As time periods change, people’s viewpoints and themes of literature all change with it. The interpretations of many poems are based upon the measures of the time period in which they were written and often tend to reflect on the time period. A poem’s theme is usually interpreted by not only the plot, but the elaborate diction and language used that contribute to the mood evoked by the poem. Three poems were written in different time periods that all contain a similar theme of “supremacy” are “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning, “I like to see it lap the Miles” by Emily Dickinson, and “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke. Disregards to the dissimilar time periods of these poems, the audience’s comprehension of the theme to each poem will …show more content…
“My Papa’s Waltz” is about a little boy and his father who are waltzing together, yet the father is drunk on whiskey and being severely clumsy. While they are “waltzing” and “romping”, to the mother’s apprehension; pans are falling from kitchen shelves and they are making a mess with everything that comes in their path. It seems like the son is not fully enjoying the “waltz” when he says “At every step you missed / My right ear scraped a buckle.” The mistakes of the father are hurting the son, but he still goes along with it. On the other hand, “Then waltzed me off to bed / Still clinging to your shirt.” shows that the boy appreciated the “waltz” and did not want his father to leave him. (Roethke). A significant theme in this poem is supremacy as well. From the viewpoint of a small child, parents are almighty and invincible and this viewpoint is more than common with kids growing up. It is obvious that everything in a kids life is controlled by his or her parents and in this case, the father’s supremacy over his child is demonstrated when he leads him in the dance. The father is also dominant over his wife, as even she could not stop them in their path of dancing. The supremacy and power that a father has in a household has nothing to do with time, moreover it can be based on the culture of the family. However, this poem could be written in any time period since a father coming home drunk and dancing with his son is not a rare occurrence and does not rely on a significant time