My Papa's Waltz By Theodore Roethke

My Papa's Waltz depicts a family picture also shows the happiness of a family union; it points out a full of responsibility, positive, and the rough image of a father. In this poem, the author recalls the fragments of his childhood with his father; it is also an expression of the author on the death of his father's nostalgia. My Papa's Waltz has a profound meaning. As we know that the waltz is a solemn, elegant, colorful dance. At that time, it could be said to be a kind of aristocratic entertainment. Theodore Roethke uses the waltz to express people's longing for and the pursuit of a better life in his family. The author sets a particular setting at the beginning of poetry: “the whiskey on your breath / could make a small boy dizzy” which would be the reason for my papa’s waltz. Under the …show more content…
“We romped until the pans / slid from the kitchen shelf” shows the father and the son highly engaged in the waltz and dance ecstasy selfless and unrestrained. Theodore Roethke is "still clinging to your shirt," and suffers from "scraped," "and," "beat" from his father; however, "still clinging to your shirt" shows the author's fear of the rough father, but more emotional attachment. “The small boy” was still searching his mother with his eyes while he was having fun with his father and caught the slight expression of his mother's frown, which was a hint of the son caring about the mother. Theodore Roethke used “the hand that held my wrist,” “at every step you missed,” and “you beat time on my head” showed the drunken father's rough behavior but a strong fatherly affection. The hand “was battered on the one knuckle,” and “with a palm caked hard by dirt” suggests the father’s hard work for the family; it also presents a heavy and touching flavor to the fatherly