My Papa's By Roethke Analysis

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The two fathers in these poems are like night and day. In Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz,” the father is a working man with a bad habit. He has a drinking habit, yet in his case, he may be abusive to his family when he is intoxicated. In the beginning, he and his father are having a “waltz” not a passionate, loving one, but a rough one. While they danced around the kitchen, his father was so into the dance that he did not realize his actions were wrong; his father was hitting him on the head like a drum. According to stanza 13, Roethke stated that his father “beat time on his head / With a palm caked hard by dirt,” which could possibly mean he was being abused. His mother didn’t react too much, considering she was maybe afraid to speak out on …show more content…

In “My Papa’s,” the theme is unconditional love is the best love, when you love someone despite of their habits and flaws. Roethke’s father has a drinking habit, but he sees through his problem and still admires his father. By reading the poem, the reader can infer that Roethke loves his father unconditionally when he was still clinging on his father’s shirt, while he takes Roethke to bed. He admires his father like most young men usually do. In “Those Winter,” the theme is appreciate the things people do for you or in the future you will regret not doing so. Hayden finally realizes when he is older that he took his father hard work for granted. He was regretful that he didn’t appreciate the little things his father did for him. Most people don’t realize that a simple thank you can make a person feel like they have purpose. Imagine how his father feels. His own son would speak”indifferently to him”(line 10) even when he went out to go get his shoes polished in the freezing cold. Hayden was an ungrateful child that needed to understand that his father did not have to do any of those things for him. People needed to understand the values of their parents or guardians before it’s too

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