My Papa’s Waltz Analytical Paragraph

With a palm caked hard by dirt My Papa’s Waltz --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.

The assignment Write a paragraph in which you discuss what you think the poem means. Discuss imagery and figurative language to support your point.

Paragraphs Topic Sentence a. identify poem b. identify what the poem is about The poem “My Papa’s Waltz” is about a father and a son playing together as the father takes the son up to bed.

Paragraphs Supporting Details Specific details from poem Imagery and figurative language The rough way that the father brings the son up to bed after he returns from work is compared to a “waltz” in a metaphor in the poem.

Paragraphs 3. Explanation of your details. a. How do your details support your topic sentence? By using this metaphor of the waltz to describe the way the father takes the son up to bed, the poet makes the point that this is not an abusive situation but a beautiful and playful moment between a father and his son.

YOUR TASK Look at the paragraph I handed out to you. Mark the following things: Topic sentence—underline Supporting details—squiggly underline Explanation of details—circle Lit Technique—box Do the same thing to your own paragraph.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER The poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke is about a father and son playing together as the father takes the son up to bed when he returns from work. The poem begins with the imagery of whiskey on the father’s breath that makes “the small boy dizzy.” This makes the father seem much larger than the son. As the two play together the son hangs on “like death.” The simile shows how the son loves the time he spends with his father. The rough way that the father brings the son up to bed after he returns from work is called a “waltz” in the poem. By using the metaphor of the waltz to describe the way the father takes the son up to bed, the poet makes the point that this is not an abusive situation but a beautiful and playful moment between a father and his son. The imagery and the figurative language of the poem show how it is about a father and son playing together.

FOR THE REST OF THE PERIOD Read the poem “Richard Cory” (p607) Write a paragraph in which you explain what point you think the poem makes about MONEY. Be sure to discuss IMAGERY and FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE to support your point. I will collect completed paragraphs tomorrow.

HOMEWORK 1. Literary technique handout due Friday. 2. “Richard Cory” paragraph due Thursday. 3. Vocabulary #15 quiz Thursday.