My Papa's Waltz By Theodore Roethke

The poem My Papa’s Waltz by Theodore Roethke, introduces a child romping and waltzing around with his father. Within the poem, the author emphasizes most on admiration and combines mainly imagery and symbols to show the bond between the son and the father. In addition, a mixture of diction and tone is used to further describe the points within the poem and characterization of the father. Even though the narrator tells the reader about the negative events throughout the poem, the son keeps waltzing with his father and clings on to him towards the end as his father waltzes him to sleep.

“My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke sparks differing opinions within the minds of many. Roethke was influenced greatly by his experiences as a young boy. For instance, his uncle and father both died when he was the age of fourteen. “My Papa’s Waltz” is written in remembrance of his father after this dreadful occurrence. The author’s use of imagery brings light to the his adoration for his father. Notably, his way of stringing together ideas reinforces the fond memories they shared. Roethke’s captivating choice of words supports his purpose to make known the love he has for this man. While the subject of “My Papa’s Waltz” has spurred passionate academic debate from professors, scholars, and students alike, the imagery, syntax, and diction of the poem clearly support the interpretation that Theodore Roethke writes “My Papa’s Waltz” to bring attention to the loving relationship he had with his father.

“My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, and “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden are the poems that talk about the relation between son and father. Both speakers in the poem are grown men and reflect memories of the day they spend with their father when they were in childhood. About the poem “My Papa’s Waltz,” Baird states that “Theodore Roethke imaginatively re-creates a childhood encounter with his father, but also begins to attempt to understand the meaning of the relationship between them”( Baird). Another poem “Those Winter Sunday”, Peck states that “the poem provides its power, for the poem’s meaning depends upon the differences between what the boy knew then and what the man knows now” (Peck). Both themes, which is the poem written about fathers, are similar to each other; however, there are some significant difference in the structure of the poem, and the feeling toward fathers from sons.

In “My Papa’s Waltz” there is ambiguity in the poem on if Roethke is hating his father or loving every moment with him. As William Barillas states in the article “Meter in Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz,”’ “Auditory elements complement and reinforce meaning and tone.” Roethke does this on purpose. He wants the reader to glide through the poem, as a person would if they were waltzing, but just like in the dance, there is a short pause. Roethke does this to

The poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke is the story of a boy who is taken to bed by his drunk father “The whiskey on your breath” (1), the boy has a rough trip to his bed, his father stumbles around the kitchen and knocks down a few pans, which upsets her mother “Could not unfrown itself”(8). When the kid finally arrives to his bed he does not want to let go of his dad “Then waltzed me off to bed”, “Still clinging to your shirt” (15-16), I believe because he wants to avoid any confrontation between his parents. My perception did change from the beginning to the end, when I read the title I thought the author was referring to the dance but as I read more and more it was clear that I was a metaphor. I think the effect is that a kid’s

Theodore Roethke suffered from neglect and then depression after he lost his father to cancer at a young age. Later losing his uncle to suicide. Theodore took much interest in his fathers greenhouse. Most of his work reflects nature and the beauty of it. However, the rest of his work reflects his own childhood. The poem “my Papa’s Waltz” is a good example of how he was feeling in his younger days. This particular poem is about a young boy who suffers from abuse by his drunken father.

The poem “My Papa’s Waltz” written by Theodore Roethke is based on a tragedy that has happened during his childhood. It talks about him, his mother, and father on how his father would dance in drunkenness through the night. The mother in poem seems to just stand back and watch with a sad face; while Theodore is getting mistreated by his father. When a person reads the poem he or she gets a sense of feeling of that the dad being an alcoholic and trying waltz with his son.

Throughout the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, I sensed a conflicted relationship between the father and the son due to alcohol getting in the way of them having a better relationship. The poem “My Papa’s Waltz” goes in depth into how the father negatively impacted the relationship he has with his son by choosing to be drunk instead of being a father figure his son can be proud of.

The poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke can be interpreted in several different ways. Every person reads it differently, some believe that it is about a father abusing his son and others believe it is just a playful scenario between a father and son. After reading it a couple times over I started to realize each part of the poem could be thought out in different ways.

While the subject of “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke has spurred passionate academic debate from professors, scholars, and students alike, the imagery, syntax, and diction of the poem clearly support the interpretation that Roethke writes this ambiguous poem with the intent to create a controversial interpretation which can be viewed as both or either an abusive or fond memory between father and son. Both interpretations can be supported by multiple pieces of evidence which creates a conflict for the reader to need clarification for which way to interpret the poem.

"My Papa's Waltz" is the pensive recollection of a boy's nightly waltz around the house in the arms of his father. Roethke's poem gives a voice to the often silent internal

The poem, "My Papa 's Waltz", written by Theodore Roethke, is written in such a way that creates many debate and contestation over the intended message and tone. Many interpret see, the poem as joyous and loving; others, including myself, view it with disgust and pity. The

    While the subject of “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke has spurred passionate academic debate from professors, scholars, and students alike, the imagery, context, and diction of the poem clearly support the interpretation that Roethke writes “My Papa’s Waltz” to reminisce on a fond memory of his father “waltzing” with him when he was a child.  Whether this memory was a fond one or one of an abusive relationship is up in the air. There are multitudes of different speculations as to what this poem could possibly mean; they range from double meanings to sexual undertones. One popular interpretation among many readers is the belief that “My Papa’s Waltz” was a poem about the abuse from father to son. In reality, the meaning is simply a dance.

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.

The speaker of this poem is this boy, which tries to explain the relationship that he has with his father. I also have to admit that some people after reading these two lines, “The whiskey on your breath” and “But I hung on like death”, may think that this poem is leading them to a brutal ending or an abuse that is about to happen.