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Comments about this poem (My Papa's Waltz
by
Theodore Roethke
) |
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comments about this poem (My Papa's Waltz by
Theodore Roethke
)
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Mimi Brown
(7/25/2009 7:12:00 AM) |
This poem is not about abuse, but a childhood memory captured at a later time in life. Daddy, like most dads at the time probably worked in the new world of the industrial revolution, where most men worked six days a week,12 hours a day. Payday was usually Saturday night and most men stopped by their local bar on the way home to remove the grit of poor working conditions from their throats before going home to give their wives the rest of their wages. The mother of the poem isn't upset at the the roughness of the dance, but the truth of it being the day before the Sabbath. She has most likely spent her week cooking, cleaning and raising the children. Sunday is her only respite from the constant grueling work of her 12 hour day too. And now after the dance she must repurify the house for the holy day. As for the child, he is pleased to finally see his father after the long week and a whiskery whiskey dance is most likely the only true physical contact these two have. It is a true depiction of a shared realistic moment of joy.
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Wispe Decoteau
(6/22/2009 9:23:00 AM) |
many ppl think that Roethke was abused. ther was a big dissusion in my class about that. but i dont belive so becuz compared to other poems i think the father in his poems are playing have fun with his son. this shows that he wasnt an absentee father like many other poems portray fathers to be.
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Jordyn Rizzio
(3/19/2009 6:48:00 PM) |
I love Theodore Roethke poems. And I especially like this poem, My Daddy's Waltz. I like this poem so much because I used to do this exact thing with my dad when I was a little girl. When he would come home from work he use to turn on the radio and hold my hands while I stood on his feet. We danced around the kitchen and living room until I became too heavy. :) Now that I am a young adult, a lot heavier then I was back then, we can no longer do that. (My dad never drank though so the 'Whiskey on his breath' part does not pertain to me.)
When I read this poem I visualize when my dad and I used to dance when I was a little girl. I used to hang out tight so I would not fall off. My dad used to do construction so his hands were always dirty. We always used to dance until my mother said it was time to go to bed. Then we would dance to my room where he would put my to bed.
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Anne Rhitak
(1/27/2009 7:48:00 PM) |
I love Roethke's work, it is so abstract much of the time.
However, in this poem, it is not about abuse at all. Like Mr. Crouch said, a drink or two before bed in the early 1900s was exceedingly common, which would explain, 'The whiskey on your breath.' As well, his references to the father and how he 'beat time on my head' are not abusive, it shows that his father is a character that does not how to be gentle, but tries. This is supported by the description of 'a palm caked hard by dirt' and how the father's hand 'was battered on one knuckle.'
The mother's frowning countenance is merely her way of expressing her disapproval at their noisy romp about the house.
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Justin Crouch
(5/18/2008 9:51:00 PM) |
There is no way that Theodore Roethke was abused. This is a fond memory that he has, and has expressed for the world to see. Drinking before bed, but not getting hammered was a common thing back in the early 1900's.
It is however, quite possible that Otto Roethke wanted to tire out the boy, and get him to bed. There is noting about abuse in this at all.
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Menaly Diietz
(3/24/2007 9:38:00 AM) |
Theodore Roethke is one of my favorite poets and although the poem seems to confuse people, it is clearly about children abusing their parents. This child does not want to go to bed, and his father tired and battered from work, and also a little drunk, is dancing with the kid to tire him out. The mother is extremely unhappy about this situation because of the mess the two are making.
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Menaly Diietz
(3/24/2007 9:38:00 AM) |
Theodore Roethke is one of my favorite poets and although the poem seems to confuse people, it is clearly about children abusing their parents. This child does not want to go to bed, and his father tired and battered from work, and also a little drunk, is dancing with the kid to tire him out. The mother is extremely unhappy about this situation because of the mess the two are making.
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Hillary Herbert
(2/28/2007 10:41:00 PM) |
Theodore Roethke is my favorite poet, and this is the poem that captured me. I believe that I myself relate to this poem in ways that you cannot imagine. I argue that it is very probable that the child in question was abused. My own experience with abuse has very much so influenced my conclusion on the matter due to the fact that although my father abused me, I was constantly begging for his attention. I believe that it enormously depends on the child and extent of abuse. Therefore, it is still up for debate. But as a young writer, my arguements are void. I do enjoy Mr. Roethke's work, and encourage any poetry lover to read it.
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Shawn Delgado
(12/11/2006 6:10:00 PM) |
While the debate about domestic violence often becomes a part of discussing this poem, especially with the words 'battered' and 'beat' in the final two stanzas, there is no evidence on the page to indicate abuse. The endearing term of 'Papa' and having both the first and last stanzas end with the boy clutching his father indicate a nostalgia of the speaker for this scene. The boy may be uncomfortable during many parts of the dance (the smell of whiskey, scraping his ear, having a hard hand beat time on his head) , but he endures it to be close to a father he clearly loves. The minute details with which he describes the father's hands also show the close attention he has paid in watching the father. Any sort of abuse would create distance, not the closeness evident in this story.
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