the subject of “My Papa’s Waltz” has spurred passionate academic debate from professors, scholars, and students alike, the imagery, syntax, and diction of the poem clearly support the interpretation that Theodore Roethke writes “My Papa’s Waltz” to bring attention to the loving relationship he had with his father.

An ideal father should be someone who nurtures and lovingly cares for his offspring, and some kids are blessed by this opportunity growing up to spend time with their father, even if their parents are divorced. As the years go by our fathers grow older and we too grow old. We start to reminisce about the nostalgic times we had when we were young. In the poems “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, and “Tips From My Father” by Carol Ann Davis; the authors draw from different life events, in which each communicate a happy memory with their fathers to the audience, and conclude a common theme surrounding a bond with their fathers, which can be inferred through how the parents care about their kids and show affection to them by giving their

"Sundays too my father got up early and / And put his clothes on in the blueback cold" comes from Robert Hayden's "Those Winter Sundays" and describes the life of the speaker who reminisces of the childhood experiences that were spent with the speaker's father (1-2). "At every step you missed / My right ear scraped a buckle" comes from Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz and also exemplifies a past relationship between a child and father (11-2). Despite the many similarities that exist between Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz" and Robert Hayden's "Those Winter Sundays" the tone, diction, and poetic devices that are used in each poem

This is shown in the lines “Weekday weather made banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him” (p. 155). There is a very different feeling toward how each narrator sees their father. “The whiskey in your breath could make a small boy dizzy”(p. 193). This line in Roethke’s poem shows that he saw his father as an embarrassment to him. Having an alcoholic father who gets reckless at points when he drinks can be hard for a child to handle, but the narrator is able to accept the fact that his father drinks and moves on. Hayden sees his father in a different light. He sees his father as a workingman, who is too busy to have fun and talk to his family. He sees his father as only a tool for earning money for the family, or doing all of the hard work around the house. “Sundays too my father got up early, then with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather made banked fires blaze. No on ever thanked him” (p. 155). This shows he only saw his father as a workingman, didn’t notice the hard work his father did, and didn’t understand that he was doing this out of love for his family. Both the narrators showed different attitudes toward their fathers, because they both saw them in a different way.

“My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, and “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden are the poems that talk about the relation between son and father. Both speakers in the poem are grown men and reflect memories of the day they spend with their father when they were in childhood. About the poem “My Papa’s Waltz,” Baird states that “Theodore Roethke imaginatively re-creates a childhood encounter with his father, but also begins to attempt to understand the meaning of the relationship between them”( Baird). Another poem “Those Winter Sunday”, Peck states that “the poem provides its power, for the poem’s meaning depends upon the differences between what the boy knew then and what the man knows now” (Peck). Both themes, which is the poem written about fathers, are similar to each other; however, there are some significant difference in the structure of the poem, and the feeling toward fathers from sons.

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” as a loving relationship between an imperfect father and young son.

Childhood is where it all begins, where a child is usually looking for some sort of guidance and affection. Relationships in a family is significant as they portray how a child will hide attitudes towards their parents, sometimes through their delusions, other times through their silence. The poems "My Papa's Waltz", by Theodor Roethke and "Those Winter Sundays", by Robert Hayden use the theme of emotionally-based childhood experiences for the love of their fathers, but are displayed in different ways. The fundamental message conveyed is the importance of a father-son relationship.

The poems “My Father’s Song” by Simon J. Ortiz and “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, these two poems express uniqueness and similarities. In the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” a young child describes his time spent with his father. In the poem “My Father’s Song” a grown man remembers the previous memories of time spent with his father, when he was a child. These two poems coincide through tone, word choice, and figurative language to show the relationship between a father and son.

In Robert Hayden’s "Those Winter Sundays," there are various elements of the poem that work to contribute to the poem’s emotional appeal of sadness and regret. The speaker recounts his past and his apathy to his father when he was a child. Throughout the text the readers can feel the speaker's regret through the author’s diction. His use of the past tense and references to time throughout the poem suggest that, over time, the speaker has reached a new perspective and perhaps a reluctant forgiveness for his father expresses the tone of regret. When describing the relationship between the father and the speaker, the choice of words the author uses like “cold, fearing, and chronic angers” evokes the negative connotations of a hostile environment

The title "Those Winter Sundays" is used to look back on the writer's childhood. In combination with the sonnet, the title emphasizes the guilt the author faces for not honoring his father when he had the chance. For instance, the father was still working diligently during the winter season to ensure his kid's comfort. Even on Sundays the father was up early and polished the child shoes for church. Regardless of the fathers' efforts, the child is not able to value them. Subsequently, after the passing of his father, the child asks himself, "What did I know, what did I know/ of love’s austere and lonely offices" (Hayden 13-14)? Naturally, the child is pondering the time he wasted by not giving the best regards to his compassionate father, whereas the following poem's writer embraces his unflattering father, even in the title.

Those Winter Sunday's written by Robert Hayden is about a look back at a certain point in his life where he has regret. This is a poem about a memory in our authors life. In Hayden’s "Those Winter Sundays," the author is a man taking about his past with his father and the type of relationship he had with his father when he was a child. Now that the author has grown up he has been able to realize so much more that his father did for him than what he realized as a child. The author has now realized how his father showed his love for him when they were both living together in his childhood. The author now since he has grown up has found it easier to understand how hard it is to be a parent. The title of the poem is appropriate in many different

“Those Winter Sundays,” by Robert Hayden describes a father relationship during the cold mornings. The poem focuses on a child’s memory where they’re looking back at a certain point in life that they regret. The speaker starts off the poem reflecting on his past, more importantly his relationship with his father.

The next difference that stands out between the two poems is the different tones in the speakers. In the poem by Robert Hayden, the tone comes off as having sadness and regret towards the speaker’s father. The poem says, “What did I know, what did I know of loves austere and lonely offices?” (13). In this writing, the speaker is now older and is looking back on what her father did for her as a child to show his love. She is sad now because, in her mind, she thought that her father did not care about her, but looking back she can clearly see that he loves her, which now makes her regret her relationship with him. In the poem by Lucille Clifton, the tone of the speaker can be perceived as the speaker being bitter and angry towards her father because he never bothered to take care of her and her mother both emotionally and financially. Clifton writes, “But you were the only son of a needy father, and the father of a needy son; you gave her all you had which was nothing” (12). The speaker’s father never gave his family anything, therefore, the speaker wants everything she never got in return. Both of these poems tie into theme in a certain way. “Those Winter Sundays” tone ties back to theme because they deal with regret and sadness because of the love the speaker never knew as a child.

"Those Winter Sundays" is a very touching poem. It is written by Robert Hayden who has written many other poems. This paper will talk about the poem "Those Winter Sundays". In particular we will look at the structure, main idea, and each stanza of the poem.

In the poem “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden, the speaker is reflecting on his past with his father, but mainly the Sunday mornings he experienced during his childhood. Throughout the poem, there also happens to be a very dark and possibly even somber tone, which is shown by using several different types of literary devices. Hayden utilizes strong imagery supported by diction and substantial symbolism comprehensively. Furthermore, there are various examples of both alliteration and assonances. The poem does not rhyme and its meter has little to no order. Although the father labors diligently all day long, and he still manages to be a caring person in his son’s life. The poem’s main conflict comes from the son not realizing how good his father actually was to him until he was much older. When the speaker was a young boy, he regarded his father as a callous man due to his stern attitude and apparent lack of proper affection towards him. Now that the son is older, he discovers that even though his father did not express his love in words, he consistently did with his acts of kindness and selflessness.