The differences between “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden and “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke poems is noticeable, and their similarities aren’t noticeable. Thus, Theodore Roethke and Robert Hayden describe the relationship a father and son and the way they communicate. Yet, these two relationships could not be more different. In the Roethke’s poem, the speaker had a strong and positive relationship with his father that couldn't be expressed as well as Hayden's relationship with his father. In fact, the fathers’ ability to communicate with their sons was physically, rather than verbally. Also, both poems use negative aspects, fatherly love, and understanding for their father. In Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” describes the …show more content…
experiences of a young boy with his “effusive” father. Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays” is a similar poem from the viewpoint of a young adult who is reflecting back on the childhood relationship with his father and his distant communication.
Although both depict fathers, “My Papa’s Waltz” and “Those Winter Sundays” differ dramatically in both the memories of and the feelings toward their fathers.
In the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, describes the scene of dance between a father and his son. This poem deals with affectionate memories of the narrator and his father. The narrator describes a celebration of the father with his child by dancing across the kitchen floor. However the reader will come to believe that father is drunken who is abusive toward his son. For example, “at every step you missed, my right ear scraped a buckle”. “The Whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy” these two lines can confirms
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that boy’s father is abusive. Also As he "beats time"(Roethke 13) on the child's head we see very clearly that he is quite careless with the child. All these aspects make the boy's mother very uncomfortable. We can see the disapproval in her expression, which "could not unfrown itself"(Roethekel 8). She is obviously upset, but she does not do anything to stop the game. All of these lines will make you believe that the father is abusive but this isn’t the case here, don’t let the bitterness tone towards his father made you believe that the father is abusive. If readers continue to read the poem their opinion will change. For example, “then waltzed me off to bed still clinging to your shirt.” (Roethekel 15-16) So, this suggests that the waltz is enjoyable for father and son. The father cares about his son, but speaker is negative about his behavior. The speaker loves his father in general it’s just that he want him to be his hero and quit all the bad habits. The Speaker is very much dependent on his father and shows a father-son relationship based, at least in part on love. The speaker wants to make his father to be proud of him, not resent him. Correspondingly, the poem "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden uses an adult speaker to describe the memory of the child towards his distant father.
The father used to wake up early every Sunday to be ready for church services. In this poem, the father is not friendly and loving, but he made sure that everything stays in order for his family. The son is overwhelmed by guilt for all the years he took his father as a breadwinner. In the first 4 lines “Sundays too my father got up early and put his clothes on in the blue-black cold, then with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather made banked fires blaze.” describe a man who has to get up in order to fulfill the basic needs of his family. All of his actions are to make life more pleasant for his family. That image is more touching when you consider the idea that "no one ever thanked him"(Hayden 5), his son "spoke indifferently to him"(Hayden 10), and despite his best efforts his home was still overwhelmed by "chronic angers"(Hayden 9). Perhaps his family lacks closeness because of the chaotic work life that he leads. This may be the reason that the son mistreats and misunderstands him so much. Now, the speaker feels that all that insensitivity and ingratitude towards his father come back to disturb him. In fact, the speaker recognizes the enormous duty that raising a family is. Also, he sees how hard it is to make life work, and is able to feel the respect and admiration for his father that he should
have. Many parents suffer silently. They fulfill their duties quietly, doing the things for the people that they love. Finally, the speaker realizes his mistake saying, "What did I know of love's lonely and austere offices" (Hayden 13-14). The unconditional love between the father and his son will never vanish. Both of the poem describe their pain in their own way. In the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, the speaker describes his pain that he feels when his father spins him around the room, but he is “Still clinging to your shirt” (Roethke 16) showing his devoted love. In the same way, Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays” shows the love between father and son and looks back on his childhood recognizing all of the work that his father did in order to support the family and how he never thanked him for this. The father shows his love everyday as even after a long day hard work he “had driven out the cold and polished my good shoes as well” (Hayden 10-11). In conclusion, poetry is made to express the feelings, thoughts, and emotions of the poet. The readers can interpret the poem however they see fit. The poems “My Papa’s Waltz” and “Those Winter Sundays” make the reader understand the love between father and son; in addition, the reader can prove that the speakers in fact love their father in spite of misunderstanding their fathers. Also, I think that Roethke and Hayden are two skilled poets that have control over their writing way and communication of meaning of their feelings.
The most notable qualities of Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” are the tone and language of the poem which convey the nostalgia adult author feels thinking about the time spent with his father. In the title narrator’s father is affectionately referred to as “Papa” making the impression that the main character and his father are close. The use of possessive pronoun “my” contributes to the overall impression that the father holds special place in the narrator’s heart. As word “waltz” in the title implies the poem gives account of the festive occasion in which the narrator’s father takes part.
My Papa’s Waltz has been compared to a generational litmus test. Depending on what generation the reader was born, could determine how the reader would interpret this poem. Each generation has its own views that have been developed in them for the language used to describe Papa in this poem. The whiskey on his breath and Papa’s hand beating on his head, both sound like a negative connotation. Depending on the experience of the reader, they can either be disturbed by these words or be drawn in closer to the poem. Theodore Roethke loved his father. Not only did he love him, but he idolized him and unfortunately lost him at an early age. This poem is a reflective memorial waltz written in iambic trimeter to honor his father and mother.
In his recollection, Roethke's father comes home drunk after a hard day of work. The young boy and his father decide to partake in a little dance. While waltzing, the two get a little rambunctious with each other. As a result, some people view this poem with a disdainful-like perception and suppose Theodore wrote the poem with dark thoughts in mind. Rather, despite his father's drunkenness, the young Theodore enjoyed every second of it. There is a strong bond between them that upon careful examination, one can clearly understand in the poem "My Papa's Waltz."
My Papa’s Waltz and Those Winter Sundays are similar because they use tone, imagery, and sounds and rhythms to prove these two boys in fact love their abusive father. In both of these poems there is a movement from a cold and serious tone to a warm and happy one. The use of imagery successfully accentuates the good things the father does while marginalizing the bad. And the sounds and rhythms also add to the theme of love by manipulating how the poem is read. Roethke and Hayden are two skilled poets that have much control over the techniques they use. It is interesting that these poems are so alike and perhaps it is due to the time at which they were written. In any case, these two poets made a lasting impression on American poetry and will continue to appear in poetry anthologies for years to come.
A. My Papa's Waltz. Literature and the Writing Process. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X. Day, and Robert Funk. 6th edition.
To conclude, in both pieces their displays to different ways a child could love their father. It necessarily doesn’t mean it right. But regardless of how the children feel about their fathers, the father love for his child is pure and unconditional. There is nothing that can get in the way of that, not even the mother of the child.
The first poem, "My Papa's Waltz," by Theodore Roethke (Page 18) presents a clear picture of the young man's father, from line one. "Whiskey" on the father's breath is one of many clues in appearance that mold a rough image of this uneducated, blue-collar worker, possibly a European immigrant, as indicated by the "Waltz" in the title (Line 1). These traits are not necessarily related. They merely exist at once in the father's character. Additional signs of roughness are his hand, "battered on one knuckle"(11), and "a palm caked hard by dirt"(14). This is a man who has probably known only grueling labor. His few escapes likely consist of a drink or two when he gets home from a tough day and maybe something good on the radio. This idea of the father as an unrefined oaf is further reinforced by his actions. His missed steps injure the child's ear, while the father and son's "romping" causes the pans to slide "from the kitchen shelf"(6). As he "beat[s] time"(13) on the child's head we see very clearly that he is quite brutish and careless with the child, and oblivious to his environment. All these factors make the boy's mother very uncomfortable. We can see the disapproval in her countenance, which "could not unfrown itself"(8). She is obviously upset but, strangely, does nothing to interfere with the horseplay that grieves her. This suggests that the waltz is enjoyable for not only one, but both parties. One might wonder why it is that the boy so delights in these moments. This is obviously a crude, boorish man. He probably doesn't flush. He may even smell bad. Are these reasons to love one's father less? Certainly not in the eyes of a small boy. This young man's father may not be the most sensitive or perceptive man around, but he still seems to be a hero in the eyes of his son. Finally, the son recalls these words: "Then you waltzed me off to bed/ Still clinging to your shirt"(16). After reading this poem, it is clear just how unconditional a child's love is.
When one becomes a father, he undertakes many responsibilities: setting a positive example, enforcing discipline for misbehavior, overviewing the safety of his children, providing a loving atmosphere, and numerous other tasks. In Theodore Roethke’s poem, “My Papa’s Waltz,” the narrator reminisces on the memories of his “papa” through the metaphor of an aggressive “waltz.” Using descriptions of the father’s actions and the reactions of the mother, Roethke illustrates the situation with carefully selected vocabulary. These actions of the narrator’s “papa” can be interpreted as either positive and loving or as inappropriate and unnecessary. After a brief analysis of the poem, readers might assume that the narrator’s memories of his father reflect
Family bonds are very important which can determine the ability for a family to get along. They can be between a mother and son, a father and son, or even a whole entire family itself. To some people anything can happen between them and their family relationship and they will get over it, but to others they may hold resentment. Throughout the poems Those Winter Sundays, My Papa’s Waltz, and The Ballad of Birmingham family bonds are tested greatly. In Those Winter Sundays the relationship being shown is between the father and son, with the way the son treats his father. My Papa’s Waltz shows the relationship between a father and son as well, but the son is being beaten by his father. In The Ballad of Birmingham the relationship shown is between
Poetry is a special gift, which unfortunately is not given to all of us. Mr. Theodore Roethke (1908-1963) was an American poet with this magnificent gift. Mr. Roethke is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential poets of his generation (Wiki). His poems present figurative language, which means that it says something, but is not actually what it means, or it can be interpreted in a totally different way. Theodore Roethke’s poem, “My Papa’s Waltz” has imaginary and mixed feelings between the speaker, which is a child, and his father. After having researched a lot more about the Poet’s life I find this poem highly eloquent and fallacious. Even though, it’s a brief poem I can say that this talks about Mr. Roethke’s childhood. This
The poem “Those Winter Sundays” displays a past relationship between a child and his father. Hayden makes use of past tense phrases such as “I’d wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking” (6) to show the readers that the child is remembering certain events that took place in the past. Although the child’s father did not openly express his love towards him when he was growing up, the child now feels a great amount of guilt for never thanking his father for all the things he actually did for him and his family. This poem proves that love can come in more than one form, and it is not always a completely obvious act.
An older boy remembered his father, a hardworking blue collar man. He remembered how his father would walk into the home each evening with scraped hands and perspiration stained shirts. His father was a tough man. He was the kind of man that refused to go to the doctor and rarely hugged his children. Yet, he was a good man. The boy remembered how his father provided for the family and often times his smallest actions proved his paternal love for them. One particular memory stood out among the rest. His father had returned home from work late one evening. He had been out celebrating his pay raise with some of his co-workers down at the local pub. He waltzed through the door bursting with excitement and proudly picked his son up swinging him around. The boy and father playfully tackled and wrestled in the living room. Similarly, poetry reveals unforgettable moments such as the one between the father and son. Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz" captures a positive bonding experience between a father and son through vivid imagery and use of ...
Every parent in this world loves their children more than anything. Even the children can’t stay away from their parents for so long. Nothing in this world could be more precious than the love of a parent has for his/her children. Our parents are always with us no matter what happens. Often in life we make mistakes, but our parents give us supports and teach us to learn from those mistakes and move on with our lives. They also try to teach us from their experience. Parents always make sacrifices to provide for their family. In the poem “Mother to Son” by Langston Huges and “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden, the poets talk about how the parents are always making sacrifices to make their children’s life a little bit easier. Both of these poems reveal the struggle the parents go through in order to provide for their family.
Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz" is about a relationship between a father and his son. Beginning with the title, the author's meticulous choice of voca...
In “ My Papa's Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, young Theodore is recounting his memory of learning his fathers rough waltz and he shows us the pain he took to learn the waltz. In “ Good Times” by Lucille Clifton tells us what it means to live with limited supplies and still be content with life she has. In “My Papa’s Waltz” and in “Good Times” both are a tribute to their dad’s and wants show how much care the speakers have for their fathers even if they didn’t live a posh way or the way to learn waltz is a little rough.