Comparing & Contrasting

In both poems, it is made clear that fathers are important in them. Fathers are the main focus in these poems, and their relationship with their children. The tone in both of them poems is different, one is more serious. The mood in “My Papa’s Waltz is warm and caring, but in “Those Winter Sundays” it more serious. “My Papa’s Waltz” is more of a father son moment, but “Those Winter Sundays” is just a child’s description of what the father does for the family. The tone of “My Papa’s Waltz is overall positive. It can be called lively, affectionate, comforting, etc. It is a sentimental poem that shares a bonding moment that emotionally intrigues the reader. Now, “Those Winter Sundays” is more serious. For example, the line “No one ever thanked him.” The poem is a little gloomy, but the reader can pick up on the fact that the child cares for the father. The thing that makes a significant difference between these two poems is that one is a father and son clearly bonding, but in the other it’s just a description of what a father does for the family, not an actual emotional moment between the two. It’s more like thoughts. Also, in “Those Winter Sundays” I assumed that it’s a daughter speaking about her father, but it could be a son. Father’s on these poems are depicted as good guys. Their children and family are what’s most important to them, and that’s how it should be. They are hard working men, and that’s for their family. Although, the poems are similar just because they both involve a child and their father, there’s more to contrast than to compare. The bond in “My Papa’s Waltz” is east to sense. “But in hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy” was a very detailed just in the beginning of the poem. Also, by Theodore Roethke using “waltzing” instead of just “dancing” it affects the tone. “Those Winter Sundays” is drier, and seems less affectionate because it involves the family, and they seem unappreciative of the father. The bond doesn’t seem as close as it does in “My Papa’s Waltz.”

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