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Before Reading
My Papa’s Waltz
Poem by Theodore Roethke
I Ask My Mother to Sing
Poem by Li-Young Lee
Grape Sherbet
Poem by Rita Dove
Who lives in your
MEMORY?
RL 1 Cite textual evidence to
support analysis of what the
text says explicitly as well
as inferences drawn from
the text. RL 4 Analyze the
cumulative impact of specific
word choices on meaning and
tone.
What are some of your most vivid family memories? They might
include a raucous pillow fight with your sister or a rained-out picnic
with your cousins. These memories can take a special shape in your
mind; some might linger as stories to tell, but others might remain
simply a series of images. The following poems contain such images,
boiled down to their essential qualities.
QUICKWRITE Choose a memory involving someone close to you and
write a brief sketch of your recollection. Include sensory details as
well as events that present a clear picture of your subject.
748
Meet the Authors
Theodore Roethke
poetic form: lyric poetry
These three poems are all examples of lyric poetry, brief
poems in which the speakers share personal thoughts and
feelings on a subject. In ancient Greek, the word lyric referred
to a type of poetry that expressed the feelings of a single
singer, accompanied by a lyre, a small harplike instrument.
Though no longer sung, lyric poems have a lot in common
with songs, including
• a sense of rhythm and melody
• imaginative word choice, or diction
• the creation of a single, unified impression
1908–1963
Self-Taught Poet Theodore Roethke learned
to write verse by imitating other poets; he
sought inspiration from his notebooks, where
he had recorded his thoughts,
ughts,
feelings, and observations.
ns. He
went on to earn a Pulitzer
er Prize
and two National Book Awards.
He once advised his readers
ders
to “listen” to his poems,
“for they are written to
be heard.”
Read the poems aloud to experience the sounds of the language.
Li-Young Lee
text analysis: imagery
One of the most important elements of any poem is its
imagery—the words and phrases that appeal to one or more of
the five senses. In addition to re-creating sensory experiences,
however, imagery calls up particular ideas and emotions.
In the following lines from “My Papa’s Waltz,” the imagery
appeals to sight and hearing but also suggests certain feelings:
We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf
born 1957
Son of Chinese Exiles After his parents
fled China to escape political p
persecution,,
Li-Young Lee’s family lived in several Asian
countries before arriving in
the United States in 1964.
After college, Lee began
to write poetry—about
love, family, and ordinary
experiences.
These lines call up a sense of rowdy, out-of-control playtime.
reading skill: make inferences
Lyric poems tend to be very condensed; in many cases, more is
suggested than directly stated. It’s important, then, to make
inferences about their meanings. Think about the ideas and
emotions suggested by the poet’s word choices and the poem’s
images. As you read each poem, write down the images and
your inferences on a chart like the one shown.
“Grape Sherbet”
Image
My Associations
Inference
“[Memorial Day]
morning we galloped /
through the grassedover mounds / and
named each stone /
for a lost milk tooth.”
• Memorial Day
commemorates
the dead.
They are running
through a cemetery.
Rita Dove
born 1952
Poet Laureate Rita Dove’s first attempts as
a writer came early: in third or fourth grade,
she composed a science-fiction novel based
on her classroom spelling lists. Herr poetry
collections have won many awards,
s,
including a Pulitzer Prize in 1987.
From 1993 to 1995, she served as U.S.
.S.
poet laureate. Asked to name the
most important quality for success,
s,
Dove replied, “I think that without
imagination, we can go nowhere.”
• Grassy mounds and
stones are found in
cemeteries
Authors Online
Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML9-749
749
My
Papa’s
Waltz
theodore roethke
The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.
5
10
15
What are your
impressions of the
characters depicted in
the painting? Cite the
details that create this
impression.
We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother’s countenance1
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. a
a
LYRIC POETRY
How does the speaker
feel about his bedtime
waltz with his father?
Use details from the
poem to help explain why
you think as you do.
1. countenance: face or facial expression.
750
unit 7: the language of poetry
Tender Moments (2000), Francks Deceus.
Mixed media, 101.6 cm x 101.6 cm.
Haitian. Private Collection. Photo
© The Bridgeman Art Library.
image of parent and
child, figures not easily
distinguished
I
Ask My
Mother
ing
l i - yo u n g l e e
Mother and Child by Grand Canal (2000), Hung Liu.
Oil on canvas, 80˝ × 80˝. Courtesy Rena Bransten Gallery.
She begins, and my grandmother joins her.
Mother and daughter sing like young girls.
If my father were alive, he would play
his accordion and sway like a boat.
5
10
I’ve never been in Peking, or the Summer Palace,
nor stood on the great Stone Boat to watch
the rain begin on Kuen Ming Lake, the picnickers
running away in the grass. b
b
Reread lines 5–9. How
is the speaker able to
describe images of a place
he’s never seen? Describe
the feelings evoked by
the images.
But I love to hear it sung;
how the waterlilies fill with rain until
they overturn, spilling water into water,
then rock back, and fill with more.
Both women have begun to cry.
But neither stops her song. c
IMAGERY
c
MAKE INFERENCES
Why do the speaker’s
mother and grandmother
start to cry during their
song?
752
unit 7: the language of poetry
Grape Sherbet
rita dove
5
10
15
20
25
30
The day? Memorial.
After the grill
Dad appears with his masterpiece—
swirled snow, gelled light.
We cheer. The recipe’s
a secret and he fights
a smile, his cap turned up
so the bib resembles a duck.
That morning we galloped
through the grassed-over mounds
and named each stone
for a lost milk tooth. Each dollop
of sherbet, later,
is a miracle,
like salt on a melon that makes it sweeter.
Everyone agrees—it’s wonderful!
It’s just how we imagined lavender
would taste. The diabetic grandmother
stares from the porch,
a torch
of pure refusal. d
We thought no one was lying
there under our feet,
we thought it
was a joke. I’ve been trying
to remember the taste,
but it doesn’t exist.
Now I see why
you bothered,
father. e
Ice Cream Dessert (1959), Andy Warhol. Photo © Andy
Warhol Foundation/Corbis. © 2007 Andy Warhol
Foundation for the Visual Arts/ARS, New York.
d
MAKE INFERENCES
Reread lines 18–21. What
does the image of the
grandmother suggest
about her actions?
e
LYRIC POETRY
What feeling is the
speaker expressing in
this poem?
i ask my mother to sing / grape sherbet
753
After Reading
Comprehension
1. Recall In “My Papa’s Waltz,” why is the speaker’s mother frowning?
2. Clarify In “I Ask My Mother to Sing,” what is the mother’s song about?
3. Summarize Describe the setting of “Grape Sherbet” as you visualize it.
Text Analysis
4. Make Inferences Review the charts you made as you read. What key
inferences helped you understand each poem? What clues did you use to
make these inferences?
5. Compare and Contrast In “My Papa’s Waltz” and “Grape Sherbet,” the
speakers recall childhood memories. How are their experiences with their
fathers alike? How are they different? Cite evidence from each poem to
support your answer.
6. Interpret Imagery Reread lines 9–12 in “I Ask My Mother to Sing.” What idea
is suggested by the image of the water lilies filling with water, spilling it into
the lake, and filling up again? Consider the event described in the final stanza.
7. Analyze Lyric Poetry Review the definition of lyric poetry on page 749. Then
identify the qualities of a lyric poem found in “I Ask My Mother to Sing.”
8. Make Judgments In “My Papa’s Waltz,” how do you judge the father’s
behavior toward the speaker? Consider the word choices used in the
descriptions as you cite evidence to support your answer.
Text Criticism
9. Critical Interpretations In writing about “My Papa’s Waltz,” one critic
remarked that Roethke reveals “something of his own joy, and bafflement, as
the victim of his father’s exuberant energy.” Do you consider victim too harsh
a word to describe the boy’s part in the evening waltz? Why or why not?
Who lives in your MEMORY?
What is your favorite way to share important family memories?
754
unit 7: the language of poetry
RL 1 Cite textual evidence to
support analysis of what the
text says explicitly as well as
inferences drawn from the text.
RL 4 Analyze the cumulative
impact of specific word choices
on meaning and tone.
Language
grammar and style: Use Descriptive Language
One way to add interesting details to your writing is by using participles and
participial phrases. A participle is a verb form that acts as an adjective. Present
participles, as in “the crying baby,” end in -ing, and past participles, as in “the
freshly washed car,” often end in -ed. A participial phrase consists of a participle
and its modifiers and complements.
W 4 Produce explanatory
writing in which the style is
appropriate to the purpose and
audience. L 1b Use various types
of phrases to add interest to
writing.
Here is an example of Rita Dove’s use of participles in “Grape Sherbet”:
Dad appears with his masterpiece—
swirled snow, gelled light. (lines 3–4)
Theodore Roethke uses a participial phrase in his poem “My Papa’s Waltz”:
You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt (lines 13–14)
Notice how the revisions in blue use participles to make this first draft more
descriptive. Revise your response to the prompt below by using a similar
technique.
student model
touching
Li-Young Lee describes a sweet scene between mother and son. The son
, deceased but not forgotten .
shows an appreciation for his mother’s past and the memory of his father.
reading-writing connection
YOUR
Increase your understanding of the family poems by responding to
this prompt. Then use the revising tip to improve your writing.
TURN
writing prompt
revising tip
Extended Constructed Response: Analysis
Review your response.
How effectively did
you use participles and
participial phrases to
add interesting details
to your writing?
What message does each poem convey about the
relationship between parents and children? Write
three to five paragraphs discussing the ways this
relationship is depicted in the three poems.
Interactive
Revision
Go to thinkcentral.com.
KEYWORD: HML9-755
my papa’s waltz / i ask my mother to sing / grape sherbet
755