Biography Born: May 25, 1908 in Saginaw, Michigan Theodore RoethkeDied: August 1, 1963 in Bainbridge Island, Washington- Son of Otto Theodore and Helen Marie- Married Beatrice Heath O'Connell on January 3, 1953Education: University of Michigan (1929)- Graduate study completed at Harvard University

Personal Life

Interest in literature began at young ageCoached tennis team at Pennsylvania State

University Lost his job at Michigan State after one

semester because of a mental breakdownDiagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and

manic depressionUnable to deal with everyday life and had to

be institutionalizedDenied service in WWII due to conditionUsed illness to connect to other ‘spiritual’

realms

Influences on Roethke’s Writing

- Roethke grew up in the greenhouse (built by father and uncle) - Returned to it to in later years relive childhood memories- Drew a source of inspiration and power for his poetry- At age fourteen, Roethke’s father died- Left subconsciously feeling a sense of abandonment

Literary Period: Contemporary Period

Forms/Techniques Commonly Used:

Blending fiction & nonfiction

-Blending fantasy and realism

-Dialogue in poems

Themes include expression of complex, impersonal, and commercial nature of the world.

Historical Setting of Contemporary Period ~The United States had

emerged from WWII as a powerful force in the world.

~The Cold War between the Soviet Union and the West commenced.

~ Domestically, segregation in all public schools was banned.

~1969: American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon.

~TV’s proliferated in houses and American industry rapidly changed

~These changes influenced the works of American writers and poets.

Significant Works

Books: 1.Open House (1941)2. The Lost Son and Other Poems (1948) 3. Praise to the End (1951)4. The Waking (1953)5. Words for the Wind (1958)6. I Am! Says the Lamb (1961)7. The Far Field (1964)

Poems:1.The Reckoning (1941)2.My Papa’s Waltz (1948)3.Pickle Belt (1948)4.Elegy for Jane (1953)5. Journey to the Interior (1964) 6. The Geranium (1964)7. In a Dark Time (1964)

My Papa's WaltzThe whiskey on your breath 

Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death: 

Such waltzing was not easy. 

We romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf; My mother's countenance Could not unfrown itself. 

The hand that held my wrist Was battered on one knuckle; 

At every step you missed My right ear scraped a buckle. 

You beat time on my head With a palm caked hard by dirt, 

Then waltzed me off to bed Still clinging to your shirt.

Lines 1-2: - Mood and tone are established,- Relationship between two characters introduced

Line 3: - Sense of fear shown in son; “like death”- Boy was perhaps frightened or had emotional separation anxiety

Line 4: - First reference to the actual waltz- Paradox introduced: “such waltzing was not easy”. - Literally: humorous image of son trying to dance with drunk father- Metaphorically: difficult father/son relationship

Lines 5-6: - Boisterousness of waltz depicted- Ironic because waltzes are generally fluid and elegant

Line by Line Explanation

Lines 7-9: -Mother is introduced as a disapproving figure-Synecdoche: essential aspects of the part describe the whole

Lines 9-12:- Father’s actions have direct consequence on son- Pain is emphasized; father’s pain seems to be from his occupation, while the son’s is from his dancing with (or his relationship with) his father.

Lines 13-14: - The hand keeping rhythm on the boy’s head is an odd gesture- Shows awkwardness of dance

Lines 15-16: - On the surface, the conclusion is just an easygoing parting. - The dance ends and the son is ‘waltzed’ off to bed, ‘clinging’ onto his shirt- Child could’ve been frightened of father, or in a deeper sense, may not have wanted the dance (or the relationship) to come to an end. - The son may not have wanted death to separate them, which we know is what happened in Roethke’s personal life.

Cont’d Line by Line Explanation

Themes:2 key themes are developed:1.The son’s attempt to understand his relationship with his father2.The use of the dance as a metaphor for life itself. The poem contains many ironies that are highlighted by Roethke’s use of detail. ex) A waltz has a positive connotation, and is graceful and romantic. The dance in the poem, however, is jolting and awkward. A father and son waltzing is quite abnormal.

Forms/Devices Used in this Poem:• The meter, though iambic, at times adds an extra syllable at the end of the second or fourth line. (ex. “could make a small boy dizzy”)• Lines are short and do not flow

Diction:• The diction mixes words that a child may use (due to the subject of the poem) and words of an adult, because the poem is flashback from an adult’s perspective. (ex.“papa” is a child name for ‘father’, whereas “countenance” is a more mature term for describing a person). • Roethke’s word choice is also connotative (ex. “like death” and “clinging.”)

“Roethke was a great poet, the successor to Frost and Stevens in modern American poetry. /…/ Specifically, Roethke was a Romantic. His work abounds in references to Blake, Wordsworth, and Yeats, especially, but my stress is upon the American quality of his Romanticism. /…/ Without impugning his originality, one can read all Roethke's work as a continuing conversation with his precursors; he was a poetic ventriloquist of sorts, able to speak through masks of those whom he called "the great dead." Still, there is a voice at his core which is unmistakably his own. He has his special province, a landscape so personal and distinct that no amount of imitation or writing-like-somebody-else, as he called it, disturbs the integrity of his voice....”

Literary Criticism

Literary Criticism con’td

“One central source of conflict for Roethke was his father's death when he was fifteen. He returns to this painful experience of loss throughout his career, always seeking that final atonement where conflicts are abolished and harmony is restored. I doubt whether he attained this goal, but perhaps he didn't really want to; this conflict proved a wealthy source of poetry. From this single life crisis, Roethke generated his mythos /…/ Otto, the father, lords over this dream world; he is the "garden master" /…/ Otto metamorphoses into God in the later poems…”

Literary Criticism con’td

“The greenhouse as a symbol was obviously rich in possibilities. /…/ Far from the transcendental state of resolution, the greenhouse stands for process, for generation. It is paradisaical in its lushness /…/ protected from the wilderness outside its walls. But this paradise remains unnatural, artificial. Only the massive effort of the florist-father keeps it going through winter. It is analogous with the family itself, that hothouse where a child matures in the constant temperature of parental protection/…/ the vines that reach out for something to wind around: these terrify the child. To press the analogy one step further /…/ the father-son struggle witnessed in Roethke becomes part of the son's efforts to establish identity. “

Bibliography

•http://tranceworldnow.wordpress.com/2012/04/04/the-storm-by-theodore-roethke/

•http://hdw.eweb4.com/out/231577.html •http://www.saginawimages.org/images.asp?ItemID=HERO0002&SearchTerm=

•http://www.psdgraphics.com/backgrounds/light-blue-halftone-pattern/•http://freeimagegallary9.blogspot.com/2012/01/moon-landing-neil-armstrong-photos.html

•http://www.psdgraphics.com/backgrounds/old-paper-texture/•http://nbapoetryblog.squarespace.com/journal/2011/3/7/1965.html•http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/

1089337.Words_for_the_Wind•http://www.portwallpaper.com/image/30370-purple-shadow.html•http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roethke