My Papa's Waltz Analysis

At first glance, “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke is very intriguing as the poem is very ambiguous at first. Many people that read the poem at first believe it to be about child abuse, which is very easy for readers of the 21st generation to confuse as we see everything with a dark meaning behind it. The poem is about a boy who dances with his father, hence the name of the poem “My Papa’s Waltz”. Once the poem has been reread several times, we can take a closer look at what Roethke is really implying in the poem. Therefore, it becomes clear to the audience that the poem has a lighter meaning and has a more positive outlook than a negative outlook to the situation occurring in the poem.

“My Papa’s Waltz” is one poem written by Theodore Roethke. Roethke’s style is unique, because he uses situational irony. This is a simple poem, created with four stanzas of four lines each, called quatrains. “My Papa’s Waltz” is the interpretation of an adult’s emotions. Roethke describe the relationship with his father. This poem is a monologue where the persona is an adult telling about himself and a particular situation by looking back at his childhood. The poem describes a typical moment in a family life, where the father has been drinking whiskey, the little boy seems afraid and the mother appears to be unhappy. Through this pome the persona who is now an adult expresses emotions of fear and love. Recalling the past Roethke tells how his alcoholic papa hold him and make a danger waltz. In “My Papa’s Waltz”, Roethke uses imaginary and metaphors to reveal his theme.

The poem, “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, is about a boy reminiscing about an incidence with his father. From the beginning, this poem states the conflict between a father and son involved in a rambunctious dance, but as it continues, the story suggests the dance may actually be a physical altercation. Within the line, “Such waltzing was not easy,” is the proposal this is not a singular incident, but rather a routine ritual between the boy and his father (Line 4). The speaker is an adult recollecting, to himself as the audience, a childhood memory of an incident with his father. As the poem opens, the child recalls his father engaging in act of the drinking whiskey to the extent that the fumes of his breath made him dizzy or

“My Papa’s Waltz” ,a poem written by Theodore Roethke, is about a father whose despairing dance moves terrify the son. Roethke uses the connotation of words to create an unruly mood.

People say there are many types of drunk stereotypes in the world: the fun drunk, the romantic drunk, the destructive drunk, the list goes on and on. “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke is about a drunk father who came home from work and is waltzing with his son. The ABAB rhyme scheme makes the poem sound like a waltz like the title suggests, but the diction makes the poem heavy. The ambiguity in this poem, based on the diction, leads to two different images, both include a drunk father but one is abusive and the other is happy.

Theodore Roethke wrote “My Papa’ Waltz”, a poem with a peculiar twist. The poem describes the relationship between a father and his son, which is told from the point of view of the son. At first, the poem may appear to be a bad memory of his father, but this bad memory quickly turns into a good memory. The way the speaker use imagery in the poem, allowed the reader to imagine what was going on without being present. To be able to grasp the true meaning of the poem, you must remain open minded.

"My papa's waltz" contains a tragic story of a young child experiencing abuse. The first line indicates that he the father is intoxicated with whiskey. His breath is so strong that he could damage a small child. Then in the next line, it says “Such waltzing was not easy”. Waltzing doesn't actually mean dancing, it means a journey of life or a situation that has been seen before.

This short poem has a lot to say about a father and son’s relationship even though it does not directly say it. Theodore Roethke published My Papa’s Waltz in 1942 and got the idea to write this poem from one of his books The Lost Son. This poem can be interpreted as an abusive relationship between a son and his father or simply a happy memory of a son dancing with his father. My Papa’s Waltz is a metaphor for a child being beat by his abusive father but plays it off as if it were just a dance.

“My Papa’s Waltz” is one poem written by Theodore Roethke. Roethke’s style is unique, he uses a situational irony. This is a simple poem, created with four stanzas where each containing four lines. It describes a typical moment in a family. Thought this poem the readers discover: the father who is drinking whiskey, the little boy who is the persona and mother in the margin. The mind of a child presents emotions of fear and love. The child dance in an uneasy way with his drunk Papa: “Such waltzing was not easy.” (l. 4). The child dances a waltz, according to Teresa Magdanz in "The Waltz: Technology's Muse." “the movements typically associated with the waltz, such as turning, gliding, spinning, and flying, appear—even if illusorily—to have been built into an automatic device.”(251, par 1). The mother is mentioned in the poem, she is in the kitchen, and she is doing a regular household work: “My Mother’s countenance” (l. 7). This poem involves the reader with imagery, theme, and metaphors.

To begin, the meaning of “My Papa’s Waltz” is influenced by the context of Roethke’s childhood. No matter what stance one takes on the meaning of this poem, a statement that all can agree on is that the author remembers the memories he had with his father. This is demonstrated in Roethke’s life. In the poem, Roethke talks about his father who has hands “caked by dirt.” Likewise, his father is a market-gardener who owns a 25 acre greenhouse that Roethke spends most of his childhood in. Another example of the poem incorporating Roethke’s real life is seen when he talks about his father “waltzing him to bed” while he “clinged to his shirt.” These words from the poem help confirm the fact that his father dies of cancer when he is only fourteen years old; furthermore, Roethke still loves him unconditionally and misses him dearly no matter what he does to him. Finally, Roethke is a heavy drinker and deals with depression as an adult. This absolutely depicts the true meaning of the poem because although the poem is in the form of a fond,

​“My Papas Waltz” by Theodore Roethke comes across in many different ways to its readers. Some say that it is about a child describing his childhood abuse or possibley just about a child enjoying time with his father. The recall of the memory is perhaps read as a bittersweet moment or maybe more bitter than sweet. The poem interpreted to me is about a boy reminiscing on fun times with his father.

When introduced to “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, there is a sense of nostalgia; like watching an old black and white movie. Contradictory to the title however, the poem depicts a perplexing scene of a father drunkenly dancing his son up to bed. There is a bit of controversy about this poem over whether this is about a childhood memory of a son’s cherished moment with his father, or if it is about a violent, dysfunctional family situation. In fact it is both. Theodore Roethke had a conflicting relationship with his father. He adored the man, but feared him at the same time. Roethke lost his father as a young teen and much of his literary works reflect the impact the father had on his son.

Theodore Roethke in his poem “My Papa’s Waltz” tries to describe the relationship between the parents and children.The relationship that is portrayed in this poem is especially between a father and a son.Through imagery, this poem gives the impression of hardship as well as love between a son and his father. Imagery usage in poetry as a literary device is used to create vivid details dealing with one’s sense of sight, taste, smell touch and sound. Theodore Roethke imagery in his poem “My Papa’s Waltz” conveys a boy’s emotion as together with his father experiences late night dance. The poet uses imagery to show the exploitative relationship that exists between the boy and his father. Every stanza in this poem presents the relationship that existed between the poet and his father.

The poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke presents a memory from a young boy waltzing with his father. The waltz is a metaphor that represents the relationship the boy has with his father. Although the poem may seem like a happy and sweet story of a father and son dancing in the kitchen there are also some darker underlying tones. The speaker, who is the young boy, is directing theses words towards his father, but does not actually express them directly to the father, instead the speaker is just reflecting upon them in his head.

The poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke is about a young boy with an abusive father. Their relationship is complicated. The father’s abusive behavior is being compared to the dance, the waltz. The waltz is supposed to be a happy, fun dance yet in this case it is not. The theme of this poem is abuse. The young boy is being abused by his father yet still seems to love him and want attention from him. The author uses similes, irony, metaphors, and imagery to help build the theme of abuse through figurative language. He also uses certain words and portrays them in a different meaning to help build the theme of abuse through word choice. Lastly, Roethke uses assonance, alliteration, juxtaposition, and rhymes to help build the overall theme