Essay Archive - Poetry Analysis: “My Papa’s Waltz”
Poetry Analysis: “My Papa’s Waltz”
Throughout the poem, “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, many techniques are used to show that there are furious conflicts between a father and his son. Roethke uses the word waltz in the title to relate to the beating of the son. I believe that the poem is altogether a negative poem, as described by the words and phrases the author uses.
To begin, the author immediately states that the father is a drunk. Roethke says, “The whiskey on your breath / Could make a small boy dizzy” (1-2). The boy knows his father is d....
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