“My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke

write a paragraph of 100-150 words which will tell the main point you want to
make about My Papa’s Waltz, including the title and author of the poem and the thesis
statement
• give some sentences to back that up that main point, including quotations or
paraphrases
• write a concluding or “clincher” sentence of summary.

3. Write the paragraph for the homework assignment such that the paragraph contains
• the main point you want to make about the poem, including the title and author of
the poem and the thesis statement
• several sentences to back that up that main point using some quotations from the
poem; document quotations from the poem according to How to Do MLA
Citations in How To’s
• a concluding or clincher sentence of summary to wrap up the paragraph. (A
clincher sentence is kind of a “big bang” at the end of the paper that brings it all
together with a meaningful, memorable sentence.)
4. Give the author and title of the poem, as demonstrated in the example above.
5. Include a work cited entry for the poem according to How to Do MLA Citations in How
To’s.

My Papa’s Waltz
BY 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.