-1Liliana Melo
Professor Carlos Hiraldo
English 102.8417
January 22, 2007
Essay #1, Draft #2
Between Cold and Roughness … Love Is Given
Through time, fathers have played many roles in educating their children. Some of them are
involved in every part of their children’s lives while others focus on one or two aspects of raising their
children. In fact, the experiences of fatherhood have focused on the traditional role of financial provider.
The way to the better expresses and communicates his feelings to his child is based on the kind of father
role. Thus, the poems “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke and “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert
Hayden describe the relationship a father and son and the way they communicate. However, these two
relationships could not be more different. In the Roethke’s poem, the speaker had a strong and positive
relationship with his father that couldn't be expressed as well as Hayden's relationship with his father. In
fact, the fathers’ ability to communicate with their sons was physically, rather than verbally. Also, both
poems use negative aspects, fatherly love, and understanding for their father. In Theodore Roethke’s “My
Papa’s Waltz” looks describes the experiences of a young boy with his “effusive” father. Robert Hayden’s
“Those Winter Sundays” is a similar poem from the viewpoint of a young adult who is reflecting back on the
childhood relationship with his father and his distant communication.
The poem “My Papa’s Waltz,” by Theodore Roethke describes the scene of dance between a
father and his son. This poem deals with affectionate memories of the narrator and his father. The narrator
describes a celebration of the father with his child by dancing across the kitchen floor. In the line 1, the
word "Whiskey" could give us some characteristics of the father as a rough, uneducated, blue-collar
worker. Likewise, the signs of roughness are his hand, "battered on one knuckle"(11), and "a palm caked
hard by dirt"(14). This is a man who has probably worked with his hands very hard during the day. His few
-2escapes likely consist of a drink when he gets home from a rough day. His missed steps injure the child's
ear, while the father and son's "romping" causes the pans to slide "from the kitchen shelf"(6). As he "beat[s]
time"(13) on the child's head we see very clearly that he is quite careless with the child. All these factors
make the boy's mother very uncomfortable. We can see the disapproval in her countenance, which "could
not unfrown itself"(8). She is obviously upset, but she does not do anything to stop the “game”. So, this
suggests that the waltz is enjoyable for father and son. This father may not be the most sensitive man
around, but he still seems to be a hero in the eyes of his son. Finally, the last line of the poem, "waltzed me
off to bed still clinging to your shirt" assumes that the boy is very much dependent on his father and shows
a father-son relationship based, at least in part on love.
Similarly, the poem "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden uses an adult speaker to describe
the memory of the child towards his distant father. The father used to wake up early every Sunday to be
ready for church services. In this poem, the father is not friendly and affectionate, but he made sure that
everything stays in order for his family. The son is overwhelmed by guilt for all the years he took his father
as a provider. In the lines 1 and 2 “Sundays too my father got up early / and put his clothes on in the
blueblack cold” describe a man who has to get up in order to fulfill the basic needs of his family. All of his
actions are to make life more pleasant for his family. That image is more touching when you consider the
idea that "no one ever thanked him"(5), his son "spoke indifferently to him"(10), and despite his best efforts
his home was still overwhelmed by "chronic angers"(9). Perhaps his family lacks closeness because of the
chaotic work life that he leads. This may be the reason that the son mistreats and misunderstands him so
much. Now, the speaker feels that all that insensitivity and ingratitude towards his father come back to
disturb him. In fact, the speaker recognizes the enormous duty that raising a family is. Also, he sees how
hard it is to make life work, and is able to feel the respect and admiration for his father that he should have.
Many parents suffer silently. They fulfill their duties quietly, doing the things for the people that they love.
-3Finally, the speaker realizes his mistake saying, "What did I know of love's lonely and austere offices" (1314).
Total and unconditional love between the father and his son will never disappear. In the poem “My
Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, the speaker describes his pain that he feels when his father spins him
around the room, but he is “Still clinging to your shirt” (Roethke 16) showing his devoted love. In the same
way, Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays” shows the love between father and son. In this poem, the
speaker looks back on his childhood recognizing all of the work that his father did in order to support the
family and how he never thanked him for this. The father shows his love everyday as even after a long day
of blue-collar work he “had driven out the cold and polished my good shoes as well” (Hayden 10-11).
In conclusion, poetry is made to express the feelings, thoughts, and emotions of the poet. The
readers can interpret the poem however they see fit. The poems “My Papa’s Waltz” and “Those Winter
Sundays” make the reader understand the love between father and son; in addition, the reader can prove
that the speakers in fact love their father in spite of misunderstanding their fathers. Through these poems,
we can find opportunities to learn from our experiences, work differences, and pass in order to base our
legacies. Also, I think that Roethke and Hayden are two skilled poets that have control over their writing
way and communication of meaning of their feelings.