AT first glance of Theodore Roethke’s poem titled "My Papa's Waltz" , the reader forms a negative opinion based on the opening lines of the poem. Due to some of the words in this poem, it is understandable why this kind of reaction could be evoked. Further analysis and critical thinking allows one to better understand what the writer may really mean. In the first line of the poem, "The whiskey on your breath" is descriptive enough to produce an image in one's mind of a man who is drunk. . The words of "Could make a small boy dizzy" further illustrate the strong intoxication of the man. It is often not in good taste when an intoxicated adult presents him or herself to a child. The poem could be interpreted as a depiction of a child's experience
