
Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” is written from the perspective of the son of a father plagued by alcoholism.  Within its lines, the writer tells of the trials of being raised by an alcoholic and speaks of both the mental and physical torture he endured. Throughout the poem, Roethke speaks of the ongoing “waltz” of his relationship between he and his father.

In the first stanza, Roethke speaks of the distinct, dizzying smell of alcohol on His father’s breath saying, “The whiskey on your breath, Could make a small boy dizzy;”.  Anyone who has been around alcohol knows the smell, and Roethke wants this smell to be fresh within the mind.  Although he is distraught by his father’s alcoholism, the boy still loved his father and tried to maintain a loving relationship with his father, saying “But I hung on like death:”, like any child should to their father (or father figure).  However, maintaining this relationship proved to be difficult for the child, and Roethke writes that “Such waltzing was not easy.”, referring to the stumbling of walking his drunken father to bed and likely as well as about their relationship, a waltz of good days and bad days for the alcoholic and his wife and son. 

In the second stanza, Roethke writes about the fights he had with his father, describing such great acts of drunken violence and anger that he and his father both fought until pans fell in their kitchen, saying, “We romped until the pans, Slid from the kitchen shelf;” Although the writer says they romped, considering the poem is written from the perspective of a small child, in all likelihood this probably refers to the father’s drunken abuse of the child and mother, causing him to march around the house angrily demanding more from his wife and child.  He also writes about the desperation of his mother, looking on with a “countenance [that] Could not unfrown itself.”  This probably refers to the severe depression from the abuse Roethke’s mother suffered from having to deal with an alcoholic while raising a young boy. 

In the third stanza, he writes about having to walk to stabilize his father for his own protection, writing “The hand that held my wrist, Was battered on one knuckle;”, likely referring to the father’s constant blackouts and falls from which he has injured himself, which is common with drunks.  During the stabilization of his father, he also writes that “At every step you missed, My right ear scraped a buckle.” Referring to his father’s drunken stumbles towards him during his “waltz” to escort his father to the bedroom.  The scrape of the buckle against the boy’s ear confirms that the poem is written from the perspective of a child. 

In the fourth and final stanza, Roethke speaks about how watching over his father forced him to grow up, saying “You beat time on my head”.  Undoubtedly, the drunken father forced the child to experience things no child should ever have to endure, abuse and responsibility which no child should be required to handle.  Again, referencing his father’s drunken falls, he speaks of the hand of his father, stained with dirt taken by his falls “With a palm caked hard by dirt,”.  Again and again Roethke references these falls, likely to point out that they happened so often.  And finally, the father “Then waltzed me off to bed,” Again, comparing the drunken stumble to a dance between the father and son. However, despite the rocky relationship, the son continues “Still clinging to [the father’s] shirt”.  Like a good son, the child still loves and cares for his father, however longing for his father to step into the shoes of a true father figure.