Seven Centuries of Poetry in English
             Compare and contrast two of the three poems below, commenting in detail on notable features of language-use and on the feeling towards the parents developed in the poems:
             Vastly differing attitudes toward the authors' parents are developed in "Because" and "My Papa's Waltz". These ideas are expressed in a variety of ways, resulting in many notable contrasts between the pieces. "My Papa's Waltz" discloses a snapshot of one vivid childhood memory, whereas "Because" reveals a broader portrait of many aspects of the author's recollection of his childhood, and of both the parents involved.
             The structure alone of "My Papa's Waltz" resembles a formal dance, with four stanzas of four lines, all of similar length. The content, however, gives a mixed view of the dance. The introduction of alcohol in the first line immediately gives the reader the impression that the dance may actually involve a few "missed ... steps." The author, too, is made "dizzy" by the whiskey fumes. The idea of a defined dance is further dispelled by the debris left by the father - son couple: "We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf". Both partners also sustain injuries in the "romp," receiving a battered knuckle and scraped ear. This violent imagery and vocabulary links back to the father, who "beats" time on the son's head with a "palm caked hard by dirt." This harsh vocabulary could be interpreted as a euphemism for serious domestic violence.
             This rough imagery does not seem to phase the child, who clings doggedly to his father throughout the whole piece, "clinging" to his father in continuing filial loyalty. An interesting contrast is raised here, the author "hung on like death," a very negative phrase which is countered in the second stanza by turning ...