My Father's Waltz Poem Analysis

One of the key points in the poem is that the term “waltz” is used beyond its meaning to symbolize the father’s positive, and negative aspects of an unfulfilling role as a parent. A waltz is described as, “simultaneous circular movements: each couple turns on itself, in a small circle, around its own center, spiraling around in continuous turns” (Yaraman, 1998). This connects to the father’s drunk behavior because the poem refers to it as “/Such waltzing was not easy/”, in which the father lacks bodily movement and can’t seem to get the steps right (lines 4). This is also a metaphor for how difficult it was for the child to stick around with his father, considering that the circumstances were not easy to do. According to Ronald R. Janssen, an associate professor at Hofstra University, “waltzing comes to take on the pattern of family repeating itself in a sequence of desperate hope that some fun can be had and the real fear of violence and disruption” (Janssen, 1986). …show more content…
In the first stanza of the poem, it is read as a negative tone since it’s revealing that the father is drunk while waltzing his child around in a dangerous way. Moreover, the second stanza provides a more positive tone by using the term “romped” which means that although the father was drunk, he was acting as a parental figure by playing around with his son. In the third stanza, Roethke states, “/at every step you missed/ my right ear scraped a buckle/” (lines 11-12). This is a metaphor that symbolizes the father’s failures as a parent while hurting his son during the process. Therefore, the poem, “My Papa’s Waltz,” reveals that the child will always love his father, despite his behavior and can be described as a “seesaw, where the elements of joy are against the elements of fear” (Fong,