Theodore Roethke had a complicated relationship with his father. He loved the man, but feared him at the same time. “My Papa’s Waltz” can be interpreted as a story of a child afraid of a violent alcoholic father or a child having a playful romp with his dad before bedtime. Through unique imagery and word choices, Roethke 's poem presents the idea that people can look back after having an unhealthy relationship with a loved one and still have an unconditional love for them. "My Papa 's Waltz" explains a moment in a family; a father and son dancing around in the kitchen and a mother watching. This poem may seem like a perfectly happy family, or as a family ripped apart by alcohol and abuse. There may be fear and love mixed together in this
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Although Roethke does not say he was abused as a child, the way he explains his experience with his father makes one think he was. “The hand that held my wrist” (9) references abuse because it seems too aggressive to be playful. On the other hand, without clarification of the age of the speaker, the drunken father could have been playfully swinging the child by the wrists. The author uses words like “beat” which give the feeling of abuse. “You beat time on my head” (13) could literally mean beating the child, or could mean that the father rests his hand on the child’s head as they playfully dance the …show more content…
Roethke carries a tone throughout the poem that can be taken as reminiscence or bitterness. The speaker explains a moment in his life with a drunken father, showing how he blames his dad for the hurt in his life when he says, “At every step you missed, my right ear scraped a buckle” (11-12). Although these lines can be taken literally in the sense that when he missed a step in the waltz his ear scraped the buckle, it also means more. Every step his father missed in his life hurt him. The belt buckle has a negative connotation to some because belts are usually used to beat children. Even though these lines give a tone of negativity, overall the poem feels like a memory of his childhood with a drunken father. Although his father was an alcoholic and obviously caused problems in their family, he shows us how he still loved his father. “Still clinging to your shirt” (16) gives the feeling that he still hung on to their relationship and loved him enough to see past his
Although Roethke does not say he was abused as a child, the way he explains his experience with his father makes one think he was. “The hand that held my wrist” (9) references abuse because it seems too aggressive to be playful. On the other hand, without clarification of the age of the speaker, the drunken father could have been playfully swinging the child by the wrists. The author uses words like “beat” which give the feeling of abuse. “You beat time on my head” (13) could literally mean beating the child, or could mean that the father rests his hand on the child’s head as they playfully dance the …show more content…
Roethke carries a tone throughout the poem that can be taken as reminiscence or bitterness. The speaker explains a moment in his life with a drunken father, showing how he blames his dad for the hurt in his life when he says, “At every step you missed, my right ear scraped a buckle” (11-12). Although these lines can be taken literally in the sense that when he missed a step in the waltz his ear scraped the buckle, it also means more. Every step his father missed in his life hurt him. The belt buckle has a negative connotation to some because belts are usually used to beat children. Even though these lines give a tone of negativity, overall the poem feels like a memory of his childhood with a drunken father. Although his father was an alcoholic and obviously caused problems in their family, he shows us how he still loved his father. “Still clinging to your shirt” (16) gives the feeling that he still hung on to their relationship and loved him enough to see past his