Papa's Waltz, the Speaker Mentions the Booze

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Papa's Waltz," the speaker mentions the booze on his father's breath, strong enough to make a "small boy dizzy," (Line 2). Theodore Roetke then opts to use the word "death" in the third line, creating instantly a tone of despair. The titular waltzing refers to the child having to dance around his father's abuse. He is also "waltzed off to bed," (Line 15). The irony of using the term "waltz" throughout adds complexity to the poem's tone. Waltzing is an odd choice of metaphor, because waltzing is dancing: something that is inherently joyful or happy. The "beating time" is not actually beating time to music but beating a child (Line 15). By using the metaphor of waltzing to discuss domestic violence, the poet draws even greater attention to the serious nature of the subject.

Simile and metaphor allow Sharon Olds to discuss sexuality and emotional intimacy. The first simile that appears in the poem compares lovers to dancers. "Beautiful as dancers, / gliding over each other like ice-skaters," (Line 2-3). This simile is straightforward in that many dances are erotic in nature and involve physical expressions of intimacy between partners. The second metaphor refers to the physiological effects of arousal: "faces / red as steak, wine, wet" (Lines 5-6). Here, the speaker uses food and drink similes also in a manner congruous with sexuality because both food and sex fulfill physical needs. Then, Olds reaches the central metaphor of the poem, which is comparing true love to a religious experience. "These are the true religious, / the purists, the pros, the ones who will not / accept a false Messiah," (Lines 13-15). The false Messiah is quick one-night stands; the truly religious and pure of spirit imbue sexual experiences with spirituality.

3. The rose symbolizes love in Kelly Mays's "One Perfect Rose." However, the speaker finds the rose an ironic symbol of love. A rose is delicate, "fragile," and will soon die (Line 6). All the rose does is to represent "his heart," (Line 5). The speaker points out the difference between a rose and a "limousine," (Line 10). Whereas the flower functions only as a symbol of love, which highlights the transitory and fleeting nature of love, a limousine is a concrete and practical item that conveys far more status and long-term function than a "single rose," (Line 1). The speaker laments her having never received a limousine from a lover, but only a rose, as she longs for a more solid and concrete relationship.

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4. Both Helen Chasin and William Carlos Williams use a plum as a central motif in their respective poems. Colloquially, the term plum connotes cheerfulness. The sound of the word plum resembles plump, a pleasant word connoting happiness as well as abundance. It naturally follows that both Chasin and Williams use the word plum in their respective poems to convey a cheerful tone, and the similar themes related to satisfying worldly pleasures and the need for simple self-love. The speaker in Williams' poem addresses what is likely to be a domestic partner. The speaker apologizes for having eaten the "delicious" plums that were in the ice box (Line 10). Beneath the surface, though, there is an implication that the stealing the plums from the ice box is a euphemism for cheating on a spouse. After all, the word "so cold" ends the poem on a striking note, and this term suggests the frigidity of a sexless marriage (Line 12). The person to whom the speaker directs his apology was "saving" them, as if saving her virginity (Line 7). To draw attention to this issue, Williams allows that word, saving, to linger alone on one line. Chasin likewise likens eating a plum to fulfilling sexual desire. Like Williams, Chasin uses the word "delicious" (Line 1). Chasin also states that the plum offers the "luxury of / self-love," (Lines 2-3). Just as the speaker in Williams' poem could not resist the delicious plums sitting in the ice box, neither could the speaker in Chasin's poem resist the plum. The plum becomes a symbol for the sexual partner, "provoked into juice," (Lines 7-8).

5. The extended metaphor in Galway Kinnel's "Blackberry Eating" compares the mystery of nature to the mystery of language. Both are a type of….....

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"Papa's Waltz The Speaker Mentions The Booze", 21 November 2014, Accessed.6 June. 2026,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/papa-waltz-speaker-mentions-booze-2153281
   

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