Vocabulary and Word meanings
This word in the poem means " to play or move around in a rough, energetic way."
What is "romped"
The scent that "could make a small boy dizzy" appeals to this sense
What is smell
Calling the rough play a waltz is an example of this.
What is a metaphor?
The tone of the poem mixes affection with this feeling causes by the father's instability.
What is fear or uneasiness?
The poem is made of this many stanzas.
What are four stanzas?
This word describes the mother's facial expression that "could not unfrown itself."
What is "countenance"
The crashing of pans off the kitchen shelf appeals to this sense.
What is hearing
The simile "I hung on like death" suggests the boy is feeling this.
What is desperate?
A major theme of the poem is the complicated nature of this relationship.
What is a father-son relatiinship?
Each stanza has this many lines.( Double points for the specific name).
What are 4 lines? For double points, a quatrain.
In the line "I hung on like death," this device is being used.
What is a simile
The belt buckle hitting the boy's ear creates this kind of imagery.
What is a touch/ rough imagery
The mother's face that "could not unfrown itself" uses this literary device.
What is personification?
The poem shows how childhood memories can be both warm and painful. creating this type of contrast.
What is mixed emotions?
The poem uses this rhyme pattern.
What is ABAB?
The father's hand is described as "caked hard by dirt," suggesting he works this type of job.
What is manual labor
The poems imagery of dirt-caked palms helps reveal this about the father's life.
What is that he is a hardworking laborer
When the father and son "waltz," the dance is used to represent their relationship. This is an example of this device.
What is a metaphor?
The presence of whiskey on the father's breath suggests this theme about family life.
What is the impact of alcohol on families?
The poems rhythm resembles this movement of dance.
What is a waltz?
The boy's ear scraping this object emphasizes the physical roughness of the "waltz"
What is a buckle
This recurring image of stumbling and clinging creates the poem's overall tension.
The poem compares the boy's tight grip to death with the phrase 'hung on like death," showing this figurative language.
What is a simile?
The ending, where the boy still clings to his father's shirt reinforces this theme.
What is dependance/longing for love?
The uneven rhythm and off-balance beats contribute to this feeling that mirrors the father's drunken steps.
What is instability or stumbling?