My Papa's Waltz- Theodore Roethke (1948)

The whiskey on your breath

Could make a small boy dizzy;

But I hung on like death:

Such waltzing was not easy.

We romped until the pans

Slid from the kitchen shelf;

My mother's countenance
sad
Could not unfrown itself.

The hand that held my wrist

Was battered on one knuckle;

At every step you missed

My right ear scraped a buckle.

You beat time on my head

With a palm caked hard by dirt,

Then waltzed me off to bed

Still clinging to your shirt.




Theodore Roethke's poem, 'My Papa's Waltz' is an interesting poem to read in that it can be perceived in different ways. As I first read the poem over a few times, I was convinced that the young boy's Papa was inflicting violence on him. A reader can comprehend this negative tone through diction such as 'whiskey' on his 'breath', 'death', 'romped', 'hand that held my wrist', 'battered', 'scraped', 'beat', and 'clinging'. Yet, through more critical analysis I have come to a realization that this is invalid. This poem is an examination of father-son relationships and is in fact a positive tone. A more playful admiring tone. The young boy looks up to his father and attempts to keep up with him. Masculinity is a prominent theme in this poem which helps us understand the roughness of their play. A great example of this is when they 'romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf'. According to dictionary.com, romped can be described as lively, merry play. The young boy described their play as 'not easy' for he had to hang 'on like death'. Thus he was holding on, to remain at the same level of masculinity and strength as his big ol' Pop. To add, they played so much that it became destructive. A very unfeminine quality. To aid this idea of masculinity, the boy describes his mother as frowning. Moreover, the whiskey on his Popa's breath which could make a small boy dizzy and his battered knuckle adds to his fathers masculinity as it relates to other themes such as being worn and mature.

There are many other devices which aid the poem to have a playful and admiring tone. First, the poet speaks as if he is describing his father's masculinity, remembering the days when he was still strong. As I read it, I imagine a grown up boy, sitting with his old and now weak father, telling him of the old fun times they used to have and how he looked up to his father. This can be seen through the poets use of personal pronouns and past tense. He uses 'you' and when referring to himself as young he says 'a small boy'. He also uses verbs such as 'held', 'missed', thus it is apparent that the not so young boy is reminiscing about the past. Second, the poet uses nouns which one can relate adjectives to. Some examples include whiskey breath which is associated with maturity and waltz associated to a consistent and predictable kind of play. Last, the son describes his Papa with great admiration. This can be seen as he attempts to keep up to his father: 'every step you missed, my right ear scraped a buckle', 'clinging to your shirt', 'hung on like death' and more.