Literary Analysis/Responses

1. Literary Analysis/Responses What makes them good?

2. Intros with finesse and clarity “In this poem, perspective is key. With one eye, you see a relationship between a boy and a father that is brutal and abusive. With the other, we see a cheerful and playful relationship.” --Jordan Reynold

3. Clear claims “The poem has unique word choice that can cause a person to read it in either a positive or negative mindset.”—Rachel Eves “In Theodore Roethke’s poem ‘My Papa’s Waltz,’ word choice plays an important role in the mood of the poem.” --Kirsten Kellhetter “The boy clearly has a complicated relationship with his dad in which he is scared by his dad, but also loves him.” ---Aaron Oleson

4. “The mood of the reader and the way the mood of the words affect her make her see the poem in different lights.” --Julianna Brown

5. Evidence is clearly explained. • “Words like ‘battered’ and ‘scraped’ all give the image of violence and the child being wrongfully hurt.” –Ian Neeley • “The author’s use of the word ‘beat’ has multiple meanings. By using this word it causes the brain to pick one definition and then make you visualize the text in that state of mind.” --Lindsay Marsh

6. “The phrases ‘palms caked hard with dirt’ (14) and ‘the hand…was battered on one knuckle’ (10) illustrate that this man faces arduous labors daily, which makes it all the more sweet that he makes time for his son. --Jamie Johnson “In the title, the author uses ‘papa’ instead of ‘father,’ which has a more distant connotation.” --Riley Lehman

7. Thoughtful Transitions “If those two lines of verse make the poem have a sad tone, the next verses will turn the poem from sad to depressing.” --Rafael Tello “To say that he ‘hung on like death’ results in the image of a small boy hanging on to his father, a sign of love—a deep, fearless love that rests within a trusting relationship….Death is inevitable, always there; you can never outrun it or forget about it. To say that he ‘hung on like death’ is basically saying that he hung on to his father with a promise of never letting go.” –Ryia Grant

8. Precise and Vibrant Word Choice “When first read, it may seem like a cold, inhumane poem, but as one looks deeper, they find it to be an enchanting memory of a little boy and his papa.” –MoriahGarate

9. Unique Ideas • “The poem talks about a son dancing with his father after his long day at work. While reading the poem with a similar rhythm to a waltz, the reader further understands the message the poem is trying to convey.” –Alexis Reel “In the poem ‘My Papa’s Waltz’ by Theodore Roethke, the author feels something different than he evokes in the work. This poem sounds like a light-hearted memory with nice connotations, but it is actually something much different. Roethke uses words such as ‘waltzed’ and ‘romped’ (lines 5 and 15) to give the illusion that this memory is a ‘good’ one. But, in reality, this memory makes the author resentful and sad.” –Libby McLean

10. Well-wrought Titles • “Twisted Words” (Lindsay Marsh) • “For the Love of a Father” (Miranda Maher)

11. “A Time of Gifts”