Essay about Writing About Childhood Memories Through Poetry

Have you ever felt regret about being selfish towards your parents or thankful for everything your parents have done for you? In the poems â€Å"My Papa’s Waltz†, by Theodor Roethke and â€Å"Those Winter Sundays†, by Hayden White both narrators have felt the same feelings towards their parents. Writing about childhood memories can be a great method of symbolizing emotional experiences of one’s childhood. Both poems are very similar themes. Each of the poems tell a story of a child who reminisce on their lives by telling about certain events that occurred during their childhood. Both poems are sentimental and emotional narratives of the boy’s relationship with their fathers. In â€Å"My Papa’s Waltz† the narrator uses specific imagery and words that are†¦show more content†¦However this assumption is proven when it is stated at the end of the first stanza that â€Å"such waltzing is not easy†, which also illustrates th e narrator’s juvenile character. The waltz is illustrated as enjoyable by the narrator’s variety of words in, â€Å"We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf†. Hence, the mother’s frowning is an outcome of the dance being loud and irksome. The reader could agree that the mother’s frown may be referring to anger, or even worse, violence. The belt buckles reference is most likely brought up to stress the child’s size as he dances around with his father. The poem states the dance was not flawless and the boy bumped and ran into his father while waltzing. The mention of the father helping out the son while dancing shows the father’s kind effort to help the child stay on time with the music. After waltzing, the child is worn-out and the father symbolically â€Å"waltzes† him to bed. In the second poem, â€Å"Those Winter Sundays† describes the sacrifices made by a father to provide for his family. The theme of the poem is also memories and emotions, like the poem â€Å"My Papa’s Waltz†. Another theme is guilt. 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