
Time spent with family usually ends with happy memories that we will cherish forever. The memories we have of our parents live with us and inspire us to be like them. For children, this longing to be like our parents is even stronger. This isn’t always the case, however. Our childhood memories can range from terrible to terrific. Childhood memories can be a lot more complex than that, however.  In his poem, “My Papa’s Waltz,” Theodore Roethke use literary devices to tell a story of a bitter sweet memory of his father.

One indicator of Roethke’s mixed emotions is shown in his use of contrasting diction. Though the waltz is seen as elegant and graceful, the diction Roethke uses contrasts this. For instance, he uses the phrase “beat time” (91) in reference to the action of counting time. In music, “counting time” is the action of speaking the rhythm of a song. Instead of the graceful counting of, “one, two, three, one, two, three,” the boy’s father clumsily “beat” the time. This shows the clumsiness of the father, and highlights the forceful nature that he has. The waltz that the poet and his father are dancing is described as rough, by Roethke. He states, “We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf” (91). Their waltzing session gets so wild that it is hurting him. Roethke later describes how his father’s mistakes hurt him: “At every step you missed my right ear scraped the buckle” (91). The use of negative diction is used to contribute to the bitter aspects of Roethke’s memories. Roethke describes how his father hurts him, and the diction that surrounds the father portray him as tough and unmoving. Despite this, the son still wants to spend time with his father. Roethke starts the poem by stating that he, “hung on like death,” (90) while dancing with his father. He is hanging on to his father’s shirt for dear life because the dancing is so intense, but also because he doesn’t want this bonding time between him and his father to end. Though his father is hurting him while playing around, Roethke was still, “clinging to [his] shirt” (91). The ambiguous choice of words and contrasting diction shows that Roethke loved his father, but didn’t like how his father’s recklessness was hurting him.

Roethke chooses to put his poem in second person to make him and his father seem distant from each other. He refers to his father mostly using the word ‘you’. By separating him and his father into ‘you’ and ‘I’, rather than ‘we’, he gives the impression that he is detaching his affiliation with his father. The use of second person also makes his father the subject of the poem, and the reader as an audience to the conversation. This adds to the emotional divide between the son and his father because, though the poem is written directly to the father, its publicity turns it into a critique, rather than a confrontation. The use of second person separates Roethke and his father and adds to the cold and bitter aspect of the story. 

Roethke uses the rhythm and repetition of the waltz to exhibit Roethke’s bittersweet memory. The waltz uses a repeating “one, two, three, one, two, three,” pattern, which is similar to cycle of Roethke’s emotions. He starts the poem clinging to his father, then the dancing then gets rough and starts hurting him, and the poem ends with him still clinging to his father like he was at the start of the poem. This cycle’s similarity to the waltz adds to Roethke’s mixed emotions. To add to this theme of an emotional waltz, Roethke uses a trimeter, so when spoken aloud, the words flow similarly to that of a waltz. The elegant feel of the ideal waltz contrasted with the eerie tone of the poem contributes to Roethke’s mixed emotions.

Roethke uses concise imagery to paint a picture of the pain and joy he is feeling during his waltz with his father. He describes his dad’s worn out hands as, “caked hard by dirt,” (91) to add to the rugged image of his father. He also decides to start the poem out by letting the audience know that his father is very drunk. If his father had been sober during this story, it would have an entirely different narrative and tone. With the harsh imagery of his father’s drunkenness, battered knuckles, and dirty hands painted, the father would seem like a villain. However, Roethke’s feelings contrast this. He holds onto his father, wanting to spend all night dancing with him. Roethke also mentions his mother in the poem. After seeing her husband be rough with her son, “[her] countenance could not unfrown itself” (91). He includes his mother in the poem to represent the outside world’s view of their relationship. Since she (and everyone else) isn’t a part of the waltz, she sees it as an abhorrent act, rather than Roethke’s view him spending time with his hard working father. Her disapproving frown is a judgement towards her husband’s way of showing affection. Though others think that their relationship is abusive and unhealthy, Roethke doesn’t see his father as a villain. At least not completely. The image of pans on the floor help define the magnitude of his father’s recklessness. All of these images paint the father has an irresponsible parent who isn’t thinking about the safety of his son. While this does seem true to the outside world, Roethke has more complicated feelings than just disappointment and pain. By using concise imagery, Roethke is able to visualize what the outside world saw of his father, and add to the contrasting feelings he felt for his father.

Roethke’s father died when he was fourteen. This poem was an artistic way to remember one of the few memories that they shared together. His father worked hard to make a living, so Roethke didn’t get to spend a copious amount of time with him. By using contrating diction, imagery, and the waltz all together, Roethke is able to show the complex array of emotions that he was experiencing while dancing with his father.
