
The poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke is a very riveting and true story that grabs the readers and pulls them in to a story full of love and hope. This story is, in essence, a “roller coaster” of a poem. There are many themes in this story, but three that are very identifiable. Even though it is a short poem, Roethke tells the story of his own childhood in a very gripping way. The use of few words is what makes this poem special and unlike any other of its kind. In this analytical paper, Roethke puts his own memoir into a short poem to show the struggle with his father’s heavy drinking, the stress it caused in their relationship, and that the father has a desire to be a good parent.

This poem starts out with the line “The whiskey on your breath” (Roethke, 90). This one line in this short poem sets the tone for how the rest of the story will play out. Roethke is using one line to show that his father drank heavily. The author solidifies this statement by using the next line, “Could make a small boy dizzy” (Roethke, 90). The author implies that the father in the poem is either a heavy drinker or very drunk at the time of this recollection. The author also implies, rhetorically, that the gracefulness of his father’s inebriation was impressive, as he said “such waltzing was not easy”. The author, despite the breath of his father, “hung on like death,” which upon analyzation solely of the first sentence, brings one to question how the author could continue to put up with such intoxication. As the father and son “romped until the pans slid form the kitchen shelf,” they were met by the judgement of the author’s mother, which was seemed to be received with a grain of salt as the two continued to drunkenly waltz their way “off to bed.” The mother is not mentioned again in the poem, as this childhood recollection is the author’s description of his comfort and warmth that his father provided in his own way, by showing his son the affection one grows to love and appreciate as life goes on. 

The father is described as a working man, who returns to a family and a glass of whiskey providing him with meaning and his family with the ability to be comfortable. After a long day of work, the father finally meets his waltz partner. The author validates the father’s work ethic as he describes his hand as “battered on one knuckle” and “caked with dirt” (Roethke, 91). The author’s father was a drinker, a parent, and a hardworking man who was generating a revenue for his family. However, the clear disapproval of the author’s mother cannot go unnoticed as shown in the line her “countenance could not unfrown itself”. In the situation she is presented with, her disapproval is warranted, as “the pans slid from the kitchen shelf” and as she watched the father of her child stumble around the house while jeopardizing their child’s safety. In addition to an introduction of the author’s mother, this second sentence describes the setting of the poem, where the ruckus of “My Papa’s Waltz” takes place. 

As the poem comes to a close, the author’s love for his father is apparent as he is “still clinging to [the father’s] shirt.” Interpretations of theme in this poem can vary, however, the theme of love is clearly present. At the end of the poem the father is not alone, as the boy and death remained with him, “clinging to his shirt.”

The author chose to use one simple event that happened during childhood to describe his father and the childhood the author endured because of it. The author shows how fragile the family structure was by including his mother’s disappointment and disgust during the father’s drunken moments in the night. The walk to bed was a tricky one for the father and Roethke. It is shown through the constant stumbles and by Roethke being consistently injured by his father’s sloppiness. The author talks about how during this walk to bed, that should be a simple task for any father and their child, “every step he missed; My right ear would scrape a buckle” (Roethke, 91). The author highlights this because he is trying to show how one simple task could not be completed very easily due to the clumsiness created by his father’s drunkenness. The author also furthers this point by saying, “We romped until the pans; Slid from the kitchen shelf” (Roethke, 91). 

Lastly, a final theme from the text is that the father is trying to still be a parent to Roethke. Even though alcohol is affecting him and hurting him, there is an argument that he is still trying. The whole story of his “waltz” with the author is a testament to him still desiring to be a good father. Yes, the task itself of the author’s father getting the author to bed is a huge struggle because he is a clumsy drunk. However, although inebriated, it is the author’s father walking him to bed and not the author’s mother. This shows that through the inebriation the father still cares and is trying to parents Roethke and be involved in his life. The father is not perfect, but he is still trying by “waltzing me to bed” (Roethke, 91).

All in all, this is a beautiful piece of literature Roethke wrote. He told a story of his whole childhood in one simple event that would happen each night. Roethke wrote about his father’s heavy drinking, the stress it caused in the family relationships because of his father’s heavy drinking, and in spite of that, the father’s desire to still be a parent to him. These three main themes helped name this short poem “My Papa’s Waltz” because it truly was a dance full of up and downs to get Roethke to bed and to get him through life. 

