“My Papa’s Waltz” “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke is a short poem in the postmodern era that shows the theme is very uncertain. Some believe that the poem talks about the controversial issue of parental abuse. The narrator is telling the story from his point of view, which in the first stanza seems to describe an alcoholic father and the narrator scared for his life. Other interpretations may see this poem in a positive light, where there is a hard-working father, who is dancing with his son and shows his love towards his son. The uncertainty of this poem leaves it up to the reader to decide if the poem was positive or negative. The ABAB lyrical rhyme scheme and descriptive verb usage makes this poem stand out and the views of modern life that Roethke shares with the reader adds to it as well. Throughout the poem, the narrator describes abusive behavior from his father and the father shows signs of alcoholism. In the first and last stanzas, the narrator brings in the element of the father having whiskey on his breath and him having to hold on "like death". "The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy, But I hung on like death, such waltzing was not easy" (Roethke, "My Papa's Waltz"). In this stanza, you can sense the tension and conflict with the father and son at the time. The son is in a hopeless situation while his father is drunk and is taking his anger out on his son. Notice throughout the poem, the author uses verbs like beat, scraped, romped, clinging. As these are words of hopelessness, violence, and desperation, it gives the reader a sense of imagery as you can imagen the boy being abused by his father. Even though this poem may give off an abusive tone to some, others see it differently. In the last stanza, it can also give a sense of love and caring. "Then you waltzed me off to bed, still clinging to your shirt" (Roethke, "My Papa's Waltz"). After the father and son dance, the narrator is clinging to his father's shirt because of the love and admiration that he has for his father and how he does not want the dancing to stop. The father dancing with the son and taking him to bed shows that the father loves his son. The narrator could be positively talking about his father and his childhood growing up. The memories of his father are still present with him and have strong love for him. The short poem does not have a clear message and it is very hard to tell what kind of theme Theodore Roethke was aiming for. Overall, the poem is an all-time great and its special qualities are a reason why it still stands out today.
2 Comments
Cassidy Mustard
10/6/2019 03:55:13 pm
First, I just wanted to say that I enjoyed reading this a lot! I thought it was really great how you addressed two completely different views of the poem. You also did really well in backing up both views!
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Amy Conrad
10/6/2019 04:13:09 pm
I think the thing I liked most about this poem that you had drawn out in your analysis of it is that there is no one interpretation of literature, and I think that's the most important part of literature. It demonstrates how as long as you can argue for your part you're right in how you feel, and you did a good job at showing those two sides!
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