Poem Analysis: 'My Papa's Waltz'

The first two lines are a double meaning. “Whiskey on your breath” could mean that the father was an alcoholic, or that he had just a sip of whiskey. Even a small sip of whiskey can make any child dizzy because the smell of alcohol is strong. These lines create a double meaning and a sense of uneasiness in their relationship. In the second two lines, ambiguity arises in the meaning behind the words. A sense of fun is created when the son is waltzing with his father, but the boy is only tall enough to reach his father’s belt buckle. The father might be having a fun time with his son, but because he is much bigger than his son, the interactions seem a bit overwhelming. The words “hung on like death” indicate that the game the father and the

Shattered families are a common theme in poetry. They are especially present in the poems "Knock Knock" by Daniel Beaty, "My Papa 's Waltz" by Theodore Rotheke, and the lyrics to "Papa 'z Song" by Tupac Shakur. These powerfully depict the psychological and physical tolls that abusive and absent fathers can take on families and especially children.

Donald Hall describes the use of imagery in poetry as a device that "makes us more sensitive to [literature], as if we acquired eyes that could see through things"(p 530). Imagery creates vivid details that deal with one's sense of sight, sound, touch, smell, or taste. These details can be seen in Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz" because the senses of touch, sight, sound, and smell appeal to the reader in order to better explain the feelings of each character in the poem. Roethke's use of imagery creates a negative picture that is painted by the son of an abusive father.

As well, the waltz in the story becomes a symbol of an idealized and elusive relationship between father and son and leads to the title of the poem-"My Papa's Waltz." The last line of poem, "waltzed me off to bed still clinging to your shirt" (line 15-16) infers the boy is very dependent on his father and shows his father loves him very much. The constant rhythm throughout the poem gives it a light beat, like a waltz; the reader feels like he is dancing. The rhythm of poem make a reader feel the joy of a child, not the somber sense of abuse, This is like a child dancing since there is no complicated structure, Moreover, stresses on words such as dizzy, easy, buckle, and knuckle give the poem a rather playful feel to the reader. A child who suffered abuse would not be using happy symbolism to remember his

The poem is much more innocent than what the modern reader may think. We can start off by looking at the title of the poem “My Papa’s Waltz.” A waltz is a ballroom and folk dance. Clearly, the speaker of the poem is speaking about his father and the dance. In the first stanza, the speaker explains how such waltzing with his father is not easy, as speaker’s father has had a little too much whiskey, which made the waltzing a little difficult as the father was under the influence and probably had difficulties keeping his balance. If we read on to the next stanza, it shows father is all over the place and having trouble keeping balance while dancing with his son in the kitchen. Mother seems to be upset about the situation, but only because pots and pans slid from the kitchen shelf onto the floor from all the romping. As we move on to the next stanza, the speaker explains how fathers knuckle is battered, which is most likely a result of injury from romping in the kitchen. Speaker also speaks about his right ear being scraped with every step his father missed. This could be because the speaker was a young, short boy who reached his father’s waistline and as they danced roughly the buckle will scrape his

With the use of imagery, the poet communicates to the reader the emotional bond between the father and his son. In the first stanza of the poem, the he illustrates a clear picture between the son and the father. "The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy But I hung on like death Such waltzing was not easy." the poet is saying that the father may not be the best father in the world with his breath smelling like whiskey, but despite that, the son hangs on like death. The simile the poet

Theodore Roethke’s poem “My Papa’s Waltz” is ambiguous and contains mixed feelings about his father. Throughout his life, Roethke had problems relating to alcohol addiction and psychological breakdowns (McRoberts, n.d.). As an adult to confront personal tensions, he uses his childhood memories to create a window into the past to move forward with his life. We learn his father had been drinking whiskey from the lines “The whiskey on your breath / Could make a small boy dizzy” (1-2). “A simile is a figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by like or as” (simile, n.d.). Roethke uses a simile to describe his perspective of the dance and life with his father as a child with the lines “But I hung on like death: Such waltzing

The poem starts off by introducing the boy’s father as an alcoholic by stating he could smell “the whiskey on [his] breath” (131). Although his father is an alcoholic and the boy’s encounter makes him “dizzy” or tired of it, the boy still “hung on to him like death”. Even though the boy knows that his father has a problem, he still loves him to death and he will till the end. “Such waltzing was not easy” shows that having a father like him was not favorable, but the boy still shows undisputable love.

Do perceptions about life change from childhood to adulthood? In “My Papa’s Waltz,” Theodore Roethke looks back at memories of his childhood to reflect on what he realizes now that he is older. Roethke realizes that although he may have thought he was simply rough housing with his dad at the time, there was actually a lot he wasn’t seeing. As the poem progresses from stanza to stanza the word choice and imagery have a unique way of demonstrating the deeper theme that people may not truly understand the mature situations they are in when they are young.

The poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke tells the story of a moment between a father and a son. The father smells like he has had a little too much to drink, and he is dancing around in the kitchen with his son. The dance doesn’t seem to be as much fun for the son, because he is continually scraping his ear against his dad’s belt buckle. Similarly, the poem “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden tells the story of a particular moment between a father and son. The son tells the story of his father doing particular tasks every morning for the family. The speaker makes it clear that the father was never thanked for everything he did. It is only now at an older age, that the speaker realizes these small tasks were his father’s way of showing affection. Both poems have similar subject matter, and use strong imagery to describe their relationship, but they express different attitudes about father son relationships.

Child abuse is in many homes today and remains untreated. The abuse that a child can experience can physically and emotionally scar him, and those scars can last for a lifetime. In the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, the speaker describes the abuse that his father dealt to him under the guise of a dance. Although this abuse is hidden to some readers on the first read through, there are a few instances in the poem that are typical signs of abuse. The evidences of abuse in the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” that are typical to child abuse are the alcoholism of the father, the striking of the child by the father, and the child’s unwillingness to go into his bedroom.

This poem is about an abusive parent. I say that because if you read the poem once you would think it was about a loving son and father, but theres more to it. If you go back over it in stanza 2 line 4&5 it says "We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf". Why would they be having fun so much that it would be destroying the kitchen. That doesnt happen often, which also brings you to the conclusion that the story could be about something darker. The author used waltzing as a metaphor to represent his abusive father. This poem also couldnt be about a loving father and son when the poem starts with "The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy: but I hung on like death: such waltzing was not easy". You can tell that the boy

Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz" is a gentle poem, made so by its affectionate and simple tone, its innocence, its light-heartedness, and its humor. While other readers, like John Ciardi, have found it to be a "poem of terror" (Fong 80), when one considers the original drafts, as John J. McKenna does, one sees a much less forbidding melodrama and a much more down-to-earth representation of home-life. This paper will show how Roethke's "Waltz" uses language, tone, and rhyme to convey, with childlike sensibility, a happy image of an energetic dance with one's father.

“Let Us Dance, Let Us Dance, Let Us Dance,” is a musical phrase from the Drama/Romance movie Shall We Dance? This phrase from this movie helps describe “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, which is about a young boy and his father moving around the house to “waltz” the young boy to bed. This poem has a lot of controversial feelings from different readers. Many readers believe it is about an abusive father, but if a reader looks at the situation from the eyes of the child, he or she would see it more about how much a son loves his father. Roethke uses persona, theme, and stanza to create the feeling of how much love a young boy holds for his father.

Poetry enables a writer to express his or her feelings. Like painting or music it is an art, an art that supplies the reader with an insight to the poet’s mind. Poetry is a response and an evaluation of the author’s world and life. A poem can represent sorrow, joy, love, anger, despair, or it can simply be a reflection of an event or memory. Poems frequently have hidden meanings, but many are simple and clear. They demonstrate in a unique way how it feels, for example, to be in love, to watch a sunset, or to stand by someone’s deathbed.