My Papa's Waltz, Those Winter Sundays, and Legacies

“My Papa’s Waltz,” by Theodore Roethke, shows a connection between a father and son during a rambunctious dance scene

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The granddaughter wants to forever rely on her grandmother. Therefore, the child fears his father’s endless anger. So even after the grandmother passes away, Giovanni will always rely on her to make the best rolls. They go about their duties quietly, doing the things we do for the people we love. In all three poems, the speakers are able to feel the respect and admiration for their parents’ and grandparents’ hard work, sacrifices, and dedication to their family. The first stanzas of the poem convey the festive mood of the domestic scene.

“Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden deals with the connection between a father and son. Even though the grandmother asks the girl to learn from her, all she wants, in reality, is the company of youth, and time to spend with her granddaughter. The son comes to realize that his father did the things he has always simply thought of as done.

“Legacies”, by Nikki Giovanni, shows a connection between a grandmother and granddaughter. Unable to control the waltz, he can barely keep up with his father’s overpowering pace: “at every step he missed,” he explains his own “right ear scraped a buckle” (Roethke 12). “…driven out the cold/ and polished my good shoes as well. What did I know, what did I know/ of love’s austere and lonely offices?” (Hayden 11-14). The father expressed his love, as did many men from that generation, by working selflessly and in silence. As if giddy from alcohol on his father’s breath, the narrator describes the mayhem of their “romp.

Common topics in this essay:
Robert Hayden, Nikki Giovanni, Papas Waltz, Theodore Roethke, Winter Sundays, , Sundays Legacies, father son, papas waltz, figurative language, cold hayden, winter sundays, grandmother granddaughter, relationship father, Waltz Winter, connection papas waltz, connection father, waltz winter, hayden figurative language, internal conflict, papas waltz winter, connection father son, waltz winter sundays,

Approximate Word count = 1435
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

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