
“My Papa’s Waltz” can be a poem to which many readers can switch their position on the type of relationship, whether abusive or loving, that an assumed son and father have. The first stanza in “My Papa’s Waltz” can make a reader unsure of what their stance is on the relationship. The poem discusses in the first two lines “The smell of whiskey on your breath, it could make a small boy dizzy.” (Roethke 90- lines 1-2) Although this seems to point to the drinker as an alcoholic and the relationship might be abusive, lines three and four provide evidence that the relationship between the two is loving. By looking at the first stanza, we can see how a young boy loves his father. He loves his father even though he drinks large amounts of alcohol by stating that he “hangs on like death-” (Roethke 90-line 3) The lines can make the reader feel unsure if the boy’s father is an ideal father figure.  Through a close reading of this section, the clues provided in the context can reassure that the relationship is affectionate. In the first two lines of the stanza, the reader can assume that the relationship between the father and the boy is abusive. Although, after looking at the last two lines of the first stanza, it clearly shows that the boy makes an effort to be with his father, and love him.

    “The whiskey on your breath” (Roethke 90- line 1) is the first line in the poem. Immediately, the reader is shown a negative image. Using that phrase, the reader automatically relates the alcohol on someone’s breath to excessive drinking, which could ultimately lead to conflict. However, heavy drinking is not always a catalyst for conflict. The only way that we can know if the drinking causes problems in the family is the assurance of the speaker. The situation could be that the man who is drinking works very hard during the week. After a long, hard week of working, the man comes home and drinks to relax. Although drinking to relax might be a possibility, the poem implies that the whiskey on someone’s breath is a negative connotation. Does this mean that whoever is drinking the whiskey is abusive? No, it does not. A reader can interpret a text in many ways. By looking only at the first two lines of the stanza, a reader can interpret something that is entirely different than what the entire stanza states as a whole.

    “Could make a small boy dizzy” (Roethke 90 – line 2) is the second line of the stanza. By this point, the reader knows that the man drinks a lot of whiskey. Obviously drinking more alcohol, will make a person more drunk, and potentially more aggressive. This can lead a reader to imply that the relationship is abusive. The poem uses a small boy as an example.  It is interesting that the poem uses (boy), rather than the word (child-) This can clarify that the relationship is between a father and a son. The poem is titled “My Papa’s Waltz.” The name papa also reassures us that the relationship in the poem is between a father and son. 

     The third line of the stanza immediately changes the tone of the story.  The phrase “But I hung on like death” seems to be a change in tone for the reader. By looking at the third line, the understanding of the poem changes. Line three can resemble the boy hanging on with his father through tough times. The “but” in line three can imply that the boy often gets frustrated with the alcohol that his father consumes. The word “but” seems like it is used by the boy as a resolution from his father’s drinking. Though the boy seems somewhat aggravated with his father’s drinking, this does not mean that the relationship is abusive. The line states “but I hung on.” The boy loves his father enough to overlook the drinking that his father does. The speaker uses the words - like death. The phrase “like death” is an important figurative device to look at in this stanza. By using the words – like death, the speaker implies that whatever he or she is holding on to must be very important. By using the word “death” we know that the speaker is serious. The word usually has a strong meaning in a text. Instead of stating “I hung on tightly or firmly,” the author chooses to use the phrase, ‘like death.’ It is clear by looking at the wording used in this line, the speaker is hanging on to something that is important in their life. By looking at the title (My Papa’s Waltz) we can gather information to show how this could possibly be this young boy hanging on to his father. By looking at the use of the word alcohol and describing how the father drinks enough to make the boy dizzy, the reader can see that the boy is trying to hold on to the father somehow. Whether physically or emotionally. This line might represent that the child is trying to hang on to his relationship with his father. The alcohol might be a distraction for the father, but the boy holds on to the relationship that the two have.

    The last line from stanza one says “Such waltzing was not easy.” (Roethke 90 – line 4) Up to this point of the poem, the reader knows that the father drinks alcohol, but it is clear from the third line “but I hung on like death” (Roethke 90 – line 3) that this does not affect the young boy. The word waltzing in line 4 could only mean one thing, the dance (waltz.) The waltz is a style of dance where two dancers hold hands and begin to take long steps toward many different directions. It is clear that the waltz can be difficult for someone who is drunk. By waltzing, the poem shows how the father might like to have a good time. The father enjoys waltzing. Dancing might be the father’s way of relaxing after a long week. The father might be drunk, but he is having fun. The boy states that “it was not easy.” The boy ultimately waltzes with his father because he loves him, no matter how difficult it might be. 

    “My Papa’s Waltz” can be a poem that if not read entirely, a reader can make an incorrect determination by not looking at the text as a whole. Looking at the first stanza of the poem, the first two lines indicate the heavy amount of alcohol that the father consumes. The last two lines in the stanza can resolve that although the boy might be frustrated with his father’s drinking habits, he loves him enough to “hang on like death.” This can show an image of a young boy hanging on to his father while he is drunk, but it has a bigger picture. The boy is hanging on to the love that he has for his father. He his hanging on “like death.” From the context in the last two lines of the stanza, we can assure that the relationship between the father and the son is a relationship that is loving and not abusive.
