The feelings directed towards the fathers in the poems "My Papa's Waltz" and "Do not go gentle into that goodnight" have both similar and constrasting views. In the poem "My Papa's Waltz," the boy speaks of his father in a disappointed way by saying that he smelled alcohol on his father's breath and his ears kept being scraped by his dad's belt while his father carlessly danced with him. In this poem, the father is potrayed as not one of the greatest father figures that there is. On the other hand, in the poem "Do not go gentle into that goodnight," the son is speaking of wise men, strong men, and so forth. He states that when it's their time to face death, they don't go down without a fight. The language in the poem potrays the son's limitless
The Tone of “Daddy” and “My Papa’s Waltz” is what differentiates the two child-father relationships in the poems from one another with “Daddy” having a tone of hate and fear
Poetry is made to express the feelings, thoughts, and emotions of the poet. The reader can interpret the poem however they see fit. Critics are undecided about the theme of Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz." Some people believe that the poem is one of a happy exchange between a father and son. The more convincing interpretation is that it has a hidden message of parental abuse. Careful analysis of the keywords and each individual stanza back up this theory of child abuse by a violent and drunken father.
In Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” and Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy”, both poets (deleted material) express a subject, which is their relationship with their father’s. In the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” the poet expresses his relationship with his father through waltzing which is a very formal dance. Although waltzing is supposed to be a popular ballroom type of dance in which the dancers revolve in perpetual circles, taking one step to each beat, imagery is (deleted material) used in this poem to express how the poet was “manhandled” while waltzing with his father because his father had too much to drink. On the other hand, in the poem “Daddy” the poet uses metaphors to describe her father. Plath lets out all of her anger and hatred towards
In the poem "My Papa's Waltz" written by Theodore Roethke, the interpretation of the poem depends on the readers`perspective. Some people think that this poem is one of a happy exchange between a father and son. Other people believe that this poem has a hidden message of parental abuse. In my point of view, the imagery and language, the symbolism, and tone in the poem gave me the impression of the love between the father and son, not of an abusive relationship.
In the poem "My Papa's Waltz" written by Theodore Roethke, the interpretation of the poem depends on the readers` perspective. Some people think that this poem is one of a happy exchange between a father and son. Others believe that it has a hidden message of child abuse. In my point of view, the imagery and language, the symbolism, and tone in My Papas Waltz gave me the impression of the abusive relationship between the father and son, but then later realizing the positive side.
The essay is about memories of two specific poems. My Papa’s Waltz and the Ballad of Birmingham were two poems that had good and bad memories. In one of the poems there seems to be a humorous side depending on how you perceived it.
At first glance, “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke is very intriguing as the poem is very ambiguous at first. Many people that read the poem at first believe it to be about child abuse, which is very easy for readers of the 21st generation to confuse as we see everything with a dark meaning behind it. The poem is about a boy who dances with his father, hence the name of the poem “My Papa’s Waltz”. Once the poem has been reread several times, we can take a closer look at what Roethke is really implying in the poem. Therefore, it becomes clear to the audience that the poem has a lighter meaning and has a more positive outlook than a negative outlook to the situation occurring in the poem.
The role a father plays in the development of his child leaves an impact on the kid forever. On the contrary, the poor representation of a father can leave his own seed feeling distasteful from his own childhood. In the poems "Those Winter Sundays" written by Robert Hayden, and "My Papa's Waltz" written by Theodore Roethke, their lies a difference in both patriarchs that is as vast as light and dark. The writers tell their stories in a retrospective form. At any rate, both poems do share a dad that is at least present in their kids' lives, however, it is important to note that in "Those Winter Sundays," the father is a hard-working man that is unappreciated from his child, while in "My Papa's Waltz," the father is abusive to his kid and
In “My Papa’s Waltz” by Roethke and “Those Winter Sundays” by Hayden, the two narrators speak about their fathers in a way that shows there were two different sides to their fathers. One side was abusive and strict, while the other side was loving and caring. Each narrator has a different attitude toward their feelings for their fathers. Roethke has a more fun and understanding view of his father, while Hayden has a more cold and uncaring attitude toward his father. Both Hayden and Roethke talk about their father’s character flaws in their poems. Even though there are flaws in their fathers, both the narrators learn to over see
The tone of "My Papa's Waltz" differs from the tone in "Piano." The ironic tone of the first poem is one of a young man looking back in fear of his father. "But I hung on like death.../The hand that held my wrist.../You beat time on my head..." (3-13). The reader senses a painful scene, which the father appears to hurt and demean his son. On the other hand, the tone of "Piano" is more melancholy. "In spite of myself.../Betrays me back.../To the old Sunday evenings at home..." (5-7). The reader can feel the lyrical and longing tone in the narrator's description of a man who wishes he could go back in time to his childhood where he listened happily to the sounds of the family piano. Roethke's tone towards his father is reflected in the anger and resentment coming from the boy to his father in his poem, while Lawrence's tone towards his childhood memories reflect a longing to return to the love and happiness of his youth. Both poets use their poem's tone to create specific imagery solidifying the reader's perception of each boy's state of mind.
Firstly, In "My Father's Song," the tone is nostalgia, it's a perfect demonstration of emotion the speaker feels about his father. "My Papa's Waltz," poem's tone is playful and light created by the pleasant rhythm iambic, which makes the poem short and sweet. The tone is promoted through word choice, Both writers use similar word choice to strengthen the theme of admiration. In the poem, "My Papa's Waltz," gives us a both and negative feeling, he uses words such as "Still clinging to your shirt" this shows that he hangs onto his father's shirt, not wanting to let go after his father waltzing him off to bed. His descriptions of the dance give us a fun, playful feeling. Despite the fact the waltz is tough, he still loves his dad. In "My Father's song," the speaker remembers his father’s voice. The speaker describes his experience as “His voice, the slight catch, the depth from his this thin crest, the tremble of emotion in something he has just said to his son, his song” (Ortiz 3-7). The speaker remembers every detail about his father. The child misses his father and cared profoundly about him, especially more tonight “Wanting to say things, I miss my father tonight” (1-2)
The poems "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke and "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden are both about a relationship between a father and his son. Both poems have a tone that is poignant and regretful, but those feelings are for different reasons in the two poems. Although the two poems have the same subjects, the tones of each poem have similarities and differences. Although the tone of "My Papa's Waltz" is very similar to the tone of "Those Winter Sundays", there are some differences .
Juxtaposition is very relevant in the two poems: “Dulce Et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen and “My Papa's Waltz” by Theodore Roethke. Both of these have an inspiring message that motivates the readers into thinking deeply. In “Dulce Et Decorum Est” the two tones that are represented are horror and depression, and these two tones really set the mood for readers as they read. “My Papa's Waltz” focuses more on the contrasting tones of abusive and harmful, or playful and loving. These two different approaches at the poem certainly play with the readers mind and makes them realize that everything has a more profound meaning to it.
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.
My papa’s waltz is a reflection of love and emotion between a father and a son. It demonstrates the childhood experience between a father and a son. As a concept, fear doesn’t make us hate people, it makes us love them even more, especially, if they are our parents. In this poem the speaker conveys his emotions and feelings towards his father. As we first read the poem it seems that the speaker is afraid of his father. The first line of this poem “The whiskey on your breath, could make a small boy dizzy.” It seems that the father was alcoholic and the little son was afraid of him. But as we move ahead in the poem the image of the poem changes and it appears more of a dance between a father and a son. Even though the son could not bear the smell of the alcohol but he still cling on to his father and he do not want to leave him. This is the most moving para as the son was small and scared but the feeling of love overpowered the feeling of fear in these lines.