Parental Abuse

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

Abuse is a difficult and sensitive subject that can have long lasting effects. These traumatic emotional effects are often intensified if the abuse happens at a young age because children do not understand why the abuse is happening or how to deal with it. There are many abuse programs set up to counter the severe effects which abuse can have. Even more, poets and writers all over the world contribute works that express the saddening events and force the public to realize it is much more real than the informative articles we read about. One such poem is Theodore Roethke’s My Papa’s Waltz which looks carefully through the eyes of a young boy into the household of an abusive father. Robert Hayden’s Those Winter Sundays is a similar poem from

An Explication Essay of "My Papa's Waltz" Poem Theodore Roethke poem, “My Papa’s Waltz,” portrays the fateful memories of the child who is dancing around the kitchen with his/her drunken father, “The whiskey on your breath / such waltzing was not easy” (1-4). However, the dance seems to be very violent to the point of causing destruction in the kitchen as the Roethke indicates, “We romped until the pans / Slid from the kitchen shelf” (5-6). The poem illustrates the hard experience the child was going through although he or she loves his father too much as Roethke wrote, “But I hung on like death / such waltzing was not easy” (3-4). The speaker noted that the dancing of the drunkard man with the child was not pleasing to the mother at all, “

While it is true that “My Papa’s Waltz” uses what would be perceived as negative connotation, it does not necessarily define the story. As much as the average reader would think that this story is about abuse, that was not the author’s intention. Theodore Roethke wrote this poem with nothing but fondness for his father; however, many still believe that as uninspired as that message of abuse may be, there could still be a reason for it to be there. Being a poem gives it that pull that allows it to be interpreted both ways. You could say that both sides of the poem were meant to be present but that’s just not as satisfying. It seems that with “My Papa’s Waltz” people are one way or the other, no in between. Even if somebody were to know the history of the author which involves his much-praised father, it's possible that they might still think the story is of abuse. 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 nostalgic ode to his father. Roethke wanted to express the fondness he had for his father as a child even though his dad was not perfect.

In the poem “My Papa’s Waltz’, Theodore Roethke uses imagery to help the reader visualize the idea that the boy’s relationship with his father was repetitively abusive, similar to a waltz. To begin, while implying that the father is drunk, the speaker says, “The whiskey on your breath/ But I hung on like death/Such waltzing was not easy” (1, 3, 4). With “whiskey on his breath”, the father is most likely drunk, as the reader can imagine the boy becoming dizzy at the scent of the alcohol coming from him. When the boy says that he “hung on like death” but it was not easy, the reader can deduce that he does not want to lose his father, but having any relationship is difficult and hurtful due to his father’s violent tendencies.

Victims of abuse, especially children, turn inward and live vicariously through false selves; they bridge their reality with fantasy in order to survive in a precarious environment. The speaker in "My Papa's Waltz,” a young boy, uses the disciplined, traditional dance of a Waltz as subtle, symbolism to represent beatings he encountered daily by his abusive, drunken father. By replacing the horror of being beat with imagery of elegant, smooth dancing, the young boy turned his struggles into strengths and adapted the best way he knew how in order to live and see another

Theodore Roethke’s poem, “My Papa’s Waltz,” has generated much discussion among readers, who often disagree about the relationship between the father and his young son. Some readers worry that the father’s drunken behavior poses a danger to his son, perhaps even to the boy’s mother. Roethke creates a scene of rough but innocent play between a father and his young son.

“My Papa’s Waltz” is a poem by Theodore Roethke in which a young boy describes the actions of his father under the influence of alcohol. Like most children, the young boy has a naïve mind that observes his father's abuse differently. To the child, it is all a graceful waltz, but he is covering the truth with a happy illusion. This might come from the fact that he is a child and does not know enough or he knows too much and has to numb the pain. In “My Papa’s Waltz” Theodore Roethke uses dramatic irony, understatement, and hyperbole in order to express the idea that in order to numb the pain, one covers it with a happy illusion.

In “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, we can interpret many themes, however the one theme that seems apparent is the meaning of hope and admiration. Often as a child, we adore our loved ones, no matter what situation we are in. As humans, we tend to make excuses for the ones we love most. In this poem, a man looks back on his childhood and explains his relationship with his father as a dance, as if he didn’t quite understand their connection. By analyzing this poem’s metaphors, language and imagery, it is evident that this small boy is going through an abusive situation, but we can comprehend that no matter what conflict people go through, they can still have veneration and a sense of hope.

In today’s world, our past experiences tremendously affect the way we interpret different things. Theodore Roethke wrote a poem titled “My Papa’s Waltz.” This poem has a plethora of different interpretations. For example, those of us who grew up with a terrible childhood might think of it as a small boy who is being abused by his father; however, others who enjoyed their childhood memories with their father may interpret it to be a poem about a father and son having fun together. 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 wrote “My Papa’s Waltz to get his readers

The poem “My Papa’s Waltz” written by Theodore Roethke is based on a tragedy that has happened during his childhood. It talks about him, his mother, and father on how his father would dance in drunkenness through the night. The mother in poem seems to just stand back and watch with a sad face; while Theodore is getting mistreated by his father. When a person reads the poem he or she gets a sense of feeling of that the dad being an alcoholic and trying waltz with his son.

A parent in a child's life is a role model in there eyes. If one has bad influences on your child, in what way do would think one may impact on his or her life. The narrative poem “My papa’s Waltz”, is written by Theodore Roethke in 1948. Papa is a extremely hard working man by the show of his hands. Papa and his son are in the kitchen waltzing around remarkably rough, while mother is not too happy about it. While the father and son are dancing around the son keeps getting hurt. While in the end papa waltzed his son right off to bed. In the narrative poem “My Papa’s Waltz”, Roethke uses symbolism and imagery to reveal the theme, parents impact children's life, even after they are grown.

In Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz”, the speaker displays complex feelings about his father, which are love and longing, with a hint of nervousness. The speaker is an older, mature man reflecting back on an important childhood memory. To begin, although his father’s whiskey breath made him dizzy, his younger self still “hung on like death” which indicates the speaker longed for a connection with his father. As well, his “right ear scraped a buckle” everytime his father missed a step, which caused discomfort to the young boy, but he did not mind. The speaker speaks of his father’s hand that was “battered on one knuckle” that held his wrist, which subtly mentions his father being abusive.

When I read, “My Papa’s Waltz,” I didn’t see any abuse going on in the story presented. I also thought the child was a little girl, not a little boy. Not quite sure why I saw the child as a girl though, I guess I just imagined a father dancing with his daughter from the title alone. Like at a wedding, when the father and daughter dance. And so, I had thought that this was an awkward dance between a father and his daughter. The father was drunk, of course, from the line, “The whiskey on your breath.” So I imagined the father kept accidently bumping into things in the house and therefore, accidently hurting his child by smashing her against counters or drawers in the house. And of course, the mother, and perhaps wife of the man, looked on in

In “My Papa’s Waltz,” the speaker, a young boy who is presumably the author, Theodore Roethke, recalls an interaction he once had. His father, who is perhaps a farmer, just arrived from a long day at work, had a drink of whisky and then began playfully roughhousing with the boy in the kitchen while his mother frowned at the pots and pans falling down. His vivid portrayal inserts the reader into their home. Roethke describes his father as a rough, hard-working individual: “[the] hand that held my wrist [was] battered on one knuckle…