Waltzing is graceful and elegant dance that one finds joy in. In Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” the reader will find an unpleasant experience of a father being abusive towards his son, which is told in a way of a beautiful and romantic dance called the waltz. In retrospect the poem is a possible childhood experience of the narrator (who is the small boy) involving his father. The small boy struggles with a conflict of confusion whether to love or fear his Papa. The theme is the attempt to understand his relationship with his father and the use of the dance as a metaphor for life itself or for an abusive tone. The tone is light but has darker undertones in each line. The poem tells how much the small boy loves his Papa but is also fearful of him because of his father clumpy, abusive character, and the tension between the two which is symbolically the waltz.
Roethke starts the poem with a statement; “The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy;” (552). Alcohol is dangerous to young children and the fact that alcohol is on Papa’s “breath” could make the “small boy dizzy” (552), and suggests the waltz was not a joyful one. Roethke uses metaphors, “but I hung on like death...” (552).
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The small boy describes Papa’s “hand” that held the small boys’ “wrist” has a battered knuckle, revealing the speculation of the Papa being abusive possibly true (552). “At every step you missed” (552) can describe how drunk Papa is to a certain degree. Imagery is shown from the small boys’ perspective, to show how inferior and feminine the small boy is to his masculine Papa, such as “My right ear scraped a buckle” (552). A rhyme scheme is used to link the line that ended with knuckle and the line that ended with buckle. Throughout each stanza, Roethke uses two words that rhyme in connection with each other. For example in the last stanza the words “dirt” and shirt”
The most notable qualities of Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” are the tone and language of the poem which convey the nostalgia adult author feels thinking about the time spent with his father. In the title narrator’s father is affectionately referred to as “Papa” making the impression that the main character and his father are close. The use of possessive pronoun “my” contributes to the overall impression that the father holds special place in the narrator’s heart. As word “waltz” in the title implies the poem gives account of the festive occasion in which the narrator’s father takes part.
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 "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke, the speaker is reflecting on a childhood experience involving his father. Through diction and details, the speaker conveys his complex attitudes toward his father. When first read it, it appears the young boy is afraid of his father. The first line of the poem writes: "The whiskey on your breath; could make a small boy dizzy." Apparently, the father likes whisky and the smell of it is remaining on his person, which causes the young boy's aversion. The diction of "dizzy" depicts the young boy is getting overwhelmed by the smell of the drink. Imagine how a little child feels when he notices the strange smell of his parent, He feels weak or even scared. That is exactly what the young boy feels when he saw his drunken father with the distasteful smell. The poem then goes on saying: "but I hung on like death, such waltzing was not easy." This simile compares the fear of the boy to the death. To have a feeling of death is not a pleasant feeling, therefore when they started "waltzing"; the young boy thinks it is "not easy." This shows that ...
Ultimately, the subject of “ My Papa’s Waltz” has spurred a passionate academic debate from professors, scholars, and students alike, the imagery, syntax, diction of the poem clearly support the interpretation that Theodore Roethke wrote “ My Papa’s Waltz” to illustrate on a past memory of his drunk and abusive father. The controversy of the poem itself is whether it is a good or bad memory. The use of negative imagery, syntax, and diction support this. Overall, with the explanation of the poem and the use of syntax, diction and imagery “ My Papa’s Waltz” was about Theodore Roethke’s drunk and abusive
“My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke is a representation of the journey toward reconciliation of the love and the fear that the speaker, a young boy, has for his father, and is an extended metaphor for the way that we balance the good and bad in our lives. Whilst reading this poem it is impossible to determine definitively whether it is truly about a dance or if the speaker is actually being abused. However, I don’t believe that it really matters either way. Actually, I believe it is this ambiguity and push and pull between the two extremes that creates the overall sense of struggle that comes with the reconciliation of the facets of the father and son’s relationship. This dance between love and fear is accentuated by Roethke’s use of ambiguous diction, end rhyme, and iambic trimeter.
The father in “My Papa’s Waltz” is portrayed by the narrator as one who neglects his responsibilities of ensuring safety and being a positive role model. Using many examples and implying this through writing techniques, the narrator represents the father in a way other than a loving dad. Despite the use of certain words such as “papa” and “waltz,” the overall connotation represented throughout the poem seems to concentrate more heavily on the negative aspects of the narrator’s memories. For these reasons, one can conclude that the poem aims to illuminate the immaturity and irresponsibility of the
Theodore Roethke’s poem, My Papa’s Waltz (1948), presents both a warming memory of a boy and his father as well as a dark story of an abusive childhood. Combining a story of both joy and horror sends an important message of abuse and the fear it instills in the victims. Through Roethke’s structure and word choice in My Papa’s Waltz presents two stories which simultaneously depict the fear and Stockholm Syndrome type love often found in abusive relationships.
Fong, Bobby. College Literature. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Vol. 17 of Roethke's `My Papa's Waltz'. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. .
Poetry is a special gift, which unfortunately is not given to all of us. Mr. Theodore Roethke (1908-1963) was an American poet with this magnificent gift. Mr. Roethke is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential poets of his generation (Wiki). His poems present figurative language, which means that it says something, but is not actually what it means, or it can be interpreted in a totally different way. Theodore Roethke’s poem, “My Papa’s Waltz” has imaginary and mixed feelings between the speaker, which is a child, and his father. After having researched a lot more about the Poet’s life I find this poem highly eloquent and fallacious. Even though, it’s a brief poem I can say that this talks about Mr. Roethke’s childhood. This
“My Papa’s Waltz” is composed of four stanzas with four lines in each stanza. Each line is similar in length and the same number of rhymes. In each stanza, there are rhymes or rhymes combined with the first and the third lines or the second and fourth lines. Theodore Roethke’s poem, "My Papa’s Waltz," is often times misunderstood regarding the nature of the relationship between the father and son. Without having any prior knowledge of Roethke’s relationship with his father it is difficult to fully understand the meaning of this poem. Judging by the title, the person revealed in these lines is the boy’s father, and the boy is the speaker. The father is drunk on whiskey. He’s drunk to the point that the scent of his breath is too much for the boy. It is hard to decide if he is actually there, as there is nothing actually said between father and son, nor does the father respond to the boy. Rather, his son is possibly just imagining him. The line "I hung on like death" (Roethke 3), suggests that the whiskey is in fact causing the boy to become dizzy. The use of the word “death” so soon in the poem signals the reader that this poem is not merely a joyful memory. Suggesting the boy hung on “like” death is an example of a simile ("My Papa’s Waltz | Literature Folio", n.d., ). Furthermore, the "waltz" of the poem is a metaphor for the relationship between father and son, indicating the struggle between enjoying and fearing his father’s strength. The details used in describing what is taking place in the kitchen shows the pair is creating so much uproar that the pans are falling off the walls. These lines also provide the setting, the kitchen. A great deal of family life is spent in the kitchen – cooking, eating, and now, waltz...
Childhood experiences seem to be the ones that are recollected most vividly throughout a person's life. Almost everyone can remember some aspect of his or her childhood experiences, pleasant and unpleasant alike. Theodore Roethke's poem "My Papa's Waltz" suggests even further that this concept could be true. The dance described in this poem illustrates an interaction between father and child that contains more than the expected joyous, loving attitude between the two characters. Roethke's tone in this work exhibits the blended, yet powerful emotions that he, as a grown man, feels when looking back on this childhood experience. The author somewhat implicates feelings of resentment fused with a loving reliance with his father.
In My Papa’s Waltz a young boy is telling us about an instance in which his father was very drunk, they are playfully waltzing around, they are knocking down pans all over the kitchen, and the mother seems to be upset, the dad is hurting the speaker with the dance, however the dad doesn’t appear to notice this. Eventfully, the dad puts his son to bed, however it appears that the son doesn’t want to let go of his father at that moment. Although the speaker appears to be recalling a memory with fondness that is not the case. The poem is a symbol of the difficult relationship between the speaker and his father. We know that Roethke’s
My Papa’s Waltz has been compared to a generational litmus test. Depending on what generation the reader was born, could determine how the reader would interpret this poem. Each generation has its own views that have been developed in them for the language used to describe Papa in this poem. The whiskey on his breath and Papa’s hand beating on his head, both sound like a negative connotation. Depending on the experience of the reader, they can either be disturbed by these words or be drawn in closer to the poem. Theodore Roethke loved his father. Not only did he love him, but he idolized him and unfortunately lost him at an early age. This poem is a reflective memorial waltz written in iambic trimeter to honor his father and mother.
In the late nineteen forties, Theodore Roethke emerged with a poem that has been the source of much debate. "My Papa's Waltz," is an account of a relationship between son and father. Alas, many readers who are exposed to this piece fail to note the love present in the connection of the characters. In an attempt to illuminate the author's true intention several factors must be examined. After several examinations of Roethke's poem as well as learning of his childhood it is evident that this poem does not suggest an abusive environment, but is an appreciative account of the love and playfulness between the characters. Therefore, a successful interpretation of this poem will look beyond the four stanzas and study not only the history of the writing, but the life of the poet.
“My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke can be interpreted in a few different ways. The most obvious one being that he was dancing around with his father, having so much fun that he did not want to stop. His father is very drunk though, which leads us to believe that it is no just a fun story of him and his father dancing one night. What Roethke is really trying to show us, is the abusive relationship he had with his father.