Analysis of the Poem My Papa´s Waltz by Theodore Roethke

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Drinking has and always will influence people, for the better or the worse. Alcohol clearly influenced Theodore Roethke's poem "My Papa's Waltz." In his poem, there are two main characters along with a largely anonymous third party. Theodore, an adolescent, dances with his drunken father while his birth mother watches apprehensively. The characters represent a past memory of Roethke's childhood.

In his recollection, Roethke's father comes home drunk after a hard day of work. The young boy and his father decide to partake in a little dance. While waltzing, the two get a little rambunctious with each other. As a result, some people view this poem with a disdainful-like perception and suppose Theodore wrote the poem with dark thoughts in mind. Rather, despite his father's drunkenness, the young Theodore enjoyed every second of it. There is a strong bond between them that upon careful examination, one can clearly understand in the poem "My Papa's Waltz."

In the poem, the act of 'waltzing' symbolizes love, though not without some strife. "Such waltzing was not easy" (Roethke pg 602, 4)....

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