Analysis Of My Papa's Waltz

Child abuse is physical mistreatment that unfortunately happens to children everywhere around the world. In the same way, the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, describes and gives the readers an insight of what child abuse is like. The poem presents a relationship between a drunken father and his son. Therefore, the setting, sensory details, and word choice of the poem allows the reader to understand the violence the little boy goes through after his father returns from work.

In the poem "My Papa's Waltz" written by Theodore Roethke, the interpretation of the poem depends on the readers` perspective. Some people think that this poem is one of a happy exchange between a father and son. Others believe that it has a hidden message of child abuse. In my point of view, the imagery and language, the symbolism, and tone in My Papas Waltz gave me the impression of the abusive relationship between the father and son, but then later realizing the positive side.

In the poem “My Papa’s Waltz’, Theodore Roethke uses imagery to help the reader visualize the idea that the boy’s relationship with his father was repetitively abusive, similar to a waltz. To begin, while implying that the father is drunk, the speaker says, “The whiskey on your breath/ But I hung on like death/Such waltzing was not easy” (1, 3, 4). With “whiskey on his breath”, the father is most likely drunk, as the reader can imagine the boy becoming dizzy at the scent of the alcohol coming from him. When the boy says that he “hung on like death” but it was not easy, the reader can deduce that he does not want to lose his father, but having any relationship is difficult and hurtful due to his father’s violent tendencies.

Theodore Roethke’s poem “My Papa’s Waltz” illustrates a nightly ritual between a working-class father and his young son. In the first stanza a young boy holds tightly to his father. The second stanza describes a playful roughhousing between father and son. The fourth stanza shows again the boy’s unwillingness to let go of his father. Roethke’s AB rhyming scheme and waltz-like meter set a light and joyful cadence. The music of the waltz comes through in the reading and with it a carefree and innocent tone for the telling of the short amount of time between a hard-working father arriving home and the time when his son must go to bed.

The frightened mother, described by Roethke, is so alarmed that she cannot do anything about the mistreatment. Because the family members were in a "romp" the "mother's countenance / could not unfrown itself" (5, 7-8). The mother is so disgusted with the abuse that the father is forcing on their son that her countenance cannot be altered. Her frown cannot be changed therefore she will not eliminate the abuse that is being pushed on her son. "Romp" is a keyword in this poem, which gives the reader the knowledge that the boy thought that the abuse was normal. The word is usually meaning a "boisterous, energetic kind of running or dancing" (Interpretations 536). It is used the same way in this poem because Roethke wants the reader to understand that the boy was only seeing through eyes of innocence.

Theodore Roethke’s poem, “My Papa’s Waltz,” has generated much discussion among readers, who often disagree about the relationship between the father and his young son. Some readers worry that the father’s drunken behavior poses a danger to his son, perhaps even to the boy’s mother. Roethke creates a scene of rough but innocent play between a father and his young son.

In “My Papa’s Waltz,” the speaker, a young boy who is presumably the author, Theodore Roethke, recalls an interaction he once had. His father, who is perhaps a farmer, just arrived from a long day at work, had a drink of whisky and then began playfully roughhousing with the boy in the kitchen while his mother frowned at the pots and pans falling down. His vivid portrayal inserts the reader into their home. Roethke describes his father as a rough, hard-working individual: “[the] hand that held my wrist [was] battered on one knuckle…

In the poem "My Papa's Waltz" written by Theodore Roethke, the interpretation of the poem depends on the readers`perspective. Some people think that this poem is one of a happy exchange between a father and son. Other people believe that this poem has a hidden message of parental abuse. In my point of view, the imagery and language, the symbolism, and tone in the poem gave me the impression of the love between the father and son, not of an abusive relationship.

While the subject of Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” has spurred passionate academic debate from professors, scholars, and students alike, the imagery, syntax, and diction of the poem has brought up a controversial issue; abuse. On one hand, some readers argue that the poem is about the pain and heartache that Roethke’s drunken father evoked during the poet’s childhood. On the other hand, many readers contend that the poem is reminiscing the dance that Roethke and his father shared. However, after deconstructing the poem, it becomes undoubtedly clear that Roethke writes “My Papa’s Waltz” to reflect back on a fond memory waltzing with his father.

“My Papa Waltz,” was a poem written by Theodore Roethke. Theodore Roethke grew up in Saginaw, Michigan where most of his work was influenced from. Theodore Roethke was known mainly for having a complicated relationship with his father. He was also known for admiring Ralph Waldo’s work. His father died from cancer, which is said to be the reason he suffered from severe depression. As seen in “My Papa Waltz, “this poem has many literary devices such as diction, imagery, and figurative language.

The boy says that the “waltzing was not easy,” which could refer to dancing with his drunk dad or that the father harming the child and that the son is linking it to a dance instead of a beating (Roethke 552). It is because of this that Roethke’s poem could mean that his father and he are dancing or that the boy is getting hit. It is because of this widely interpretable part of the poem that there are three different ideas on what the poem actually means. The first one is that the child look to his father with fear and joy. The other two sides are a like in the fact that they think that the poems intensity. One of them thinks that the poem has a more joyful mood because their personal experience when their father became drunk and loved them instead of hurting them (Fong 79-80). On the flip side of the coin, people think that the poems tone is more fearful because in the beginning they hear that the fathers been drinking and is now scaring the mother and the son instead of being a happy story (Fong 80). Bobby Fong thinks that “the poem is like a seesaw… hard, dirt, clinging),”(80). This shows that he thinks that the story has both fearful parts and joyful parts. However, in Hayden’s “The Whipping” there isn’t as much room for interpretation because it basically describes clearly an adolescent getting whipped publicly.

Poetry is made to express the feelings, thoughts, and emotions of the poet. The reader can interpret the poem however they see fit. Critics are undecided about the theme of Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz." Some people believe that the poem is one of a happy exchange between a father and son. The more convincing interpretation is that it has a hidden message of parental abuse. Careful analysis of the keywords and each individual stanza back up this theory of child abuse by a violent and drunken father.

The controversial poem, “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke has spurred passionate academic debate from professors, scholars, and students alike; the imagery, syntax, and diction of the poem clearly support the interpretation that Roethke writes “My Papa’s Waltz” to reminisce on a bittersweet memory with his father. His unclear commemoration has sparked a divide on what the true purpose of the poem is. Some may argue the poem’s purpose is to shine light on the subject of abuse, whereas others believe the father and son were sharing a moment while “roughly playing.” However, the more one examines this piece of literature, it becomes undeniable that the poem portrays a scene of a toxic father-son relationship. Although there are a

In the poem My Papa’s Waltz by Theodore Roethke, he looks back in his memory as a child and explains the love he has for his father despite all the flaws his father holds. Roethke describes his emotions through this poem by using diction, imagery, and the use of tone.

The third and fourth stanzas become ambiguous with the use of diction such as "battered" in Stanza 3 and "beat" in Stanza 4. A significant change in these stanzas is also that the speaker addresses his father directly, whereas the first two stanzas told the story in the third person. However, there are certain elements that clarify the intent of the subject matter, not to describe or address a father who was abusive, but rather to describe the realities of life at the time. In Stanza 3, for example, it is important to note that it was the father's knuckle was battered. In Stanza 4, he did not beat the boy himself, but rather kept time on his head with his palm. The palm that was caked by dirt could have been from a day at menial labor or falling on the way from drinking whiskey. The buckle that scraped the child's ear appears to be the result of an accidental misstep rather than intentionally harmful.