Theme of Fatherly Love in My Papa's Waltz by Theodore Roethke and Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden

In “My Papa's Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, and “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden, are two to an extent of equivalent sonnets over the love a father can show in different ways. A father isn't only the man who treats their mothers right, in any case, a dad that is vitality and respects his family all around. In doing so, the father gets the families reverence and respect. For these two poems written by Hayden and Roethke, both poets take a regarding look back at the recollections of both of their fathers, despite the truth, the two of them infer that their folks were not flawless.

In “My Papa's Waltz”, Theodore Roethke depicts memories in his adolescence. In this, what is by all accounts, the event, his inebriated dad arrives home for a late evening with the smell of alcohol and starts dancing with his son. Roethke portrays his dad's hands as being incredibly filthy and one of his knuckles being battered. They 'romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf' (5-6). The mom became so resentful that she could not sit peacefully, however disturbed. Eventually, his dad 'waltzed' him off to bed. This poem the father doesn’t show his love like some dads do, his dad has to go to the bar after work to blow off some steam before coming home to his family. Once the father is home he shows his love by dancing and tucking the kids into bed.

In “Those Winter Sunday”'; by Robert Hayden, the writer goes back in time on a standard event in his adolescence. On Sunday mornings, similar to most of the other Sunday mornings, his dad rises before the sun is up and puts on his winter jacket in the darkness of the cold. At that point proceeds to go out in the harsh elements of the season and starts cutting up firewood which then he use to make a fire for the house. After the whole house is warm, he calls the remainder of his family to wake up. He doesn't get any debt of gratitude is in order for doing this, yet that doesn't appear to make a difference. The father shows his love by doing small things, like cutting up the wood and keeping the house-warm. He might not show it emotionally but he shows it by doing the little things that make the kids lives easier.

In two sonnets, the poets appear to take a look at their fathers during their childhood. Within “My Papa’s Waltz”; proposing a feeling of devotion in the title. Normally, when a child refers to his dad as papa they tend to have an exceptionally tight bond wherein the child looks up to his father and respects him. Additionally, the word Waltz is proposed as a joyful dance between higher class people. Quite so amusing to the fact that Roethke’s father is wasted and his hands are still filthy from work, when they are dancing, yet when to high-classed individuals are dancing in a classy ballroom the word waltz typically comes to mind. For instance the kid’s affection and appreciation of his father is outlined to the point where he ignores that his dad is drunk and dirty to finish the dance with his father. Even though “The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy”; (1-2) the child “hung on like death”; (3). The dad is showing love to this little boy, as this little boy is hanging on as the spin around. In “Those Winter Sundays” the children have memories of knowing that their father waking up early for them, even though their father was tired and aching from work during the week. Both the children in both these poems give so much love to their father because of the small things they do to show them love.

In today’s society we still see fathers that do not show the love we think it should be shown. There are fathers who work all day long just to make ends meet so that their children have a house to live in, food on the plate, and clothes to wear. Not all fathers have the ability to love their children like society thinks they should. Not every dad can go outside after school to throw a ball around. A lot of them have work to do and get it done so that they can provide for their families. Everyone looks for the physical connection between a father and their child, but sometimes it can not be that way. In both poems their fathers probably worked hard so that they could have the luxuries they did, not having to wake up early to cut wood to keep the house- warm or not having your father there to say goodnight to you every night. It is the small things that their fathers did to show them their love the best way they could.