Meter and Rhythm Described in My Papas Waltz - 973 Words

My Papa s Waltz In Theodor Roethke s My Papa s waltz the reader finds a horrid experiance, the beating of a child by his father, which is told in a way of a romantic and beutifull dance - the waltz. The feeling one get from reading this poem is that the narrator, at least at the time in which the poem is written, does not look at this experience as something bad. He tries to beutify the experience by making it a waltz. He also, by means of images and rythem, shows the conflict between the readers, or the way any other normal man will look at this experiance, and how he sees it, or wants it to be seen ( although he does not show his father as completley innocent). It can also be looked upon as the Petty Herst syndrom -†¦show more content†¦One accusing finger does rise, and that is toward the mother, who Could not unfrown her countenance , as if the poet s mother does not react in order to maintain this or that frown that will leave her undignified , as if stopping his father from beating him is not of her duties - putting the blame away from his father. Another explanation, farfetched as it may sound, is that of the Petty Herst syndrom. The meaning of this syndrom is that one may enter into a state of life,a reality , that no matter how brutal or harsh it may be, once it is in his mind as an absolute reality, this reality will look as the most suitable reality, escape is not needable, and even when the person leaves this reality it will still, in retrospective, be the best situation he was ever been. It is possible that the narrator in this poem is afflicted by this syndrome. He defends his father because to him it seems that this is the reality he should be in. He describes the beatings as a waltz beacause he sees it as such. Although the poem is narrated retrospectively, from a grown up man point of view, something remains, the poet does not hate his father for the beating, on the contrary, he shows us that the love to his father is not, and never was lost. And twice during the poem - he talks about But I hung on in the first stanza, and Still clinging to your shirt. in the fourth stanza,Show MoreRelatedMy Papas Waltz Summary1072 Words   |  5 PagesIn Theodore Roethke’s â€Å"My Papa’s Waltz† the reader finds a horrid experience, the beating of a child by his father, which is told in a way of a romantic and beautiful dance – the waltz. The feeling one get from reading this poem is that the narrator, at least at the time in which the poem is written, does not look at this experience as something bad. He tries to beautify the experience by making it a waltz. He also, by means of images and rhythm, shows the conflict between the readers, or the way