This document discusses elements of poetry and fiction such as diction, vocabulary, syntax, and analyzes the poem "The Whiskey on Your Breath" by Theodore Roethke. It notes that the line "Such waltzing was not easy" emphasizes the dance is difficult from a child's perspective. The lines about the mother's "countenance" being unable to "unfrown itself" give emphasis to her disapproval and intensify the danger of the situation. The poem is ultimately about a father who drinks too much and physically abuses his son while dancing.