My Papa's Waltz analysis

Speaker

The speaker is a little boy who is being forced to bed, but before he goes to bed is caught up in a waltz with his drunken father.

Setting of the Poem

This poem took place in the kitchen of a family home, and it was written in the 1940

Purpose of the Poem

There are several purposes of this poem, as there are different ways to interpret this poem.

One purpose can be the author was trying to describe the effects of dancing with a drunk person.

What is the significance of the title?

My Papa's Waltz

There are several different interpretation for this poem.

* It can be interpreted as the waltz signifies the relationship of love and fear between the son and the father.

* It can also be interpreted as a young boy dancing with his drunken father before going to bed.

How does the Author develops the purpose of the poem

The author uses figurative language to develop the purpose of the poem.He uses various similes, personification, metaphors, and imagery.

For Example, the author said,

"The whiskey on your breath

Could make a small boy dizzy;

But I hung on like death:

Such waltzing was not easy"

"But I hung on like death" is a simile that makes a comparison between death and how the boy was holding on to his father, even though the whiskey was pretty strong.

Bases on interpretation that one takes on this poem, this can symbolize the tough relationship that the boy and his father is going through.

Interpretation of stanzas

"The hand that held my wrist

Was battered on one knuckle;"

*Lines 9-10 can be interpreted as the fathers hands were destroyed based on all the hard work that he has to do.

"At every step you missed

My right ear scraped a buckle."

*Lines 11-12 can be interpreted as every mistake the father makes in life it hurts his son.

* It can also be interpreted as the boy reaches his father at the waist, and every time he moves with his father waltzing, he scrapes his ears on his father's belt.

"We romped until the pans

Slid from the kitchen shelf;

* Lines 5-6 can be interpreted as the boy was dancing with his father and they were making a mess but it was not intentionally.

* It also can be interpreted as all the mistakes that the father has made in his life with his sons.

My mother's countenance

Could not unfrown itself."

*Lines 7-8 can be interpreted as the mother is angry about what is going but she refuse to say anything, so she keeps a frown on.

Symbols

There are several symbols in this poem

For example:

- "romped until the pans

Slid from the kitchen shelf"

* This symbolizes the intensity at which they were playing, and how it was not intentional because the father is drunk.

-"At every step you missed

My right ear scraped a buckle."

* This symbolizes the speed at which the father is moving, and also how drunk he is. It also symbolizes the height of the child, as he most be waist height for his ears to be scraping on his father's belt.

Some people might interpret this section as a drunken father beating his child, trying to get him to go to bed.

Rhyme scheme

This poem has a "Ab" "Ab" rhyme scheme.

Themes in the poem

Some of the themes in this poem are:-

* The masculinity of men can be hurtfully at time.

* Dancing with a drunken man can be very admiral.

* The is still love even when the relationship with one's father is not strong.

Interpretation of Stanza cont.

"

You beat time on my head

With a palm caked hard by dirt,"

* Lines 13-14 can be interpreted as the father is beating the beat of a waltz on his sons head.

* It can also be interpreted as he is beating his child with hands that have been through a lot at work.

"Then waltzed me off to bed

Still clinging to your shirt."

*Lines 15-16 can be interpreted that the son still loves his father even though the have been through a lot.

*It can also mean its the last dance with his father before he goes to bed.