My Papa's Waltz by Theodore Roethke

"My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke presents the bewildering relationship of a boy to his father. The poet does not provide much in terms of context such as setting and time which leaves the poem open to interpretation in a quite contrasting way.

On a superficial level, Roethke presents the relationship and action unfolding between the father and son as something playful, almost whimsical. The use of the term "waltzing" metaphorically denotes that the father and son are toying with each other with greatest pleasure. 'Waltz' is a kind of romantic ballroom dance performed  by couples. Hence, to compare such evocative dance to the actions of father and son may point out the deep emotions they hold towards each other.

The poet says that their little dance continued until the pans in the kitchen shelf slid and fell which further encapsulates the passion of the moment. This in turn makes the mother frown signalling that she does not approve of this behavior, perhaps also a little envious of the bond exclusively shared by the male members of the family. The speaker describes the father's hands to be battered which points out to the nature of his work. He seems to be a blue collar worker who labors all day to provide for his family. "Then waltz me off to bed/still clinging to your shirt"(ll 15,16) could refer to rough play that is only possible between men.

The other and deeper analysis of the poem raises a very different and rather darker interpretation of the relationship. From the very first line "The whiskey on your breath" tells us that the father came home drunk, in fact he was so wasted that it "could make a small boy dizzy". This clarifies that the father was not merely tipsy but heavily intoxicated. Despite the fact, the boy clings to his father with all his might. Here, Roethke uses a simile "hung on like death" to describe the action, mainly to accentuate the boy's devotion towards his father despite his faults. The word 'death' might also symbolize something dark about their situation as a tool of foreshadowing for what is about to come.

In this interpretation, the word 'waltz' takes on a whole another meaning as it compares the playfulness of the dance to the abuse of the son from father creating an irony. The beating of the son is further weighted as the kerfuffle made the kitchen pans fall. This discomforts the mother who is frowning as a result. It is to be noted that the mother is mentioned only once and is silently watching, perhaps to solely focus the poem on the duo of father and son. The fourth and fifth stanzas provide multiple clues to suppose that the father is a blue collar worker. For instance, his hands were 'battered', his palm was "caked hard by dirt". This alludes to the working class family and their hardships where men were breadwinners and toiled all day doing hard labor. It was a common sight for them to be abusive towards their family. This also corroborates with silent demeanor of the mother as women were treated as inferior to men.

"At every step you missed/My right ear scraped a buckle"(ll.11/12) almost directly points out the abusive nature as it alludes that the father is beating the son with a belt buckle. Similarly the use of assonance in "You beat time on my head" connects the beating of the head. Hence the speaker insist that this assault is kind of a dance i.e. waltz, almost a ritual, giving the poem a darker undertone.

The waltz is a lighthearted romantic dance performed in ballroom. Hence, the poet has used a pulsating rhythmic pattern with simple rhyme scheme to make it flow easily. The rhymes are end rhymes that repeats every other line. The rhyme scheme of the poem can be noted as ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH. This helps in giving the poem a constant rhythm with few jolts, very similar to a dancing music. Similarly, to avoid stutters and jitters, the poem is mostly used in iambic trimeter where iamb is the pattern of syllables where a stressed syllable follows an unstressed syllable which repeats three times in a line. This helps in providing a pulsating and playful tone.

The poet further utilizes assonance like "Was battered on one knuckle" to draw attention to the physical feature of the father. Similarly "My right ear scraped a buckle" draws attention to the severity of the abuse taking place. The poet frequently uses enjambments that helps the reader to stay excited and intrigued. Finally the poem totals 16 lines broken up into quatrains i.e. four lines per stanza. Roethke also uses terms such as "hung on" in the first stanza and "clinging" in the last stanza to present t  he devotion, almost obsession the son retains for his father which near borders towards a destructive dynamic.