 Poems have differing meanings due to how readers interpret the text. Often times poems can have underlying themes that require a critical reader to detect. Literary devices such as metaphors, similes, symbolism, and rhyming affect the development and meaning of the work as a whole. When we look at the metaphor of waltzing in Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” we can see that it alludes to childhood abuse which most people don’t see. This is important because the poem is a way of him expressing what had happened to him in his childhood when he was unable to communicate the pain as he still loved his father. The use of the metaphor is vital to the theme of the poem which is a child’s love for his father is forgiving and naïve.

When people read “My Papa’s Waltz” without much thought they will read it as a poem about doing the dance, the waltz. As the reader analyzes the poem they see it is actually about the speakers abuse from their childhood.  Characteristics of the waltz hold similarities with violence. The repetition of step by step movements in the waltz are contrasted with the stereotypical rough movements of abuse. Through desperate diction the author reveals that despite the “whiskey on [his father’s] breath” (Roethke 1) the son holds onto to his father until “waltzed off to bed” (Roethke 15). The acceptance of his father’s abuse is demonstrated by “clinging” (Roethke14) on until his father took him to bed. By holding onto his father the son demonstrates forgiving love because he understands his father is in a drunken state by the aroma and he still loves and looks up to him as a child would do. The abuse is shown through words like “romped” (Roethke 5), “death” (Roethke 3), “held” (Roethke 9), “battered” (Roethke 10), and “scraped” (Roethke 12). The words give the reader an idea of the pain the boy went through and what occurred during the abuse. “You beat time on my head” (Roethke 13) shows that the abuse was given a certain time just like the waltz has a certain time to do each step. Further developing the theme of waltzing, Roethke gives the next step to the father and child interaction, “then waltzed me off to bed” (Roethke 15). The word “then” creates the step by step set of actions that are in a similar fashion to how steps are followed in the waltz, as the boy is stating what comes next. “At every step you missed” (Roethke 11) extends the metaphor between waltzing and the abuse; speaker shows that certain steps are meant to be taken but get “missed” most likely due to the drunkenness of his father. “Mistake” wouldn’t have been used if there wasn’t a step by step process that took place because there can’t be a mistake if there are no “rules”. When performing the waltz if a step is missed by one partner it is noticeable by the other partner. As for the boy talking in the poem, when his father misses a step his right ear is scraped by a buckle. The father and the son are partners for the waltz so when the father misses a step the mistake is noticed by the son. Using the waltz as a metaphor for the abuse is an indirect way of showing how the abuse occurred in a step by step process that was repeated on more than one occasion with every “mistake” of the father being felt by the son through the form of abuse.

The son in the poem recalls his negative childhood memories and shows how he viewed his father and mother during that time. “My mother’s countenance/could not unfrown itself” (Roethke 7-8) is the only thing said about the mother in the poem which is significant because in 1942 men and women were not viewed equally. Males were the dominant figure in this time and the had all the power in most households. The son in this poem sees his mother’s facial expression and how she was always frowning. From this the son could most likely tell that the father’s abuse was not normal. In the time this poem was published women did not question their husband’s actions as they would be seen as less of a person if they did. The last lines of the poem are, “Then waltzed me off to bed/still clinging to your shirt” (Roethke 15-16) The son states that he still clings to his father’s shirt as he takes him to bed. This shows that through the abuse the son still loves his father and does not want to be separated from him. He doesn’t push his father away for causing him pain but instead he holds onto him in the way one would cling to their most treasured possession. 

The age of the boy speaking can impact why he didn’t view his dad as a terrible person for abusing him. When a person is young they think everything their parents do is right and they look up to them as a role model especially sons with their fathers. Now as the son looks back on the experience he is realizing how terrible his father was and how his mother saw his pain. His mother probably felt helpless as she could not stand up to her husband but she didn’t like seeing the pain inflicted on her son. The rhyming creates a childish setting and demonstrates that boy was young when the incidents were repeatedly occurring. At a young age the boy most likely didn’t know how to express what was happening in his home life. Also he probably did not realize that being abused was not a normal thing, since it occurred regularly for him. He did not speak out when he was younger but, now that he is older and looks back on the trauma he feels okay to open up about it in a subtle way through a metaphorical poem.

By taking a closer look at the poem the metaphor comparing the waltz to the abuse becomes evident. Relating the steps and timing that occurs in the waltz to the abuse the boy endured was a way to express the repetitiveness and step by step actions that occurred. Since the boy loved his father through the childhood abuse and still looked up to him he most likely did not want to bash his father in an outright way but make it subtler so people would know what had happened if they analyzed the poem closely. 
