While most readers of “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke have said it is a poem illustrating a father and son waltzing to bed, a close and careful reading depicts the son’s story of his abusive and neglectful relationship. This is demonstrated though the use of metaphors and similes, abusive words, knowledge of the time period, and 

To completely understand "My Papa's Waltz" you must have insight into Theodore Roethke's life. Like any young boy, Roethke idolized his father.  This poem is written about his father who tragically died of cancer when he was only fifteen years old. After his death, Roethke fought depression as an effect of this tragedy. It is also important to notice the time period this work was written in. In the early 1900’s depression wasn't recognized and treated as a mental illness like it is today, which is why Roethke was still struggling with his father’s death and memory even after twenty years. It was easy to buy into Roethke’s attempt to mask his deeper meaning, but after a closer reading it is evident to me that "My Papa's Waltz" was written as a way to express the emotions he felt from the loss of his father.

While reading “My Papa’s Waltz” it is easy to picture a happy childhood memory of a father and son dancing through the house on the way to bed. With a closer depiction, you can see the hurt Roethke is hiding in his poem. "The whisky on your breath could make a small boy dizzy" (Roethke 1) intels there is a deeper meaning Roethke is trying to express. In the 1940’s, this line would have been bypassed without second thought. Department of Social Services was not going to take a child away for the parents being intoxicated while they were supposed to be caring for a child. This act was considered socially acceptable, yet he still chooses to disclose that his father was drinking. This was a sly way for Roethke to show his father’s alcohol abuse. Roethke was not writing “My Papa’s Waltz” reflecting on one night in his childhood, he is reflecting on childhood memories with his dad as a whole. Roethke also had a prominent use of abusive words such as romped, scraped, bartered, knuckle, beat, and held. This shows that alcohol was not the only thing his father was abusing. 

Roethke hid his true meanings through the use of metaphors. In the first line, he described how the whisky on his dad’s breath made him dizzy. Whisky is a strong, dark liquor which is parallel to the strong dark affect his father had on him. In the very next line he said, “But I hung on like death” (Roethke 3). This line is a simile that shows even through the abuse he still loved his father. Subsequently the use of the word death was not a coincidence; he wrote this poem after struggling with his father’s death for over twenty years. If you continue reading one of the most important metaphors is in the very next line “such waltzing was not easy” (Roethke 4). The waltz is a traditional fast, back and forth dance. He used the waltz to describe the abuse from his father as back and forth, and goes on to say how hard it was for him.

“My Papa’s Waltz” also gives a glimpse into the patriarchal dominated society. “My mother’s countenance could not unfrown itself” (Roethke 7 & 8). This demonstrated how abuse was handled in the early 1900’s. Roethke made it clear that his mother witnesses the abuse, and while she did not approve, she did nothing to stop it. Men are seen as the dominate head of the house, and domestic violence against women and children was extremely common during this time period.  Women are seen by society as weak and inferior to men. It was uncommon for women to speak out or report their husband for abuse. While awareness of domestic violence has improved in society today unfortunately these statements still hold true today which allows men to continue to get away with abuse. This is why Roethke chose to express his story of childhood through a more indirect method:  poetry. His poem is his medium to express his feelings without blatantly accusing his father of abuse. Remember this was an era that did not discuss feelings, emotions and personal issues publically.  Although Roethke was abused and emotionally scarred by his father it was obvious that he loved his father deeply and this may have been his way of protecting him yet expressing his own pain.

Roethke also expresses the emotional abuse he experienced. He reveals his father’s absence, “At every step you missed” (Roethke 11), and goes onto show how his father would put the blame on him for his own mishaps, “My right ear scraped a buckle” (Roethke 12). He specified his right ear to show his punishment and abuse while he did nothing wrong. Roethke then illustrated his father’s filthy hands “with a palm caked hard by dirt” (Roethke 14), quite literally mocking him and the common phrase “there’s no dirt on my hands” showing that all the dirt and/or guilt was in fact placed on him. Roethke then ends the poem showing no change had occurred in their relationship “Then waltzed me off to bed still clinging to your shirt” (Roethke 15& 16). His father was still an abusive deadbeat and Roethke still yearned for his love. 

Close reading of a piece of literature can completely change the meaning of any work.  At first glance you see “My Papa’s Waltz” as a cute childhood memory of a father and son waltzing to bed; but after reflecting on the poem, you realize Roethke’s poem has a much deeper, raw meaning. He was telling the heartbreaking story of his abusive childhood and an absentee father. 
