My Papas Waltz By Theodore Roethke

In “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, the interpretation of the poem depends on the readers perspective. It is a great poem that can mean many different things to many different people. Some people think that this poem is one of a happy exchange between a father and son. Other people believe that this poem has a hidden message of parental abuse. The imagery and language, the symbols and tone in the poem gave me the impression of the love between the father and son, not of an abusive relationship. To me I think it was just a boy who just wanted to spend time with his dad before he has to go to bed. The boy probably does not get to spend time with his dad that much.
Everyone has a father and has their own personal feelings towards father figures due to personal experiences. It is easy to project those experiences onto Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” as it is about an adult son’s recollection of “waltzing” with his father as a young boy. Furthermore, because the speaker seems detached, readers’ objective interpretations of the poem vary. Some believe it to be a gleeful child memory, while others contend it to be a confession of childhood abuse. …show more content…
Generally, readers either think the tone is either playful or resentful. In actuality, the poem consists of many more facets of tone. In life, growing up consists of realizing how our childhood experiences made impressions on us as adults. Since this is written in the persona of an adult, mature thoughts and feelings are displayed rather than childish ones. The biggest realization for the speaker is that he was abused as a child. This shows a mournful tone for his inner child for whom he feels sympathy for. As an adult, he holds a poignant tone that represents his disappointment for his father’s flagrant