My Papa’s Waltz by Theodore Roethke

“My Papa’s Waltz”

The poem “My Papa’s Waltz”, written by Theodore Roethke, is about a little boy recalling memories of his father. The beginning of the poem seems to be negative, but as you read on its tone shifts to a neutral, sentimental one. A child is longing for connection with a physically available yet emotionally absent father. The author uses metaphors and imagery that can stir a readers mind into thinking the child is well aware of the complex relationship they share with their father.

The opening of “My Papa’s Waltz” hints, almost instantly, at the ugly side of the Father’s nature. Lines one and two of the first stanza state, “The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy.” The immediate thought here is the Father is a drunk. The author uses excellent hyperbole when describing ability of the Father’s breath to make a small boy dizzy. The take away from this is a negative image entering the poem.

The author continues on by leading us into the subject of the poem, “Papa’s Waltz”. In lines three and four of the first stanza, the author mentions the waltz for the first time. He paints an image of love and emotional distress mingling together. “But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy.” The child does not want to miss the opportunity to bond and share a moment of love despite the aforementioned drunken state of the father. This is also where the tone begins its shift from negative to one of sentiment while reminiscing.

The third and fourth stanza sheds light on the Father’s possible internal struggle. The author uses simple, yet elegant, imagery to depict a man that is rough around the edges. He notes the “battered” hand and “palm caked hard by dirt”. It almost confirms the father is a blue collar man who may have a rough life at work resulting in his vice.

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