Theodore Roethke
The 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.
1. Identify the rhyme scheme of the poem
The rhyme scheme goes ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH
2. Identify 7 example of diction and state each word's connotation.
Hung: Hold on
Romped: Danced
Unfrown: Feel better
Caked: Smeared on
Waltzed me off to bed: Put me into bed
Beat: Hit
3. Identify 3 sound devices in the poem
Slid from the kitchen shelf (Constinance)
Still clinging to your shirt (Constinance)
4. Identify 3 images in the poem
Could make a small boy dizzy (A lot of alcohol was drank)
We romped until the pans; fell off the kitchen shelf (Were going crazy, out of control fun)
With a palm caked with dirt (Works with dirt for a living, blue collar person)
5. After examining your evidence, state the speaker's attitude toward his father. Justify your answer.