Final Response on My Papa's Waltz

My Papa's Waltz

By Theodore Roethke

The whiskey on your breath

Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.

We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
Could not unfrown itself.

The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.

You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.

In the poem, "My Papa's Waltz", the narrator is reliving an experience of his past that includes his father. Some people say that his father is abusing him, and others may say they are just dancing. Both ideas can be proven with lines from the poem. I don't think the father is abusing his son, even though throughout the poem it gives you the impression of that.

In the poem, there are lines that give the impression that the boy is being abused, but if you read it carefully, he actually isn't. In the first stanza, lines 1-3, it gives you the feeling that the last thing he wants to be doing is dancing with his father. The words whiskey, dizzy, and death gives the whole stanza a negative tone to it. Because of that, most people don't bother to think that the lines can possibly mean he is just afraid to fall while enjoying a dance with his father.

Another line that you can misinterpret is line 12. Here you may think that the boy is getting hit because he is not dancing well, but the line is actually trying to create a different image. What the line is trying to say is that the boy was small at that time, and so due to his height, whenever his father missed a step, his ear was brushed against his father's belt.

Lastly, line 13 can be misinterpreted. In this line, people may think that the father is hurting him, but his father is actually tapping beats on his head to help him dance the waltz. 

This poem reminded me of the book Angela's Ashes. Sometimes Frank's father would come home drunk and wake up Frank and his brothers just to make them promise to die for Ireland. Sleepily, they would all promise to die for Ireland, and if they were lucky, they'd get a penny. As you can see, both fathers did things they believed were harmless, yet they were memorable.

Overall, I think the poem was written to relive a memorable experience, rather than a bad one. I don't think that the poem has a hidden message of abuse like other people argue. The narrator's father did not mean any harm. In fact, I think the waltz was all meant to symbolize love.

Another Revised Response on My Papa's Waltz

My Papa's Waltz

By Theodore Roethke

The whiskey on your breath

Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.

We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
Could not unfrown itself.

The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.

You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.

In the poem, My Papa's Waltz, the narrator is reliving an experience of his past, that includes his father. Some people say that his father is abusing him, and others may say they are just dancing. Both ideas can be proven with lines from the poem. I don't think the father is abusing his son, even though throughout the poem it gives you the impression of that.

In the poem, there are at least three lines that give the impression that the boy is being abused, but if you read it carefully, he actually isn't. When you first read line 3, “but I hung on like death”, it gives you the feeling that the last thing he wants do be doing is dancing with his father. I think that he is clinging on "like death" because he is afraid to fall while enjoying a dance with his father.  Another line that you can misinterpret are lines 11 and 12. Here you may think that he is getting hit because he is not dancing well, but it is actually trying to say that he was very small at that time, so his ear was brushed against his fathers buckle every once in a while. The last line is line 13. Here, people may think that his father is hurting him, but he is actually tapping beats on his head to dance the waltz. 

This poem reminded me of the book Angela's Ashes. Sometimes Frank's father would come home drunk and wake up Frank and his brothers just to make them all promise to die for Ireland. Sleepily, they would all promise to die for Ireland, and if they were lucky, they'd get a penny. This poem reminded me of the book Angela's Ashes because, both fathers did things they believed were harmless. One father danced with his son and the other made them promise to die for Ireland. What I find a coincidence is that both sons ended up writing about the experience. Theodore Roethke wrote My Papa's Waltz, and Frank McCourt wrote his memoir, Angela's Ashes.

Overall, I think the poem was written to relive a memorable experience, rather than a bad one. The narrator's father did not mean any harm. In fact, I think it was all meant to symbolize love.  

Revised Response on My Papa's Waltz

My Papa's Waltz

By Theodore Roethke

The whiskey on your breath

Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.

We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
Could not unfrown itself.

The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.

You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.

In the poem, My Papa's Waltz, the narrator is reliving an experience of his past, that includes his father. Some people say that his father is abusing him, and others say they are just dancing. Both ideas can be proven with lines from the poem. I don't think the father is abusing his son, even though throughout the poem it gives you the impression of that.

In the poem, there are at least three lines that give the impression that the boy is being abused, but if you read it carefully, he actually isn't. When you first read line 3, “but I hung on like death”, it gives you the feeling that the last thing he wants do be doing is dancing with his father. I think that he is clinging on "like death" because he is afraid to fall while enjoying a dance with his father. Another line that you can misinterpret are lines 11 and 12. Here you may think that he is getting hit because he is not dancing well. It is actually trying to say that he was very small so his ear was brushing against his fathers buckle every once in a while. The last line is line 13. Here, people may think that his father is hurting him, but he is actually tapping beats on his head to dance the waltz. 

This poem reminded me of the book Angela's Ashes. Sometimes Frank's father would come home drunk and wake up Frank and his brothers just to make them all promise to die for Ireland. Sleepily, they would all promise to die for Ireland, and if they were lucky, they'd get a penny.  

Overall, I think the poem was written to relive a memorable experience, rather than a bad one. The narrator's father did not mean any harm. In fact, I think it was all meant to symbolize love.  

Reading Response on Independent Reading Book

I have currently finished rereading the book Memoirs of a Geisha, written by Arthur Golden. This book has become one of my favorite books. It has such an interesting conflict, many themes, characters you can connect to, and is very interesting. To tell you the truth, I didn't even want to read it in the first place. When I first read it, all I wanted to do was close the book and put it back on the book shelf. I was so close to actually putting it back, but decided to give it a chance.


The book is about a girl named Chiyo, who at first lived and grew up in the poor fishing village of Yoroido. She was taken, along with her sister, to an okiya in kyoto. Chiyo stayed at the okiya for future geisha training, but her sister was rejected and became a prostitute. Chiyo was to be a maid for Mother and Auntie, two older women who ran the okiya, before actually preparing to be a geisha. Being a maid was just one of the obstacles Chiyo had to overcome to become the geisha she dreamed to be. 


While reading this book, it was frustrating when Chiyo made stupid mistakes. One of these mistakes was deciding to run away. Mother and Auntie specifically told Chiyo that by running away she would kiss goodbye the fact that she would one day become a geisha. Although knowing what she would risk, Chiyo made plans with her sister to run away. At the end, not only did Chiyo get caught, but she also broke her arm while falling off the roof. The medical cost, and the fact that she tried to run away made the debts that she owed the Okiya skyrocket.


At the end, Chiyo managed to become a successful geisha.(No thanks to Auntie, Mother, and Hatsumomo, but to Mameha.) I was really glad when her life finally became perfect. Her bad luck finally seemed to run out, and she was at peace.     

Three Best Reading Responses

1) Alberta Devor

Alberta's reading response to the poem My Papa's Waltz, is a good example of a good reading response.One thing that I liked, was that she took the time to analyze each stanza. After each stanza, she wrote a small paragraph on what it made her think and feel. By the end of the response, with help from each analyzed stanza, it was clear what she believed the poem was really about. Although I don't think that the poem was about the father abusing his son, Alberta's response was really good.

2) Solana Schlau-Appenzeller 
Solana's reading response to the poem My Papa's Waltz, is another good example of a good reading response. I like her introduction because not only did she include her thoughts, but she also included things we discussed in class. I also liked how she referred back to parts of the poem to prove her ideas. Lastly, I like how she did a self-to-self connection.


3) Ruby Walsh
Ruby's reading response to the poem My Papa's Waltz, was really good. I liked how she wrote a paragraph from each perspective. She included things we said in class and wrote how it made her feel. She did a very good job elaborating and referred back to the poem. One thing I found interesting, was that she did a before and after idea thinking. ( If that makes sense.)

Sonnet 1000

You came to me when I least expected.
Changed my life with just a look and smile.
Had no one to lean on, felt rejected
Now have the feeling of being worth while.
As the time goes by, that's when I realize
Only you can bring out the best in me.
I know it's true when I look in your eyes
that in our love's paradise I feel free.
My love for you grows more each passing day
The simplest feelings began to grow,

Like a white dove I was flying away

But such love was so, as pure falling snow.

My god, amazinq how we got this far
There is nothing left to wish on a star

Reading Response/ Reflection

My Papa's Waltz
By Theodore Roethke


The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.

We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
Could not unfrown itself.

The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.

You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.



I think this poem can be seen from different perspectives. Some may say that the father is abusive and others may say that he is not. I think that the father is not abusing his son, he just gets carried away and shows his love for his son in a different way.


If you read the poem, it does not say that the father beats him.( I can see why some people would think that though.) When you read the lines: At every step you missed, my right ear scraped a buckle, you may think that the little boy is getting hurt, but he really isn't. The poet was trying to explain that he was small when this was happening and that he was small enough to get brushed by his father's belt once in a while. The other line is: You beat time on my head, with a palm caked hard with dirt. Here, the poet was trying to say that the father was tapping beats on to his head to dance the waltz. It never said softly or hard, so that will remain a mystery. The father did not mean harm and you can tell by the way the little boy reacted. He clinged on to  and danced with his dad, even when he was a little drunk. I think it was all meant to symbolize love.


This poem reminded me of the book Angela's Ashes. Sometimes Frank's father would come home drunk and wake up Frank and his brothers just to make them all promise to die for Ireland. Sleepily, they would all promise to die for Ireland, and if they were lucky, they'd get a penny.