In Theodore Roethke's " My Papa's Waltz" poem reader finds formulation and specific words that are clear to understand. The poem has four quatrains in which author describes a relationship between a young boy and his father. Robert Hayden's poem "Those Winter Sundays" is shorter but have a similar subject. The adult narrator presents happy memories about past when his father was alive. Both poems ... and specic meaning. The tone of the first poem "My Papa's Waltz" is full of humorus warm fillings at the beginning. The boy dancing with his father who spins him around making a mass in the kit...

• Word Count: 564
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... man, who comes home every night, gets a glass of whiskey and tries to relax after a hard working day. This poem shows how much this little boy loves his father and how he hung on to him no matter how difficult it is. The fist two lines of this poem show me that this is ... . Then this man talks a little about his unhappy mother, and how kids were playing and making a lot noise and mess: "We romped until the pans / Slid from the kitchen shelf" (5-6). The expression on his moms face: "Could not unfrown itself" (8), tells that she is a tired, too. Papa was a working man whose hand: "Was ba...

• Word Count: 451
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... father's rough behavior towards his young son. After an initial reading of Roethke's poem, one may assume that this is a story of a terrified young boy unable to defend himself against his father's physical abuse, while another reader may view this scene as a depiction of a playful game between father and son. ... held [the child's] wrist", may be "battered" as a cause of the "romping" in the kitchen. The boy mentions that at every step the father missed, his ear "scraped a buckle." This could represent the father beating the boy with his belt. The interpretation of the poem as a display ...

• Word Count: 932
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... an abused child could begin right in the very first line of his poem, if not well interpreted. "The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy- (1-2): This passage leads the reader to an incorrect idea of a drunk father getting home; but the reality is that it just shows a typical farmer ... it was very hard to do such thing. Following these thoughts the whole idea is totally confirmed when Theodore says "We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf - (5-6). A happy situation like partying, dancing, playing around comes in mind. So the previous thoughts of an unhappy and ...

• Word Count: 540
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... for his father, no matter what his state of mind may be. In the next four lines of the poem, it explains how the father and child "romped" around the kitchen knocking over pans and waltzing around as the mother stands with an unchanging frown. This offers a more serious tone to the poem as opposed to the happy and loving tone ... obviously loves his father and "clings" to his father out of love, not out of a desperate need to hang on to him for some reason. In the last stanza, the boy is "beat" on his head by his father's dirty hand, and clings on to his father as he waltzes him off to ...

• Word Count: 499
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... would arrive home after having a few drinks. The speaker describes his father's arrival "The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy; but I hung on like death: such waltzing was not easy we romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf" (Lines 1-6). As you read both poems, it is evident that both fathers spend a lot of time at work. In ... ...

• Word Count: 796
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... and his son. This poem deals with affectionate memories of the narrator and his father. The narrator describes a celebration of the father and with his child by dancing across the kitchen floor, where the child had a blast dancing with his father. Robert Hayden poem, "Those Winter Sundays" uses adult narrator to describe the memory of the child towards his distant father ... of enjoyment and excitement. The narrator describes how the child gets excited while he is dancing with his father. The narrator explains: The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like ...

• Word Count: 614
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... insignificant. Gags cleared my head, helped me come back to reality and think of solutions to all my troubles. He was the sort of grandfather who you kept nothing from, boy troubles, school problems, you name it and he knew. You might think this is a weird thing I had going on with Gags, but I loved being able to tell someone so important ... with them Papa keeps us entertained at the beach while Mama stays and cooks. I don't know if this is because in their generation women were expected to stay in the kitchen or because she actually enjoys cooking. I feel it's a bit of both. I could n...

• Word Count: 1318
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School