My papa s waltz theodore roethke the whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy. My papas waltz analysis a research guide for students. My papas waltz by theodore roethke poetry foundation. Interpretation of my papa s waltz by theodore roethke 737 words 3 pages. My papas waltz was written by the american poet theodore roethke. My papas waltz is a poem written by a significant american poet theodor roethke. My papas waltz by theodore roethke literature factory.
My papas waltz is a poem written by theodore roethke 19081963. The poem was written in the 1940s and set in some earlier decade, and describes a scene from family life, when a tipsy father waltzes with his little son around the kitchen. In my papas waltz by theodore roethke, the interpretation of the poem depends on the readers perspective. Roethke s writing often referred back to his childhood and, as we see in this poem, his father.
My papas waltz poem summary and analysis litcharts. My papa s waltz was published in a magazine in 1942, then again in roethke s book the lost son and other poems, as well as in anthologies ever since. Roethke drew on his own relationship with his father to write my papa s waltz. Hear gwendolyn brooks read the mother and theodore roethke read my papa s waltz, with insights by exus poet laureate donald hall. Download this entire guide to my papas waltz as a printable pdf. When roethke was a boy, his father would pick him up and waltz him around the house in a. My papas waltz by theodore roethke, read by william van fields retired corporate executive, stockton, ca, as part of the favorite poem project. Symbolism in my papas waltz, by theodore roethke 717. Roethke lost his father at the age of fifteen and this loss made a great influence on his own mental and physical health. It is a great poem that can mean many different things to many different people. My papas waltz analysis my papas waltz is a short poem by a modern american poet theodore roethke. It was first published in 1942, then collected in his book the lost son and other poems in 1948. Video discussion of my papas waltz by theodore roethke for mr. My papas waltz summary my papas waltz is a poem by theodore roethke that describes how roethkes drunk father would spin him around in a sort of waltz when he was a child.