My Papas Waltz by Theodore Roethke - Research Paper Example

My Papa’s Waltz by Theodore Roethke Introduction The poem my papa's waltz expresses the poet’s feelings, emotions and thoughts at the time. However, different readers, writers, and actors have the freedom to give their interpretation in relation to their understanding of the poem. Most of the critics have never decided on the theme of this poem. The paper looks critically at this poem in regard to symbolism that is much evident and them that the poet assumes. The interpretation of the poem is “parental abuse”. A careful analysis of the poem supports the understanding of a child being abused by a drunken father. The father is physically abusing his young son who is also the poet, and this occurs in several details that exist throughout the poem. From the poem, the father is depicted as a violent alcoholic parent who has developed this behavior in that particular home. From the poem, both the mother and the young son have disapproved the father's deeds but they fear taking any action against him. The poem categorically states what transpires in this particular household on one of the nights. To the members of this family, physical abuse from a father to his little son is treated as normal and this give a major theme of My Papa's Waltz to be violence (Pinsky 73). The man in the poem is a very violent man. There is also enough evidence from the poem to prove that the person is alcoholic. The poets say “The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy." The statement clearly suggests that the man is drunk, and this proves the idea of him being alcoholic. He drinks a lot to an extent that even a little boy can get the smell of alcohol. To show how violent the man is, the poet says, "But I hung on like death, such waltzing was not easy." It shows that the father is very rough with the son who is skeptical to take part in any activity with his father; however, the young boy has no choice. The poet says, "We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf." It symbolizes the kind of struggle between the little boy and the violent father (Paschen and Rebekah 96). The young boy being thrown into the thereby knocking the pans that are on a nearby shelf, the further must have applied a lot of force that made the shelf vibrate thus making the containers drop. Online ten of the poem, the speaker tells us that he faced it on one knuckle. It symbolized how bloody and scraped the poet's hand is more likely from a struggle with his father or knocking it off a hard surface. To shade more light on the existence of violence throughout the poem, the speaker says, "You beat time on my head." The boy can be pictured clinging to his father as the watch bumps hard onto the boys head. It shows the actual body harm onto the boy. However, the boy is so naïve to an extent that he feels nothing wrong with what the father did to him. He doesn't picture it as a sinful act because he hasn't known anything else in his whole life apart from violence (Madden 126) The mother comes in when the child is being toured but she is helpless, and all she could do is to show how displeased she is from the facial expression but couldn't intervene. It indicates the degree of fear the violent further must have instilled into the mother by his unlawful and inhuman acts. There exists a lot of sarcasm in the poem. As much as the father batters his son, the son still uses very gentle words to describe him as well as his actions. It gives sarcasm to be another optional theme in the poem. The poet tells the beating in a romantic and beautiful dance the waltz. The narrator tries to beautify his experience by making it a dance although he doesn't show the violent father as entirely innocent (Kennedy 32). The writer uses a lot of metaphor as the beatings appear as dance. The poet goes on the house dancing and not beaten around thus installing some relaxation in the reader and the poet himself. Through the metaphoric dance, the routine of beating appears to the user. The father's brutality does not stop the son from hanging on him. It in other understanding could mean how much he loved his father despite the beatings. The boy will continue loving the father, even though, a great bitterness remains in his mind, and it is evident when he referred to him as a drunken failure. The poet also shows the love to his father as he referred to him as Papa and not the father (Brillas 165). The title itself is sarcastic as one expects to find a good and loving father dancing the gentle dance only to find a very brutal sick father. An explanation of the poets experienced is that of Petty Hearst syndrome to mean that the persona may be defending his father because to him this is the reality, and he can't escape from it. Conclusion From a deeper point of view, the persona loves his father despite how violent the father is. He uses very gentle words to describe the father's actions and shows that the lover isn't lost. He tells us that he still clings on his shirt that gives a feeling that he still loves the brutal man. He stayed with the father during the childhood and still does that, even though, the childhood is no longer with him. The most convincing theme of the poem is violence from the readers understanding. However, sarcasm is also evident in equal measure as revealed by the person's description of his father. The persona also shows some love to the parent. It can sometimes be the fun finding symbolism that sometimes needs not to be in some of the poems. People, however, do it to seek some knowledge in the poem through a critical thinking. The poem is, however, enjoyable and with the child as a persona makes it more realistic. The abuse seems much more apparent because of the language used by the author. Works Cited N.p., 2015. Web. 16 May 2015. Barillas, William. 'Meter In Theodore Roethke's MY PAPA’S WALTZ'. The Explicator 73.1 (2015): 9-12. Web. Kennedy, X. J, and Dana Gioia. Literature. Boston: Pearson, 2013. Print. Madden, Frank. Exploring Literature. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print. Paschen, Elise, and Rebekah Presson Mosby. Poetry Speaks Expanded. Naperville, Ill.: Sourcebooks, 2007. Print. Pinsky, Robert. Essential Pleasures. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2009. Print. Print. Read More