Literary Analysis of Theodore Roethke's Poems with Special Reference to My Papas Waltz - Essay Example

Literary analysis of Theodore Rothke’s poems with special reference to “My Papa’s Waltz” Most tend to depict their autobiographical experiences and elements in their writings and therefore it is necessary to have a thorough understanding of the past experiences, impressions and sensations of the writer. Autobiographical elements permeate in the poems of Theodore Roethke and many of his greenhouse poems deal with the myriads of childhood experiences that he underwent at his father’s greenhouse and its surroundings. Poems such as “My papa’s Waltz”, “Big Wind”, “Old Florist”, “Open House”, “Orchids”, “The Light Comes Brighter” and “Child on Top of a Greenhouse” are abundant with childhood impressions, experiences and observations. For instance, in “Orchids” the poet tries to depict the motions of plant life and in “The Light Comes Brighter”, the poet describes the end of winter and the arrival of spring to a particular landscape as a keen observer. As Mills, Ralph J. & Mills Jr observe these “observation and description are quite accurate and undoubtedly derive from the poet’s childhood experience of the Michigan countryside” (10). In “Orchids”, the poet describes the orchids as “soft and deceptive”, “adder-mouthed” and states that they are “delicate as a young bird’s tongue”. There is no doubt that these descriptions have a lot to do with his close affinity with plants and flowers in the greenhouse. A close reading of Roethke’s second collection, The Lost Son, and Other Poems, one can find various episodes taken from his “evolutionary past—worms, slugs, snails, slime, and spiders—to represent unarticulated childhood fears and impulses submerged in his subconscious” ("Roethke, Theodore - Introduction."). There are many who believe “Roethkes experiences in his parents greenhouse are central to the poem sequence "The Greenhouse Poems" as well as "The Lost Son," in which Roethke tries to come to terms with his ambivalent feelings for his father, who died when Roethke was only fourteen” ("Roethke, Theodore - Introduction."). Due to the complexity of the tone and the choice of words of the narrator, many readers tend to understand the poem as an account of child abuse by the father. In this respect it is worthwhile to discuss the experience of one of the professors when he was dealing with the poem in a creative writing classroom. The professor always understood the poem as an account of the nostalgic memories of a son of his dead father. However, to his surprise, most of the students in the classroom held that the “poem depicts a harsh father-son relationship”; for them, the dancing of the father was so violent “like death” and words such as ‘beat’, ‘battered’, ‘whisky’, ‘dizzy’ etc were proofs of child abuse (Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz”: A Reader’s Response 2-3). The next paragraphs try to analyze how these sorts of different or rather divergent explanations are possible for the poem due to the complexity of the tone and voice of the poem. It is important to understand the voice and tone of the narrator in the poem as many readers are confused whether the poem has a joyful (nostalgic) or a sad (horrified tone). One should keep in mind the fact that even in first personal poems the ‘I’ in the poem is not always the author or someone who is quite identical to him. The ‘I’ in the poem could be “a character separate and different from the author” (Schakel & Ridl 571). The tone suggests the mood of the narrator and the tone of a poem can be “serious, playful, exaggerated, understated, poignant, distanced, formal, informal, ironic, blunt or something other than these” (Schakel & Ridl 576). There can be a singular or multiple voices within the poem. The voice and tone of a poem’s narrator provide a better picture of what the narrator wants to convey to his readers. In poetry, one can “hear the imagined voice of a speaker, of someone “speaking” in the poem, either the poet directly or a character who expresses views of feelings the poet may or may not share” (Schakel & Ridl 570). A reader needs to understand whether the narrator echoes the voice of the author or whether he is simply a character different from the author who expresses his own views, ideas or feelings. The whole of “My Papa’s Waltz” is narrated through the point of view and perspective of the boy and therefore the reader needs to listen for the voice of the poem behind the boy’s words. The poem ‘My Papa’s Waltz” depicts a son’s memories of his father and the tone of the poem is equally important as that of the voice of the narrator. As already pointed out it is the complexity of the voice of the narrator of “My Papa’s Waltz” that offers the poem variety of meanings and offers different readings to the poem. Many readers feel that the poem has a dark tone as the poem depicts “troubled relationship or dysfunctional home” (Schakel & Ridl 578). It is to be noted that the poem addresses not the readers but the narrator’s own father and the ‘you’ in the poem stands for the boy’s father himself. The very first line of the poem suggests that the father is heavily drunk and his drunkenness is sufficient enough to “make a small boy dizzy”. Similarly, the frown on the mother’s face in the second stanza and words such as “battered” “beat”, and “dirt” adds to the dark tone of the poem and the reader can very well experience the desperate voice of the narrator. The simile employed in the third line of the poem-“I hung on like death” shows feelings of fear and insecurity in the voice of the narrator and the father becomes a formidable figure for the boy. The boy has no other alternatives than succumb to the violent outbursts of his drunk father and even as an adult the narrator’s voice echoes the pain and suffering his drunken father’s actions caused him at his early childhood. However, there are many readers who feel that the poem has a joyful tone. As the title of the poem suggests, many readers tend to understand the poem as a joyful waltz whereby the father and the son shares a lighter moment in their lives. For such readers, “words such as waltz and romped convey a lighter tone-a waltz is a graceful, flowing, lyrical dance that suggests joy and celebration” (Schakel & Ridl 578). The line “with a palm caked hard by dirt” suggests that the father is a hard worker and that he is drunk after the day’s heavy working schedule. In this respect, the waltz of the father can be understood as an enthusiastic and rhythmic dance whereby he expresses his love and affection for the boy. Thus, readers who tend to read the poem in this line see the voice and tone of the boy as joyful and nostalgic and the poem depicts the nostalgic feelings of the boy who recalls his happy childhood in the company of an enthusiastic and loving father who displayed abundant affection towards him. Such readers are of the opinion that the poem “describes a speaker looking back at his childhood, recalling a happy memory that evinces his father’s affection (people generally waltz with people they love) and his own positive response to his father (one can cling out of love as well as fear)” (Schakel & Ridl 578). However, there are yet many readers who believe that the boy’s narration of the joyful waltz with the father is quite ironic and that it is the dark tone that dominates the whole of the poem. A close reading of the poem shows that both the above mentioned readings are equally meaningful; it is also clear from the analysis that the total interpretation of any literary work necessitates clear cut knowledge of the voice of the narrator. In the poem, it is debatable whether the voice of the speaker is joyful or sad. In order to understand the voice of the narrator in the poem one needs to pay special attention to the indicators of tone in a poem and such indicators include the choice of words, use of various phrases, repetitions, understatements, overstatements, and the various figures of speech employed in the poem (Schakel & Ridl 578). A close reading of the poem shows that there are both indicators that suggest joyous as well as dark tone: while indicators such as ‘hung on like death’, ‘dizzy’, ‘battered’, ‘scraped’, ‘dirt’ etc are suggestive of the dark tone of the poem, indicators such as ‘waltz’, ‘clinging’ to the shirt, ‘romped’ etc indicate the joyful tone of the speaker. Thus, an analysis of the two different tones in the poem shows that the tone of a poem is subjective based on the various indicators of tone as perceived by different readers. Subsequently, it can be concluded that “readers can read tones differently, and discussions about tone often form a vital part of conversations about literature, with each side pointing to aspects that lead them to respond to the work the way they do” (Schakel & Ridl 579). To conclude, it can be stated that biographical information on Theodore Roethke facilitates the understanding of his poems. In most of his poems, the poet describes the things, natural surroundings, the birds, and the scenery that he has observed. Similarly, his relation with his father and his myriads of experiences, as a child, at the green house, act as the platform for his poems and themes. One can very well see the psychological and mental development of the poet by going through his poems. The beautiful images, imageries, mental pictures, similes and the effective use of various tones and voices add to the personal touch of Roethke’s poems. Understanding Roethke, thus, necessitates knowledge of his past, child hood experiences, impressions, observations and memories. Works Cited Mills, Ralph J. & Mills Jr, Ralph J. Theodore Roethke. University of Minnesota Press, 1963. "Roethke, Theodore - Introduction." Poetry Criticism. Ed. Christine Slovey. Vol. 15. Gale Cengage, 1997. eNotes.com. 2006. 7 Aug, 2009 Schakel, Peter and Ridl, Jack. Approaching Literature. 2nd edn. Bedford/St. Martin’s: USA, 2008. “Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz”: A Reader’s Response”. 7 Aug, 2009 Read More