Wednesday, March 12, 2008
The Hidden Lesson In, "My Papa's Waltz"
"My Papa's Waltz," by Theodore Roethke, can be read many ways. At first glance I had the tendency to take it a completely different way then the second time. The first time I read it was a child being abused by his father. The line that made me think this way was, "The whiskey on your breath/Could make a small boy dizzy: " (Roethke l. 1-2). Seeing as how this was the opening line by the speaker, to me, it made it seem like the father was a drunk. So drunk in fact that he could make you drunk just by breathing on you. However, after I dug into the poem more I began to see a completely different side. A side of a father and son having fun. A father actually teaching his son to waltz. "You beat time on my head" (Roethke l. 13). The father here is actually helping his son keep in step. This is indication that there isn't abuse, but rather a boys father teaching him. The next indication that it is not a poem of abuse is, "Then waltzed me off to bed" (Roethke l. 15). Here is where the poem is ending. The father and son have spent their time dancing the night away. Perhaps the father is trying to put his son to sleep, seeing as that is where the story ends. This poem has the possibility of being read different ways, you just have to take the time to see them.
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3 comments:
I agree that this poem maybe read in two different ways, as completely sinister or a loving tale of a child and there father. But admit I lean towards the abuse faction more just because of the waltz seems more like a struggle to get away and the presence of alchol use which can not lead to anything postive just makes me feel this is a story of abuse.
I agree with you, I can see different perspectives of the poem, although I would have to say that it's hard to perceive a poem in a certain way because so many people have different ideas of words when we think about them, for example, with the word, 'alcohol', we probably would come up instantly with two different perspectives on the word. maybe the father was an alcoholic, but maybe it wasn't a bad thing, maybe he was an alcoholic because it was the only way he could be 'himself' and dance with his son and have fun? maybe that night he was having an occasional drink and just so happened that he was dancing with his son, that the papa was not an alcoholic at all?
interesting poem, gotta love the ones that have different perspectives becaues it makes an intersting discussion piece!
I think this pome was one of my faviorts out of the poetry unit because it was a great discussion piece in class and when i read it at home before it was discussed i did see it as a negative abusive poem that i think typically everyone saw it as at first glance however the disscussion in class really made me look at the way words can be inverted and change the poem completly. For instacne wisky can be just a drink that the fater has once in a while, or wisky that could make the fater an alcoholic. also the word buckle in this poem i automaticly thought belt cus the father drank i started thinking negative which is all a eeror thing as well i belive that timing in this poem everything we look at the date 1908-1948 and back then i dont think you would but a buckle to belt automaticly like many of us did today.
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