my papa's waltz

“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...

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...oem that "the waltz" was not an isolated event, but was a frequent occurrence. One almost has the feeling that it was a bedtime ritual. This indicates, the seriousness of the fathers drinking. This gives a sense of what the childhood of the boy was like. By indicating that "the waltz" was something that often happened and there's a sense that in the past it may have been a loving ritual between father and son, but as the drinking progressed it became less and less of what the boy remembered. The boy admired his father while at the same time was fearful of his strength.

Works Cited

Roethke, Theodore. "My Papa’s Waltz." The Norton Introduction to Literature. 6th ed. Ed. Carl E. Bain, et al. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1995. 769
My Papa’s Waltz | Literature Folio. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://literaturefl.wordpress.com/my-papas-waltz-4/