Comparing My Papas Waltz by Theodore Roethke and Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Comparing My public address systems Waltz by Theodore Roethke and Those Winter Sundays by Robert HaydenMy Papas Waltz, by Theodore Roethke, and Those WinterSundays, by Robert Hayden, are two somewhat similar poems aboutrespected pay offs. To most people a father is non just the man who fertilizestheir mothers egg, but a man that spends time with and takes care of them. While doing this, he gains their love and respect. In these two poemsRoethke and Hayden take an admiring look back at the actions of theirfathers, although they both imply that their parents were not perfect.In My Papas Waltz, Theodore Roethke describes an episode in hischildhood. In this, what seems to be regular, occurrence his drunken fathercomes home for the night reeking of alcohol and begins dancing with him.Roethke describes his fathers hands as being battered on one knuckle andextremely soiled. They romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf(5-6). This made his mother so upset that she could do nothi ng but frown.Finally, his father waltzed him on to bed.In ?Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden, the poet alsorelinquishes on a regular occurrence in his childhood. On Sunday mornings,just as either other morning, his father rises early and puts on his clothes in thecold darkness. He then goes out in the cold and splits fire wood with whichhe uses to start a fire in the house. After the entire house is warm he calls therest of his family out of bed. He does not get whatsoever thanks for doing this, butthat does not seem to matter.In both poems the poets seem to look back on their childhoods withmuch love and respect for their fathers. In ?My Papa?s Waltz the titlesuggests a sense of love and honor. Usually when a child calls his fatherPapa they have a very close blood in which the child respects andadmires his father. Also, the use of the word Waltz suggests a Happy danceof high class people. This is ironic because Roethke?s father is drunken anddirty when this dance takes place , but when one thinks of the waltz they thinkof a dance between two high-classed people in an extravagant ballroom. Another pillowcase of the child?s love and respect for his father is illustrated inthe things he overlooks just to be able to carryout the dance. Although ?Thewhiskey your his father?s breath could make a small boy dizzy (1-2), thechild ?hung on like death (3). The speaker also overlooks the pain of his ear