
In 1963, James Dickey, a famous Poet Laureate at the time, called Theodore Roethke, “the greatest poet this country has yet produced.” Over a decade later, James Dickey still agreed with his prior statement. Theodore Roethke spent his childhood living in the green fields of Michigan. When Roethke was a teenager, his father tragically died from cancer and within the same month, his uncle committed suicide. The catastrophic deaths in combination with manic depressive episodes would soon start to take a toll on Roethke. In “My Papa’s Waltz” the reader has to determine whether one wants to take the language metaphorically rather than literally due to the ambiguous language used. To me, the language describes a memory of a loving father and son’s relationship. Theodore Roethke’s early life experiences effect the style of writing used in, “My Papa’s Waltz,” which is proven by the unclear effects used in all aspects of the poem. 

The title of Theodore Roethke’s poem, “My Papa’s Waltz” is quite misleading. The confusion of a reader may begin at the first line of the poem. Instead of believing that this is truly about a waltz with a father, one may think it is straight up abuse. The entirety of the literature has a distinct rhyme scheme; every other line rhymes using the last word in each line. The lines are quite short therefore there is a tendency to read them at a faster pace versus if they were long. As a direct result of the short lines and the rhyme scheme, one can argue that the poem is not supposed to be extremely serious. The waltz is an elegant and smooth dance, with the tempo varying from slow to fast. The structure of the poem mimics just that. The boy is describing the good times and the bad times that he had with his father. A relationship between a father and son are typically not simple. Relationships are complex, which the author describes just that. Due to the complexity, the ambiguous nature is a product of just that. Theodore Roethke’s relationship with his father was definitely not simple. I believe that the author is trying to only remember the good times and forget the negatives. Furthermore, the title itself uses the words, “my,” and “papa.” These two words are linked together because they express emotion. The word my, immediately infers that he is talking about his own experiences. In addition, Papa is commonly known as a friendlier term for father. If the son did not have a good relationship with him, he would more than likely of called him father. The title of the poem and the physical structure of the poem is quite ambiguous. It displays the fast pace lifestyle that Roethke once lived and I believe that he is looking back and wishing he could have slowed down and danced with his father one more time. 

Ever since the poem was published much controversy has erupted due to the complex structure and the double meanings of the words given. Roethke so eloquently wrote, “My Papa’s Waltz” with distinct intention to have a reader look deeply into their life, to see if they too have any memories like this. Life and relationships are not always going to be clear cut. One may be confused at times. Although the lines are rather short, each has a complicated meaning. Therefore, from the beginning to the end relays a story. Each displaying more and more information about the relationship between a son and father. On the surface of the poem, words such as “battered,” “beat” and “death” stand out far more than words such as “waltz” and “romp.” There are obviously two interpretations a person can have. I believe that it is a memory of the son wanting to relive the memories at hand. This implies that the father was not abusing the boy. Rather, he would play around with his child after long work days. The first stanza has many key lines, “But I hung on like death:/ Such waltzing was not easy.” The word choice here is quite interesting. Instead of being straight forward, Roethke used the word “death” which typically describes a sorrowful story. I believe that Roethke is instead trying to hold on to what was and cannot be now. In the second stanza stands out by having double meanings stating, “We romped until the pans/ Slid from the kitchen shelf;/ My mother’s countenance/ Could not unfrown itself.” The words “romped” and “countenance” truly are ambiguous. To me, the word romped in this most nearly means playing or fooling around, not the father abusing him. In addition, the mother plays a small yet key role in the story. Due to the nature of the duo making a mess in the kitchen, the mother’s countenance, facial expression, is portrayed as a negative. She is only frowning because of the mess that they are making. The physical words that Roethke chose are directly correlated to why his early life experiences effect the style of writing. Roethke is unsure of what to make of the relationship with his father. The relationship was rather complex, and instead of looking at all the negatives, he wants to relive the joyous times. 

One of the most important aspects of the poem is the literary devices used to describe the waltz of the relationship. There are many used, but the biggest is imagery. It is rather easy to play out this poem in one’s head when reading, but gets more difficult when one analyzes. It begins with the first lines stating, “The whiskey on your breath/ Could make a small boy dizzy.” The use of the sense of smell is rather impactful compared to all the other senses. Smell correlates with memories, which the son recounts. The father may have been drinking, but I do not believe that he is a complete drunk. I believe Roethke placed this as the first line to question the relationship. I deem that the boy could smell the whiskey because he was very close to his father. Roethke worked with his father for most of his childhood, so he misses being with him all the time. The imagery being used is due to Roethke’s previous experiences. 

As a child, events occur whether good or bad. Children are naïve in many situations and do not truly understand the entirety of the situation until later in life. When recounting all the events that happened as a child, a person may have a different perspective due to the maturity and realization of becoming older. In the poem of, “My Papa’s Waltz” Theodore Roethke’s experiences as a child are recounted. His father had passed away when he was a teenager which affected him tremendously. I believe that the poem does not have an abusive aspect involved, but rather a loving positive memory. The ambiguous language is used to create a sense of the son missing his father in which he will always try to “cling to his shirt.” 