Wish For A Young Wife, by Theodore Roethke

In the article “A Father’s Love” by Elizabeth Venant, Father Boyle should not give the information he knows about gang members to the police.

The poem “To my Dear and Loving Husband” by Anne Bradstreet, is not just an exceedingly felt expression of a wife’s marital love and commitment to her husband, as it is about a puritan women who is supposed to be reserved but she makes it her obligation to enlighten her husband of her devotion. A thorough analysis of the poem’s paradox, hyperbole, imagery and repetition reveals how she conveys her message.

Cynthia Lee Kotana says it perfectly when she states in her excerpt, "In the first descriptive octave, personification, the giving of human attributes to inanimate objects, is used to drive home the persuasive mood of the poem." (Kotana, Paragraph 6, Sentence1). She is stating that it is at this point in the poem where Roethke begins to paint a picture of the idea he wants to get across to the reader. It seems possible that he was trying to switch the roles of the humans and the inanimate objects. After all, if it was possible for a pencil to feel sadness, or for a manila folder to feel misery, then is it not possible for a human to feel absolutely nothing? The same nothing that we know all of the inanimate objects around us feel? This was a very great technique used by Roethke in trying to bring the reader to look a little deeper into his poem than just to see "misery" and "sadness" and to think what a dark poem it is. It is truly a great skill and takent to be able to make the reader see that he is bringing the "Dead" to life and the "living" to absolute

combination of tone, connotative words, imagery, figurative language and musical device to give the reader a true picture of the woman he loves and shows the hidden beauty that seems hidden to all but him. Roethke uses a first person point of view to give an intimate image of a woman he loves and admires in more than one way.

A waltz is a song in ¾ time, meaning that there are three beats in each measure. Accordingly, the poem is written to sound like a waltz, making use of different spacing and separation of the lines. Certainly, this conjures up ideas of dancing and excitement. The way Roethke uses the exact word from the title at the end of the poem ties it together, giving it a sense of peace. Although “such waltzing was not easy,” the boy’s love for his father did not falter. In many cases, when something we truly love becomes difficult, we do not give up on it. In short, the flow the author uses emphasises the presence of his adoration for his father. The words he selects highlight the wonderful memories he has of this man who played an important role in his life.Notably, Roethke provides eye catching words that illustrate scenes that appeal to the same

Roethke's usage of poetic devices place emphasis on the conditions in which the speaker experiences as a young child. Although the whiskey on the father of the speaker's breath is very strong, the speaker continuously " . . .hung on like death" (3) and candidly states that "Such waltzing was not easy" (4). The usage of simile by comparing the speaker's clinging of his father's shirt to death places emphasis on the feelings and emotions that are present in the household. Knowing that his " . . . mother's countenance could not unfrown itself" is an example of imagery that further adds to the turmoil and negative events that exist in the speaker's home by allowing readers to visualize the facial expressions that are present (7-8). Not only do the poetic devices contribute to the meaning of the poem, but it also contributes to the tone as well.

In each of these poems, the narrators did share some of the same attitudes towards their fathers. Roethke shows his father may not have been around as much as he should have been. His father would drink his life away and end up being a completely

The main form of syntax that Roethke uses is rhyme scheme. “My Papa’s Waltz” contains a simple ABAB rhyme scheme, in which many slant rhymes are used; further, this makes the poem sound similar to the way a song would. Notably, waltzes are guided dances… just as the father in “My Papa’s Waltz,” guided his son through life. Yet, it is also important to note that waltzes are meant to be simple, swift, and loving. Although waltzes are described as these things, Roethke’s childhood is described as a waltz gone wrong. He makes it obvious he faces abuse and the effects of alcoholism in his early life. As stated, the rhyme scheme used by Roethke helps develop the true main idea of this poem by shaping it as it were a song, more specifically a waltz. If the poem, “My Papa’s Waltz,” was a song, it would be a pessimistic and depressing one. Clearly, Roethke’s unfortunate experiences portrayed by using syntax make us one step closer to discovery the real purpose of the poem. In short, the syntax of this story shapes its meaning through rhyme scheme.

The third stanza describes the snake as “cool and gleaming as a braided whip” (9-10). Describing the snake as a braided whip demonstrates the intricate woven pattern of the snake’s scales and the poet’s appreciation for nature and its’ beauty. The snake is not a useless piece of rubber, but a beautiful and vibrant part of nature. “He is as beautiful and quiet as a bead brother” (10-11). The snake is quiet, makes no sound, and snuggles into

Throughout stanza 2 of the poem, Roethke incorporates word choice to express the speaker's worry for his father's addiction to alcohol. As the speaker reflects on the overuse of alcohol by his father, he states, “ The whiskey on your breath, Could make a small boy dizzy,” (line 1). Roethke’s usage of the word “dizzy” helps illustrates how the difficult past of the son is encountered in the household and is affected by his father’s alcoholism. The meaning of “dizzy” in the poem can represent the distorted relationship that the father’s behavior creates for the speaker’s upbringing in a home of abuse compared to the dizziness of being drunk. In contrast, Roethke’s variation of words in stanza 4 alters to a more repentant tone toward the effect of his father’s alcoholism on his childhood. Furthermore, as the speaker looks back at his father’s relationship, he states, “Then waltzed me off to bed, still clinging to your shirt,” (line 16). The author’s application of the words, “still clinging” helps depict how the boy will love his father to the end; even though, a great pain remains in the memory of the boy. The interpretation of “still clinging” in the poem can symbolize truthful and undeniable love for the father. Power can show the true roles of the partners in a relationship and can affect a relationship in both a positive and negative ways. So

George uses diction and animal imagery to reflect on the speaker’s past experiences, highlighting the reasonable explanation for his problem towards romance. He starts the poem with the line, “You must not wonder, though you think it strange, To see me hold my louring (gloomy) head so low;” to establish the logic behind the reason the speaker not looked upon her. When he uses the diction,

Have you ever loved someone so much that you would do anything in your power to help them in their time of need? In the short story “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, the reader witnesses the love and strength of a grandmother for her grandson. The protagonist, Phoenix Jackson, shows love, determination and self-sacrifice as she faces several obstacles while traveling by foot in the cold through the wilderness. She travels this path frequently, as the title suggests, to the city to get medicine needed for her grandson. Phoenix’s willpower to continue on her path through every hindrance that she faces is commendable.

“Roethke was a great poet, the successor to Frost and Stevens in modern American poetry, and it is the measure of his greatness that his work repays detailed examination” (Parini 1). Theodore Roethke was a romantic who wrote in a variety of styles throughout his long successful career. However, it was not the form of his verse that was important, but the message being delivered and the overall theme of the work. Roethke was a deep thinker and often pondered about and reflected on his life. This introspection was the topic of much of his poetry. His analysis of his self and his emotional experiences are often expressed in his verse. According to Ralph J. Mills Jr., “this self interest was the primary matter of

Instead of writing hundreds of pages Roethke manages to fit a wide range of emotions into a more creative form by minimizing it into a poem. Each section of the poem is creating a leap to the next set of ideas running through the narrators head from confusion to reaching clarity. The first stanza introduces the dark setting and emotions that the narrator is in. From the following pieces of description “the echoing wood”, “weeping to a tree”, “Beasts of the hill and serpents of the den” form the image of a man wandering outside alone. Roethke also gives insight to the individuals inner turmoil he’s begging to face, gathered from the following phrases “I meet my shadow in the deepening shade” and “I hear my echo”. The title “In a Dark Time” collaborates most with the first stanza to set the clear tone that this man is going through a dark moment.

The structure and tone of the poem enhance the conflict and hopelessness the speaker is feeling towards the woman he loves and desires. For the first twelve lines of the poem there is an “abab” rhyming pattern. This ties into the despairing and desirable tone and how the rhyming scheme can be an example of the speaker constantly going back and forth between emotions for this women. For example, “And that mine eyes take no delight to range About the gleams which on your face do grow.” (Gascoigne 3-4) are two phrases that contradict the speakers feelings. Stating that his eyes take no delight in range can refer to the speaker finding no use or happiness in looking at the woman. Although, he then mentions the gleams upon her face growing, giving the audience the idea that even though the speakers love for the woman causes him deep despair, he still desires her enough to describe her features in attentive detail; in this example the gleams on her face. This shows the back and forth pattern and the speakers struggle when it comes