
The short poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke is an interesting piece as it can be interpreted in a few different ways. The reader has the option of using the vivid imagery to form the opinion that the father could be one of abusive nature, or they can use the carefully placed rhyme scheme and tone of the passage to discover a more lighthearted dancing theme. Regardless of how one interprets this poem, it is quite clear that Mr. Roethke has taken the time to create a masterful writing that has a rather thin line between that of negative context and that of a joyous time in a young boy’s mind. 

There is strong imagery in place to suggest that the young boy’s papa could, in fact, be a drunken, abusive individual. “The whiskey on [his breath being so strong that it]/ could make a small boy dizzy” (Roethke lines 1,2) certainly creates a heavy drinking personality for this character. The two then proceed to “romp until the pans/ slid from the kitchen shelf” (Roethke lines 5,6), much to the mother’s dismay. This could be a scene in which the father is stumbling around and knocking around all the things in the kitchen. The fact that the mother only frowns and does not scold the two could be meaningful in the way that she is used to this kind of drunken behavior from her husband and feels as if yelling or begging for him to stop would have no positive effects whatsoever. It could also be possible that she may be scared to speak up in fear of the drunken father possibly confronting her. As we continue along in the poem to the next stanza, lines 9-12, we see quite a bit of physical imagery. We see the father gripping tightly to his son’s wrist with a hand that “Was battered on one knuckle” (Roethke line 10), which has implications of a physical altercation or perhaps anger management issues. This again could be referenced back to the mother’s lack of reaction towards the two creating a mess in her kitchen. The father is said to be missing steps which once again proves that he most likely had a little too much to drink. Finally, the child’s dad has made it to his son’s bedroom and “beat[s] time on [his] head/ With a palm caked hard by dirt” (Roethke lines 13, 14). The father may be drinking so heavily because he could possibly be having a hard time financially. The dirty palm could imply a physically strenuous job in field such as construction that may not be bringing in as much money as he would hope thus leading him to drink away his pain and potentially take his anger out at home; thus, the battered knuckle.  Although there is a plethora of literary evidence that may lead to the conclusion that this boy’s father is a drunken, abusive person, there is still a second point of view that has yet to be discussed. 

There are always two sides to every story. At a first glance, one may believe this poem to be on a drunken father who may have an abusive nature but when the text is revisited it is apparent that there may be a second connotation hidden in Roethke’s writing. In this second run through, it may be read as a father coming home after having a little too much whiskey to drink and simply would like to share a waltz with his little son. The rhyme scheme and meter bring a lighthearted dancing atmosphere to the poem, thus helping to form the “waltzing” imagery. The rhyme scheme and tone is reminiscent of a child’s poem or a bed time story furthering the divide between negative connation and positive memory. “But I hung on like death:/ Such waltzing was not easy” (Roethke lines 3, 4) shows that the son, although it is hard, is truly wants to dance with the father. He is gripping “like death” to ensure that the dance is carried out. Earlier, I mentioned that the “mother’s countenance/ [not being able to] unfrown itself” (Roethke lines 7,8) may have been a result of the father routinely coming home overly intoxicated and destroying her kitchen, thus leading her to stay quiet as her previous attempts of scolding him had lead nowhere, but perhaps my prior assessment could be incorrect, for this interpretation at least. It is possible that the mother is not speaking up because she does not want to ruin this moment between her son and husband. She is clearly upset about the kitchen being sent into shambles, but not upset enough to inform the husband of his intolerant behavior in the kitchen. The battered knuckle found on line 10 and the “palm caked hard by dirt” on line 14 could be a reference to the father’s blue-collar job. He is working with his hands all day, thus leading to the bruises or scrapes on his knuckle and the dirt on his hands; furthermore, this could be used to disprove the notion that the blemish on his knuckle is from him lashing out in an abusive nature. As the father is “waltz[ing him] off to bed” (Roethke line 15), the son is “still clinging [tightly] to [his father’s shirt” (Roethke line 16) showing once again that he does not want to let go. The boy seems to wish for this moment to last forever, and it is almost as if he is giving his dad a nice, little goodnight hug before he is put to sleep further strengthening the argument for this being a euphoric moment in this child’s life. 

Mr. Theodore Roethke is able to capture two different story lines in only a mere sixteen-line poem. By masterfully using literary devices such as imagery, rhyme scheme, tone, and meter the author gives us quite the interesting read. While at first one may have thought this poem to be one describing an abusive father who has a tendency to drink a little too much, by simply reading through the poem once more it can become quite evident that it may also be a story describing a rather joyous time in this child’s life. Perhaps, Roethke’s idea behind this poem was more complex than what we see at the surface. Maybe he was trying to make a point about the society we live in today; it may definitely be applied to what our most popular topic of discussion is currently. When making a judgement on a player kneeling instead of standing for the national anthem or a cop shooting a seemingly innocent man (and vice versa), maybe we should take a step back and look at the situation once more just as we did with this poem. We do not have all the details and perhaps there is more to this story than we had initially known. There be some information that we never know, just as we may never truly know if Mr. Roethke intended to tell us a story of an abusive father or a cheerful child sharing a dance. We must always remember that in this world we live in there is always going to be a side shouting to us, insisting that someone has done evil, but in reality there may be than meets the eye. 