My Papa's Waltz
The Father-Son Connection
One of the most powerful relationships someone ever forms is the connection that they have with their own father. “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden and “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke are both poems that brilliantly describe this powerful relationship between father and son. The feelings that the poets have toward the subject are found deep within the two poems often hidden behind how the character feels toward his own father. Even though these poems were published in different time periods, one feels the similarities and differences within the tone, form, or even the imagery of the poems.
“Those Winter Sundays” and “My Papa’s Waltz” were written by two different authors so naturally there are some differences within them. Roethke chose to use closed form in "My Papa 's Waltz" so the work has a distinct structure and rhyme scheme. There are four stanzas within the poem, and each stanza consists of four lines and has a rhyme scheme of A-B; A-B. For example if one was to look at the final words per line for the first stanza, they would find it reads as follows “breath, dizzy, death, easy.” On the other hand, Robert Hayden uses a very different form to create "Those Winter Sundays." Hayden uses open form which demonstrates varying length of the poem 's three stanzas and the different count of each line. The style that Hayden chose for his work allows the poem to be read in a manner that resembles a conversation.
When one is to just briefly read through these poems, they may feel as if both of the poems share the same theme which is about a son’s admiration for his father. Now this may be true but the difference in these works lie a little deeper within them in the tone that the authors used when writing. The tone of “My Papa’s Waltz” is one of excitement and enjoyment. The author utilizes an adult narrator fondly remembering a childhood experience to show how he loved dancing with his father. The narrator directly addresses
One of the most powerful relationships someone ever forms is the connection that they have with their own father. “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden and “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke are both poems that brilliantly describe this powerful relationship between father and son. The feelings that the poets have toward the subject are found deep within the two poems often hidden behind how the character feels toward his own father. Even though these poems were published in different time periods, one feels the similarities and differences within the tone, form, or even the imagery of the poems.
“Those Winter Sundays” and “My Papa’s Waltz” were written by two different authors so naturally there are some differences within them. Roethke chose to use closed form in "My Papa 's Waltz" so the work has a distinct structure and rhyme scheme. There are four stanzas within the poem, and each stanza consists of four lines and has a rhyme scheme of A-B; A-B. For example if one was to look at the final words per line for the first stanza, they would find it reads as follows “breath, dizzy, death, easy.” On the other hand, Robert Hayden uses a very different form to create "Those Winter Sundays." Hayden uses open form which demonstrates varying length of the poem 's three stanzas and the different count of each line. The style that Hayden chose for his work allows the poem to be read in a manner that resembles a conversation.
When one is to just briefly read through these poems, they may feel as if both of the poems share the same theme which is about a son’s admiration for his father. Now this may be true but the difference in these works lie a little deeper within them in the tone that the authors used when writing. The tone of “My Papa’s Waltz” is one of excitement and enjoyment. The author utilizes an adult narrator fondly remembering a childhood experience to show how he loved dancing with his father. The narrator directly addresses