I choose the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke. Theodore was born May 25, 1908 in Saginaw, Michigan, to Helen and Otto Roethke. As a child, he spent much time in the greenhouse observing nature. He attended Arthur Hill high school, were he gave a speech on the Junior Red Cross, which was published in twenty six different languages. In 1923 his father died of cancer. This tragedy really inspired Theodore’s life and was an incentive to his writings. In 1925 he attended Michigan to fulfill his dream in law but quit after one semester. Later studying at Harvard for graduate courses he left due to the Great Depression. He began teaching at Lafayette were he began his first book “Open House.” Roethke was hospitalized due to a metal illness problem, which was known to be a strong case of depression. He later died in 1963 from a massive heart attack.

During this time the Great Depression Roethke wrote “My Papa’s Waltz” which I choose. This poem is a very good example, describing the hard times of the Depression. The poem sets a tone of depression and anger. In this poem he uses the metaphor being “beaten” to a “waltz.” This is very ironic to me because a waltz is supposed to be a time of joy. I felt that this poem was just a son messing and playing around with his drunk father, but came to realize that after overlooking this poem it portrays that the speaker is retelling the tragic of his childhood. . http://gawow.com/roethke/poems/43.html

Another poem written by Theodore Roethke is “In a Dark Time.” This poem is talking about some life experiences he had. I found that Roethke wrote many of his poems to describe his early life. Out of the two writings I have read he describes his past in a very difficult, strenuous way. This particular poem portrays a great use of imagery to his writers, the line “And in broad day the midnight come again!” My interpretation to this says that as soon as he feels things are beginning to get better and he feels a sign of relief it just goes back to the awful old ways. http://gawow.com/roethke/poems/231.html

The final question being, “Is there anything about the works of this poet that makes them distinctly American?” I think that Theodore Roethke’s poems are distinctly American because I feel his writing portray that the life of the average American is not always what people may think. Even though we, America have freedom compared to other countries, there are many hard things we have to face and try and overcome. Theodore is an American poet and his works perfectly makes them distinctly American.