Summary Of My Papa's Waltz By Theodore Roethke

Hidden Messages “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke is a very mysterious and ambiguous poem. The speaker reminisces on a memory of himself as a young boy with his father. Several readers get multiple impressions of the poem, and find themselves feeling puzzled about what the poem is truly about. The poem is very controversial with the vocabulary being used by the speaker, and there are many interpretations that readers can get from it. The poem demonstrates imagery and metaphors to describe the interaction between the father and son. Theodore Roethke diction is intentional and contradicting, for he displays hidden messages of abuse happening in the poem which challenges the readers. The speaker’s word choices may have the readers confused as to what is transpiring throughout the poem. “My right ear scraped a buckle.” (Roethke 12) This quotation can be interpreted in various ways, but it is being implied that the young boy is getting beat by a belt by his father. The …show more content…
In the title of the poem the word “papa” is used , the term “papa” is usually used as a loving nickname for a child to call their father. This nickname demonstrates how the speaker felt towards his father, and it represents the speaker’s desire to have a loving relationship with his father. The title displays that the speaker was in denial of what happened between him and his father. He may have pictured it as a waltz with his father as wishful thinking. As the speaker got older he realized what really happened and used the hidden messages to present this in the poem. The speaker uses imagery to compare what he thought in the past and of what he now realizes what took place. The comparison would resolve the confusing diction for the readers. Poem’s have a different meaning to each individual and for that reason people will determine the meaning of the poem in their own