Theodore Roethke and Langston Hughes

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at Langston Hughes and Theodore Roethke, two contemporary American writers who have been recognized as acclaimed in the same time period, between the late 1930s until the 1950s, wherein most of their poems were published. It analyzes their poetry and discusses the elements used by each in expressing their message within each poem. The poems reviewed are "My Papa's Waltz" by Roethke and "Children's Rhymes" by Hughes. It examines how these poems depict physical and social abuse, respectively and how in Roethke's poem, the theme of physical abuse is illustrated by using imagery and the utilization of alliteration, rhyming, symbolism and imagery. It also shows how Hughes' "Children's Rhymes" depicts the social discrimination that black Americans receive from their society, which is shown through a playful use of words, parallelism and rhyming.

From the Paper:

"Roethke's poem, "Papa's Waltz" is the poet's story of his own physical abuse as a child. "My Papa's Waltz" is a short poem, yet its powerful use of words enabled Roethke to express his inner feelings about his father in the poem. The first stanza of the poem illustrates the presence of danger and violence between the Voice and the father in the poem. The first four lines establish the general character of the father in the poem, who is an alcoholic. The Voice is in danger because of the use of the word "death" in line 3, and his apparent discomfort about his father's condition is shown in line 4: "Such waltzing is not easy." "Waltzing" is a symbol for the relationship that the Voice had with his father, which is evidently not harmonious, as established by the father's alcoholism and the child's discomfort."

More papers on Theodore Roethke and Langston Hughes:

• Analytical Essay # 90746 : "Poetry of Emily Dickinson and Langston Hughes"
• Poem Review # 131202 : "Race and Langston Hughes' Poetry"
• Analytical Essay # 120587 : "Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz"

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