Comparing My Father's Waltz to Listening to Adults Arguing Poems are often designed to express deep feelings and thoughts about a theme particular. In Theodore Roethke's poem, My Papa's Waltz, and Ruth Whitman's poem, Listening to Adults Argue, the theme of childhood is conveyed through their details, even though we can neither see a face nor hear a voice. These poems are very similar in their ideas of how their memories relate to their childhood attitudes; however, the wording and tone of the two poems are distinct in how they present their memories. The two poems can be compared and contrasted through the author's use of tone, imagery, and recollection of events; which illustrate each author's childhood memories. The tone of a poem can only be recognized by carefully reading and paying close attention to the words and what they might suggest. The rhyme scheme of My Papa's Waltz is extremely relevant to the poem. For example, in the first verse he creates a cheerful and dizzying rhythm, as well as subsequent verses with the same pattern. The structure of the words creates an almost "waltz" melody. The phrases “we played until the pots / slipped off the kitchen shelf” and “they waltzed me to bed” (Roethke 5-6, 15), convey a pleasant atmosphere to the reader. The title itself creates an affectionate attitude with the connection between dad and waltz. The choice of words and details are used systematically to produce thoughts of happiness and affection in the reader, thus establishing the tone of this poem. The tone of listening to adults argue has a completely different impact. While reading this poem, the reader gets a sadder view of this author's thoughts and memories. Whitman uses... middle of paper... final family. The second poem uses stark details described in similes, metaphors, and personification. The message of a horribly bad childhood is clearly defined by the speaker in this poem. Finally, the memory of the events, as described by the two speakers, stands out for the psychological aspect of the way these two children grew up. Because the first child grew up in a passive home where everything was secret, the speaker described his childhood that way; trying to make it sound better than it actually was. The young woman was very frank in describing her deprivation of a real family and did not mince words. My conclusion is that the elements of tone, imagery, and memory of events are relevant to how the reader interprets the message conveyed in a poem, which depends largely on how each element is stated..