Greates Gift Ever
Theodore Roethke was born to Otto and Helen Roethke in Saginaw, Michigan, in 1908. He had one sister named Helen June. His father was a floriculturalist and greenhouse owner, which was where Theodore spent a lot of time as a young boy. His impressions of the natural world contained there would later profoundly influence the subjects and imagery of his verse. As a child, he was hardly one who would have been expected to become a major American poet. For example, Theodore's relationship with his parents was not one that could be described as nurturing and loving. He especially did not have a good relationship with his father. Otto had terrible mood swings which caused a tremendous strain on his relationship with Theodore. His mood swings would escalate with the consumption of alcohol, thus creating a very unhealthy and unsafe environment for his son. No matter how bad things became, Theodore seemed like he could always handle his father's awful drunken and abusive side. Several years later, he was able to express, through his writings, the pain he endured emotionally and physically during his childhood. "The environment through which he travels displays hostility, thou
He also created a new and vast style of creativity that was unknown in his era. However, the tragic death of his father did not keep him from accomplishing his dream to become a poet and author. Theodore not only expressed his own feelings about himself in his creations of literature, but he also allowed the reader to explore their own inner feelings while reading his work. He leaves his readers with strong words of wisdom that "nothing would give up life: even the dirt kept breathing a small breath" (Roethke 575). In closing, Theodore Roethke certainly earned his mark in American literature through his many literary contributions, unique style characteristics, works, books, and poems. During his lifetime, he created approximately two hundred notebooks that were overflowing with poems. Although, his most coveted award was the Pulitzer Prize. On a sadder note, Theodore and these American poets also shared the same condition of manic depression. However, most of Theodore's pieces that are well-known to the public are collections of his poems. Theodore's work was widely appreciated and studied throughout society. During his time, he was one of the few that dared to venture through these unknown areas in American literature. He had several breakdowns throughout his poetic life, which at times resulted in hospitalization. His choice of words in the first nine lines of the poem could very well be mistaken as a pessimistic tone. Whether the immediate subject is the individual self, love between man and woman, or some kind of visionary experience, it partakes of that natural world in evident or indirect relationships, in the physical details of imagery" (24).
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Acceptance Essays
