




The thematic poem My Papa’s Waltz seems to hold the job of operating as an ambiguous vessel for a young boy to communicate the abuse he receives to the surrounding audience.  The first two lines of My Papa’s Waltz by Theodore Roethke implies a tone of uncertainty right away, with what seems to be a form of introducing the father who appears to be an alcoholic suffering from alcoholism, 

“The whiskey on your breath 

Could make a small boy dizzy” (Roethke 1-2). 

 Alcohol, and those who abuse it. have a dark past of being very violent violence, examining abuse; the thematic tone of behavior that can be determined as violent, is exposed to the audience at the start of the poem. Roethke is aware that his father has a bad habit of consuming great quantities of alcohol, but also metaphorically allowing the reader to assume just how toxic this behavior is due to the father’s intake of copious amounts of alcohol, laying an egg about his father’s alcoholism. 

The next two lines, three and four, escalate the climaxing violence at hand, adding to what thematic elements of violence throughout My Papa’s Waltz contains by showing the violent actions his father takes while under the influence of alcohol.

“But I hung on like death:

Such waltzing was not easy” (3-4)

Roethke highlights what appears to be an unescapable theme of death whilst talking about the “waltz”.  Roethke is clearly stating that the Waltz almost appears to be like death.  Many families that have had a member or members of their family suffering from alcoholism appear to have the feeling of no escape from the abuse that the alcoholic causes. Roethke attempts to remain as ambiguous as he can, never claiming that there was any violence, but instead turns it around to sound as if it is merely a dance instead of abuse.

Roethke attempts to convey the violent nature of his father which is without a doubt denial in lines five through eight.

“We romped until the pans

Slid from the kitchen shelf;

My mother’s countenance

Could not unfrown herself.” (5-8) 

Roethke dissects the “Waltz” he does with his father as merely “romping around”, which in normal circumstances would be a playful dance full of joy; but the diction of the poem regarding to the “pans sliding from the shelfs” tell the audience that this “waltz” is an act of violence.  Roethke continues to address the violent nature by showing his mother’s clear disapproval the horrible actions the father is taking by the fact she cannot “unfrown herself”.  Everyone in an abusive relationship is a victim, the speakers mother is clearly feeling trapped as the speaker is. 

Lastly, Roethke further explores his father’s violence in lines nine through twelve, where it appears to have escalated to a climax:

“The hand that held my wrist

 Was battered on one knuckle

At every step you missed

My right ear scraped a buckle” (9-12)

Roethke exposes even more of the violence in his life during this stanza; his statement of the “battered knuckle” in line 10, beyond any doubt proves his father was hitting him extremely hard. Roethke’s right ear was scraped by a buckle in line 12 which further talks of the extreme abuse he was taking on in his household. A violent tactic that has been used often as a form of punishment, is the use of a belt, and belt buckle, to punish a victim, and based on the poem Roethke without a doubt was subject to this violence. As the poem continues, so does the violent nature of the father.  The violence of the father continues until it is surely climaxing, and the speaker has grown accustomed to this treatment by his father. The climax of this horrific waltz, not only effects the father, but all of those he harms.  Anyone audience who comes across this tet should have no issues realizing the abuse that the speaker is undergoing.

In Roethke’s My Papa’s Waltz there is a perpetuating theme of violence and alcoholism. The speaker almos appears to reject that his father is violent, being very ambiguous, but in evaluation diction, and tone allows the reader to realize the true violence in this “Waltz”.  The speaker must live in a violent environment, but he won’t allow himself to see it that way, and consequentially has to make these terrible event appear to be positive. The trapped boy in this poem falls prey to domestic violence.  The speaker appears to be calling for help, because he is aware he cannot free himself from the horrible home he is been living in.