
The youth is portrayed in literature as a cohort embodying purity who hold a naïve perspective on the world they live in. Children symbolize innocence and are viewed as this upcoming generation who have not yet been influenced by society. This concept connects to major themes in “My Papa’s Waltz”, which are presented through the various literary devices utilized in the poem in order to enhance the author’s message. Theodore Roethke uses the most basic rhyme scheme in poetry to portray the simple mind of a child, and how their youth and innocence prevents them from identifying the difference between an abusive relationship and a loving one, which is the fundamental reason for why this issue is so prevalent. Child abuse has become such a widespread issue because the victims have such a limited knowledge of the world and are unable to realize that this type of relationship is not normal. 

Besides rhyme scheme, the author also incorporates symbolism with the waltz in the title of the poem to enhance his message that similarly to dances, child abuse has become part of the culture of society. The title of the poem is “My Papa’s Waltz” and a waltz is a type of dance. Dances are very specific customs of a nation that over time become part of the culture. A country’s characteristics make up its culture and the culture defines who the people are and how they act. Roethke incorporates a type of dance in the title to symbolize child abuse and to highlight how this type of relationship has become rooted in the culture of the United States. A symbol is an object that represents a larger idea and in this case the waltz is symbolizing child abuse. He refers to child abuse as a dance, which enhances the idea that this issue not only exists, but is exhibited by the people and has become part of the identity of society. The author incorporates the waltz in the title to not only symbolize child abuse, but to help establish the flow and rhythm in the stanzas. 

The title of the poem contains a type of dance, which is utilized by Roethke to create rhythm and flow in the poem that is steady like a waltz. A waltz is a dance with a fixed beat and smooth flow. The author writes with lines that contain either six or seven syllables, which yield steady flow like the waltz itself. Roethke writes in the first stanza, “The whiskey on your breath/ Could make a small boy dizzy;/ But I hung on like death:/ Such waltzing was not easy” (90). The first and third line have six syllables, while the second and fourth lines have seven. This pattern is almost exactly repeated throughout the course of the poem, while in some stanzas all the lines exhibit six syllables. This correlates to the timing of the waltz. The rhythmic timing of the lines is similar to the rhythmic timing of the waltz. The author enhances the value of the title by making the rhythm and flow of the poem adhere to similar characteristics of the waltz.  

Roethke also incorporates imagery when writing about the son being punished for helping his father walk, which exemplifies how children in those types of relationships learn that abusive behavior is acceptable and is not an issues that should be resolved. The author describes the son trying to help his father during the incident when he writes, “The hand that held my wrist/ Was battered on one knuckle;/At every step you missed/ My right ear scraped a buckle” (91). The abuse is portrayed with the injured knuckle, which can be assumed to be battered from harming his child. Roethke then uses imagery to help the reader envision what the situation looks like. The father is stumbling around due to the whiskey that he had been drinking and the effects of intoxication. In this moment, the child is leaning against the father to offer physical support as the father struggles, which is exemplified by his head scraping the belt buckle. The child’s love for his father is fueling his decision to help him because he does not want to see him struggling to walk. The child has his head pressing at the father’s waist because of his youth and size difference. He is attempting to help his father; however, the father is inadvertently punishing the child by scraping him with the belt buckle and inflicting pain. This belt buckle symbolizes false discipline as the child is being punished for assisting his father. This punishment teaches the child and the youth dealing with this abuse that their parent’s behavior is not wrong and that they should not try to help because this is normal. The author addresses how false discipline teaches the youth how certain behaviors are acceptable when are not in actuality. This is a major theme that connects to the lack of knowledge in the children and how their youth prevents them from determining what type of relationship is acceptable in society. 

Roethke utilizes the most simplistic rhyme scheme in his poem to correlate to the simple minds of children and how their youth and innocence inhibits their ability of knowing that the abusive relationship they are in is not tolerated in society. The author incorporates the alternate rhyme scheme in his work, which is the most basic type used in literature. The style follows the pattern of “ABABCDCD”, which is simply alternative rhymes in each line. Roethke wants the audience to view his poem as very basic like the mind of a child. Since they are so young and oblivious to the world they live in, they have no way of knowing how wrong their situation is. They see no difference between a healthy and abusive relationship, which is a huge factor for why this issue occurs. If the children only knew how their parents are not exhibiting normal behavior, then they would be able to potentially get help at a young age. The children demonstrate their lack of knowledge when Roethke writes, “Then waltzed me off to bed/ Still clinging to your shirt” (91). The child is demonstrating love after all the abuse that has happened and is showing his desire for affection from his father. The child is clinging to the shirt and striving to have a loving relationship, but his father is physically abusive. This highlights how the child knows there is a certain type of relationship between the two, but the father is making a physical one seem to be normal. The author also makes child abuse seem normal with the simplicity of the rhyme scheme. The rhyming pattern used is very average and is nothing extraordinary. This connects to child abuse not being seen as something out of the ordinary when it is. By incorporating a very modest rhyme scheme, the author makes the subject of the poem to not be read to the degree of importance as it actually is. Roethke identifies the root of the problem to be in the perception of a proper relationship and how their lack of knowledge allows an abusive parent to mold their minds of what expectations of a relationship should be like. 

Theodore Roethke incorporates many literary devices and themes in “My Papa’s Waltz” to pass his message of child abuse onto the reader and why it is such a prevailing issue in society. The most significant device utilized is his simplistic rhyme scheme, which is aimed to parallel to the simple mind of a child and how they are unable to tell the difference between a healthy relationship and an abusive one because of their lack of knowledge of the world. This is a major issue that has become fabricated into the culture of society and needs to be resolved. A resolution for child abuse is an issue that will require many years to learn, similarly to learning the waltz. 
