The poem by Theodore Roethke “My Papa’s Waltz” reflects the author on his childhood, in particular, on his relationships with his father. There are different points of view on the nature of the relationships described in the poem: some people think that the author presents happy relations between the father and son, however, other people hold another point of view and assume that the story presents a hidden message of parental abuse. In this paper, I am going to discuss and analyze the three literary styles presented in the poem “My Papa Waltz” that affected my response to the poem.
First of all, it should be mentioned that there are various literary styles, which are used in poetry. A poet’s choice of literary styles is fundamental in conveying his message to the target audience. The literary styles influence the interpretation of the poem by the target audience. In the poem “My Papa Waltz,” the author has employed, vivid descriptions, figurative language, and unique poetic tones to communicate the meaning of the poem (Roethke & Kiker, 2001). These literary styles make the poem “My Papa Waltz” quite interesting and engaging. They are quite influential in identifying the main theme of the writing, and thus, they affected my response to it (Roethke, 1955).
I should mention that I was intrigued by the poet’s use of figurative language. For instance, I identified the use of figurative language in the third stanza of the poem. The child narrator tells how his father’s hand was battered, and his ear scrapped whenever he missed a step as they were dancing. This was a tough situation for the narrator’s mother to endure, and it made her furious. The narrator’s mother is quite a in sorrow because of her husband’s character. I sympathize with her concerning her husband’s irresponsible behavior. The narrator’s father is an alcoholic who consumes an excessive amount of beer every day which leads him to failure in fulfilling his responsibilities as a father and a husband. (Roethke & Kiker, 2001).
Vivid description is another literary style that I identified in the poem “My Papa’s Waltz.” In the second stanza, the narrator presents a detailed description of the waltzing, in which he was involved with his father. He says that they were dancing until the dancing was intense enough to make pans fall off the shelf (Roethke, 1955). This vivid description implies that the narrator and his father were dancing to an extent that made their home environment unfit. This caused the narrator’s mother to sulk. Overall, the narrator’s family was not tranquil since there were no proper relations among the family members (Roethke & Kiker, 2001).
Additionally, I identified the use of poetic tone in the poem, “My Papa’s Waltz” as very engaging. In “My Papa’s Waltz,” Roethke experienced a weird and uncertain intimacy for his alcoholic father, the main difference involves a breakdown of the poetic tone, whether it is positive or negative, an intellectual balance of these tones makes it outstanding hence its rich ambiguous nature. The poetic tone emphasizes the poet’s attempt to attain the appropriate tone for the poem. The poem point outs childhood experience with an alcoholic father (Roethke, 1955).
In conclusion, the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke explains trouble and dissatisfaction issues that are prevailing in the narrator’s family. The narrator’s mother is quite remorseful of the situation. Besides, the young child is abused by his father while his helpless mother watches. The poem is a blend of positive and negative textures enthused by Roethke’s doubtful feelings for his father. Roethke was uncomfortable due to the restrictions imposed on him by his father (Roethke, 1955).
References
Roethke, T & Kizer, C. (2001). On poetry and craft: selected prose of Theodore Roethke. California: Copper canyon press.
Roethke, R. (1995). “My Papa’s Waltz.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. New York: Norton and Company publishers.