Theodore Roethke experienced the unfortunate death of his father when he was just a teenager (Harley, and Fisk 90). Imagine how this would change your life if you have not experienced it. This is said to have shaped some of Roethke’s best poetry through highly emotional memories. In Roethke’s childhood, much like his poem “My Papa’s Waltz” his father has a job working with his hands to get his family by. It is prevalent in the poem that the son realizes the negative effects alcohol has on his father, while becoming aware that he works hard to support their family. Although the boy may not know his father is drunk because he is quite young, he still loves his father so much despite the way he behaves.  

When referring to his father the son strikes a hostile imagery. “You beat time on my head” is said in the poem (91).The important word from this quote of stanza four is beat. The author could have used many other words but this one stands out profoundly. This hints at how the drunken father may inadvertently be playing rough with the child more than he is able to notice. The father is telling the boy it is time for bed when he is beating time on his head. Again the term beating is used to show that the dad is not politely asking the boy if he is ready for bed. Instead he is commanding his son that it is time for bed at once. The importance of the father telling his son to go to bed in such a way is that the son is effected by it much more than his father. The boy is uncomfortable due to the harsh demeanor his father has .On the contrary the father is unaware of his abrupt way of telling his son that it is time for bed. He does not realize the negative effects of alcohol that cause him to be so rough on his son. The feeling conveyed from the text makes the reader feel bad for the son in this situation. This is similar to stanza three the quote “At every step you missed my right ear scraped a buckle” (91). The dad may be enjoying himself mentally and seams to just be stumbling around the house. This is different to how the son sees this instance. The boy is getting hurt every step they seem to take together. Only when the father does his waltz the boy seems to get hurt from his rough actions. The innocent son is not enjoying the experience and the father seems to think what he is doing is completely fine because he does not change throughout the text. 

The man of the house has not changed much in the story, or in the recent years of his life. The constant hard labor from his work is referred to in the text as “With a palm caked by dirt” (91). This has a striking imagery of a sizable manly hand smothered in a dusty coat of dirt. It appears as if the father works with basic wooden or metal tools and has done so for quite some time. It is great to see that he is acknowledged for his hard work in the mind of his son. Using the word palm is a way to show manual labor being done by the father as he unwinds from another undesirable day of work. The father was in no way portrayed in a weak or feminine manner. For the son, even at a young age, to witness his father coming home exhausted from work must have made the son empathize with his father. Wanting more success for his father without question entered the sons mind. That success could be measured in numerous fashions: health, wealth, love, happiness, etc. Knowing that his father doesn't have many choices to improve, the boy simply notices that his dad works very hard and he admires him for that. The dirty palm has a similarity to the third stanza of “My Papa’s Waltz”. From that stanza is stated “The hand that held my wrist battered on one knuckle” (91). Once again a depiction of a very labor intensive work is implied through the text. The word battered shows a sign of roughness, but in the previous sentence there is a literary bullet proof vest. This literary vest is the word held. Instead of clenching, clasping, squeezing, or even grabbing, the father simply held. Saving the boy from possibly being battered like the knuckle he is merely held by his dads hand.

After being told to get some rest and realizing the detail of his fathers hand, the young boy was put to bed. In the text it is said as  “Then waltzed me off to bed” (91). This waltz is a term that makes the reader imagine a drunken man walking, in an unusual way. The father seams to step in a repeated pattern of three steps. One of which may be a stumble, not the basic one, two, one, two. Much like a waltz, the poems rhyme scheme is based off the number three. This waltz gives the boy an understanding of his dad acting a different way, which he may perceive to be something odd, yet he is unable to understand the concept of being drunk at the time. From reading the poem you can notice the rugged pattern by the out of place rhyme scheme. Through further interpretation this replicates the waltz of the father, hesitating and adding another step, or in the poem, another syllable. A main reason the reader can depict the young age of the boy is depicted in stanza three of “My Papa’s Waltz”. It is stated as “My right ear scraped a buckle” (19). The height of the boy is just above the waistline of his father making him quite young and new to an understanding of alcohol. The boy using the term waltz is a kinder word that shows his blindness to the effects of alcohol. 

Alcohol is known to have many negative effects on those who abuse it. There are often stories of how ridding oneself of alcoholism for the love of another person is such an amazing and honorable feat. Similar but at the same time not is the meaning behind “My Papa’s Waltz”. The similarity is unconditional love. The force of unconditional love cannot be tamed or measured. It is said in the text “Still clinging to your shirt”(91). The son of a drunken father has unconditional love for him although the outcome of drinking is not in the best interest of his family. This love is shown using an exquisite word choice. Clinging stands out as a word with passion behind it. The word “still” reveals no matter the previous actions or circumstances of the father. For the son to cling to his father’s shirt exemplifies unconditional love. A similar action to clinging, could be hanging on. From Stanza one it says “But I hang on like death”(91). Hanging on to a physical activity is exemplified in this context while clinging goes deeper to the emotional aspects of the story. In both instances the boy is outstretched for his father. Death imposes a harsh demeanor to the text as necessary for a drunk man. The text is trying to say that the boy will hold on or love his father although he is not fond of his father when drunk. Unconditional love is something almost only ever given to family. The love is prominent in the young boy’s emotion toward his father. But this love is not given favorably. Because of how drunk the father gets it is given despite an uncomfortable or possibly hostile environment. It is important the way the son blindly recognizes the unfamiliar waltz his father does.

Although not ideal, the uncanny way the father walks is not criticized. The boy is thankful that he has a hard working father. Although he may not understand what happens while someone is drunk the son knows something is off when his dad does the waltz. Above all, regardless of the fathers actions, the sons love for him is never reduced. The true test of your love for someone is if you still love and support them after they have negative actions and emotions. 
