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

Comparing "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke and "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden My Papa's Waltz, by Theodore Roethke, and Those Winter Sundays, by Robert Hayden, are two somewhat similar poems about respected fathers. To most people a father is not just the man who fertilizes their mother's 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 poems Roethke and Hayden take an admiring look back at the actions of their fathers, although; they both imply that their parents were not perfect. In My Papa's Waltz, Theodore Roethke describes an episode in his childhood. In this, what seems to be regular, occurrence his drunken father comes home for the night reeking of alcohol and begins dancing with him. Roethke describes his father's hands as being battered on one knuckle and extremely soiled. They "romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf" (5-6). This made his mother so upset that she could do nothing but frown. Finally, his father "waltzed" him on to bed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In ?Those Winter Sundays'; by Robert Hayden, the poet also relinquishes on a regular occurrence in his childhood. On Sunday mornings, just as any other morning, his father rises early and puts on his clothes in the cold darkness. He then goes out in the cold and splits fire wood with which he uses to start a fire in the house. After the entire house is warm he calls the rest of his family out of bed. He does not get any thanks for doing this, but that does not seem to matter.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In both poems the poets seem to look back on their childhoods with much love and respect for their fathers. In ?My Papa?s Waltz'; the title suggests a sense of love and honor. Usually when a child calls his father Papa they have a very close relationship in which the child respects and admires his father. Also, the use of the word Waltz suggests a Happy dance of high class people. This is ironic because Roethke?s father is drunken and dirty when this dance takes place, but when one thinks of the waltz they think of a dance between two high-classed people in an extravagant ballroom. Another example of the child?s love and respect for his father is illustrated in the things he overlooks just to be able to carryout the dance. Although ?The whiskey your [his father?s] breath could make a small boy dizzy'; (1-2), the child ?hung on like death'; (3). The speaker also overlooks the pain of his ear