My Papa's Waltz Analysis

Register to read the introduction… The title could have been “Papa’s waltz” or “The waltz” which both implies a more neutral tone when compared to “My Papa’s waltz”. Not only does the word “My” tell that this is “my dad” and he dances, but it is the special kind of waltz which is so unique that can only be done by “my dad”, the special kind of waltz which belongs to no one besides “my dad”. It shows the poet’s pride towards his beloved father and how he treasures the memory and the time. It is the memory only belongs to him and his …show more content…
With the use of the word “beat”, this would easily lead to readers’ perception that

the father was beating his son on his head heavily. To replace this kind of interpretation, the subject, that is the waltz, should be emphasized. All kinds of dances, not only waltz, require dancers to keep up with the beat. It is then considerably natural that the father would slightly tap the beat on his son’s head to remind him to keep the beat for the dance and normally children would find it fun to have their fathers doing this to them. It is no exception to the little boy in the poem.

The last line of the forth stanza is one of the most significant evidence that proves the dance is a happy one. The little boy was still clinging to his father’s shirt though he had already sent him to bed. This shows that the boy loved the dance and enjoyed the time so much that he still wanted to continue and play with his father. The boy’s fondnesses as well as closeness to his father are clearly illustrated. If the boy was beaten up by his father, it is then unreasonable to say the boy still stuck to his father and was not willing to let go of him even after being abused. More than that, the word “clinging ” expresses how Roethke missed his father while writing the poem that he still was eager to have contact with his father and the early death of his father was still painful to