Compare And Contrast Those Winter Sundays And My Papa's Waltz

As a human being, one tends to be unaware of his surroundings and the ways in which each event in our daily lives has a significant impact on the future. This fact is often shown through the action of one’s parents, and the children coming of age to finally realize the ways of their elders. In Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays” and Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz,” both speakers undergo a coming of age in which they figure out the true intentions of their respective fathers. Although the theme of both poems, being that one does not often realize what their parents do for them as a child, is very similar, there are inherent differenced that shape each poem. The diction, use of motif, and structure of each poem gives them distinct differences while discussing a common theme.

The main similarity between Hayden and Roethke’s poems lies in the thematic significance.

The major theme of both poems is that one often does not realize their parent’s actions until later in life and gains more insight and experience through age. The poems also draw a significance because both fathers are working men.

The greatest difference between the two poems lies in the diction and tone used by each writer. In “Those winter Sundays,” there is a high sense of formal and elevated diction that implies the fact that the father-son relationship in the poem is quite formal, almost similar to that of a teacher and a student. In “My Papa’s Waltz,” the diction is much more dull and relaxed. The speaker uses this diction in order to describe his broken, abusive relationship with his father. It describes the drunken state of the speaker’s father and the lack of knowledge the speaker has at such a young

age.
Another main difference seen in the two poems is in its structure. In “Those Winter Sundays,” the poem’s meter and rhythm is formed through extensive use of literary devices. There is no formal rhyme scheme that the poem follows; instead it uses alliteration, metaphor, and imagery to enforce he major theme. The speaker uses terms such as “cold, splintering, breaking” in order to put emphasis on the fact that the relationship between the two is cold and distant. When the son comes of age in the last stanza, he realizes that his father “drove out the cold.” Although he felt as though his father did not show warmth and love to him, he cared for him by ensuring his safety. Roethke employs the use of a structured rhyme scheme in order to display the fact that the beatings of his father were continuous and did not end. The poem’s rhyme scheme allows it to flow, while enforcing the major theme that the speaker of the poem learns throughout his lifetime. Time was beat onto the child’s head, making him more mature and sensible at a young age, which is an essential characteristic of a young man.
In conclusion, the poem shares major similarities and differences throughout. The major theme of the poems is shared, which illuminates the fact that coming of age often allows a child to be more perspective and respectful in regard to the happenings of their childhood. Both speakers realized that this form of tough love shown by their fathers shaped them into the men they are in present time. The structure, diction and tone of the poems shows a major difference in the fact that “Those Winter Sunday’s” employs a colder, more distant tone while using elevated diction. “My Papa’s Waltz” uses a more conversational tone and informal diction in order to show that there was physical abuse and close encounters between father and son. The speakers, through the coming of age motif, both find a way in order to come to terms with the love shown by their father and use it in order to become greater men themselves.