Theodore Roethke “My Papa’s Waltz” Formal Argument In “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke the speaker, a young boy, takes us through a dance with his father. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia felt that the boy’s experience was a fun, playful one however, my interpretation of this poem differed. The speaker uses details in this poem that tell the story of a fun yet frightening dance with his father. The speaker starts by letting us know that the father is drunk.
He loves his son and was not deliberately trying to hurt him here it's just that he was drunk and didn't realize he was scaring and hurting the kid. The first couple of lines suggest that they may be dancing, or in this case waltzing it is clear that with the authors word choice there is a sizable difference in the physical build to the boy and his father. “The whiskey on your breath/could make a boy dizzy” (lines 1-2) The way the boy expresses his though about his fathers breathe is shown that this isn’t the first time he has smelled whiskey on his breath,
My Papa’s Waltz By: Theodore Roethke My Papa’s Waltz Theodore Roethke wrote this poem to make his readers actually think about what he was trying to tell them. Some people think this poem is about a son and father dancing. While others seem to believe it is about abuse. In the first line of the poem “The whiskey on your breath” it is saying how the father has been drinking (line 1). “Could make a small boy dizzy” is telling us that the fathers breathe smells of alcohol.
Roethke develops violent imagery which is associated with the father to create an impression of child abuse. This child abuse from the father is happening due to the adverse effect of alcohol. At the beginning of this poem, the son, who is the speaker of this poem, starts with the reason of dancing waltz with the father. Reader can imagine that the father is so drunk when they are dancing the waltz through olfactory imagery of whiskey in line one Reader can see that the father does not only drink a small amount of whiskey. He is so drunk that even the smell of his breath could make his son, who is just “a small boy”, feels a bit woozy.
The son cannot wake up until he feels that the room is warm from the fire lit by his father. The son does not appreciate what his father has done apart from warming the room. The son now regrets what he did because he experiences loneliness. The main theme of this poem is the regret of the author as he tries to explain how he had a very caring foster father but could not appreciate the things he did. The fact that the father called the speaker only “When the rooms were warm” is an indication that the room was not only warm from the fire but also because of the presence of the father.
He writes about everything from his trials and tribulations of growing up gay and Greek in North Carolina, to his French adventures with his boyfriend and having to dealing with the defaming of American tourist. Later we are launched into a story about his vodka/jazz loving father and his desire in turning his kids into musical prodigies after attending a concert. After a few uneventful music lessons, our narrator decides to impress his midget teacher, Mr. Mancini. But he resulted with a less than successful singing number. Mr. Mancini then becomes unsettled by Sedaris's flamboyancy, and that’s when the “gay-ness” alI started.
This leads the reader to believe that the two probably had a strained relationship much of the time due to the alcoholism his father struggles with. But even though this is a problem the small child still “hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy” (Roethke 501). While the speaker does not approve of his father’s actions he accepts them for what they are. The ‘Waltz’ is a direct symbol of the father and son’s relationship. The next stanza gives the reader insight into the many problems that the father causes in the speaker’s household.
This is through the intimate use of language and personal tales of experiences such as the poem “Sport” in Chapter 1. At this stage, Herrick depicts Billy as an imperfect person, shaped by a depraved childhood rather than an evil person. The train driver Ernie symbolizes the good humanity Billy; an element of his life he never truly experienced due to his upbringing. Ernie takes Billy in without question from a cold night into warm shelter and food. Through the connection, a mischievous boy emerges a good side to him, as he leaves Ernie a note and gives him his father’s champagne.
Poetic Devices in “My Papa’s Waltz” Theodore Roethke’s Poem “My Papa’s Waltz” (rpt. In Michael Meyer, The Bedford Introduction to Literature, 9th ed. [Boston: Bedford, 2011] 967) can be interpreted as more than just a dance around the room. The scene suggests a recollection of a son’s remembrance of a time when his father who has had something to drink and is in an inebriated state and scoops him up to dance, knocking over pans. He is dancing and twirling his small son who seems both excited and fearful at the same time.
Throughout the first section of the book, Charles is cautious about interfering too much in his son’s life. At the same time, he envies the two boy’s ability to run free and happy. About half way through the book, he jumps into action, surprising even himself. Charles realizes that something is not right about the carnival, and has suspicions about Mr. Dark and Mr. Cooger, the men who run the carnival.