“My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke was a famed poem from the nineteen forties. Roethke was an American poet and writer who was best known for his poems that depicted social struggle and class injustice. His works, especially “My Papa's Waltz”, can be critiqued heavily by Marxist critics. The Marxist critic was a specific individual that red deeply into literature, knowing every phrase and word had an inner, or aesthetic meaning. Terry Eagleton, one of the most prolific Marxist critics, can be credited for the development of the concept that literature and ideology be spoken as the one (Leitch 2242). Through the work of Eagleton and fellow Marxist Walter Benjamin, the critical theory of Marxism is established as one of political analysis,
…show more content…
It can be seen as an autobiographical poem in many ways. Roethke grew up in a middle class family, whose father was a greenhouse keeper (Theodore Roethke). They were not a struggling family, yet in no means wealthy. Roethke was forced to work at his father’s greenhouse at a young age, taking away much of his childhood (Theodore Roethke). His father was a hard worker. He spent his days with Roethke’s uncle tending to the gardens. The lines from “My Papa's Waltz”, “the hand that held my wrist was battered on one knuckle” displays not only the hard work of Roethke’s father, but the working class status of Roethke (Roethke 10). In the next stanza, an idea is stated. “You beat time on my head with a palm caked hard by dirt. Then waltzed me off to bed still clinging to my shirt” (Roethke 16). Here, Roethke is referencing how he learned the concept of hard …show more content…
It is already established that the boy and father in Roethke’s poem were of a lower working class, similar to that of Roethke’s family. The father’s hands were “battered on one knuckle” and “caked hard by dirt” (Roethke 14). However, throughout the poem, the pair are dancing a waltz. Waltzes are notoriously upper class dances that are done at extravagant galas. They are a sign of wealth and prestige. Nevertheless, the father and son are dancing one with such passion. This is clearly a jab at the ambiguous class system of society. A members of the lower class could dance the waltz, so they could also have the same working conditions and receive the same taxes. Roethke was taking a clear stance on this issue, which created deep meaning within his
It can be seen as an autobiographical poem in many ways. Roethke grew up in a middle class family, whose father was a greenhouse keeper (Theodore Roethke). They were not a struggling family, yet in no means wealthy. Roethke was forced to work at his father’s greenhouse at a young age, taking away much of his childhood (Theodore Roethke). His father was a hard worker. He spent his days with Roethke’s uncle tending to the gardens. The lines from “My Papa's Waltz”, “the hand that held my wrist was battered on one knuckle” displays not only the hard work of Roethke’s father, but the working class status of Roethke (Roethke 10). In the next stanza, an idea is stated. “You beat time on my head with a palm caked hard by dirt. Then waltzed me off to bed still clinging to my shirt” (Roethke 16). Here, Roethke is referencing how he learned the concept of hard …show more content…
It is already established that the boy and father in Roethke’s poem were of a lower working class, similar to that of Roethke’s family. The father’s hands were “battered on one knuckle” and “caked hard by dirt” (Roethke 14). However, throughout the poem, the pair are dancing a waltz. Waltzes are notoriously upper class dances that are done at extravagant galas. They are a sign of wealth and prestige. Nevertheless, the father and son are dancing one with such passion. This is clearly a jab at the ambiguous class system of society. A members of the lower class could dance the waltz, so they could also have the same working conditions and receive the same taxes. Roethke was taking a clear stance on this issue, which created deep meaning within his