Theodore Roethke illustrates in his poem My Papa’s Waltz, that the father-son relationship is a very complex and deep mystery. Roethke (1908-1963) was born in Saginaw, Michigan and grew up helping his father tend the family’s twenty-five-acre greenhouse. Roethke’s father was a German immigrant and from what Roethke’s writing tells us, his father was a very stiff, hard-working man, just as most immigrants during the early Twentieth Century were. Immigrants and working class men during that era were generally fueled by their determinations to create a better life for their families and would do anything in their power to make it happen. Growing up as a child during these times meant very little childhood at all. Children were raised by tough words and the belt, which caused a psychological strain on the child and father-son relationship. In Theodore Roethke’s, My Papa’s Waltz, the author uses contrast and diction to explain the relationship between father and son in this poem. 

First, Roethke uses contrast to try and explain the complexity of father-son relationships (especially in the Twentieth Century). Roethke uses the imagine of a waltz in his poem and goes further by contrasting his experiences and attitudes towards his father through the waltz. In the first stanza, the author illustrates how his father’s drinking is something relatively positive when he writes, “The whiskey on your breath / Could make a small boy dizzy: / But I hung on like death…” (Line 1-3). A strong smell of alcohol on a person’s breath in never interpreted as a good thing in society and it is typically associated with alcoholism or heavy-drinking, but Roethke explains that he “hung on like death” (Line 3). It is not typical for someone to hang onto something like the strong smell of alcohol since it is custom for people to be repulsed by such things, but it is part of how Roethke uses contrast to relay his point. Roethke’s use of contradictions alone shows how a father-son relationship in the early Twentieth Century is a complex, delicate connection.

Roethke uses diction—word choice—to help creatively describe his relationship with his father. Diction can be used in many ways, for example, some words have softer sounds whereas some have harsh sounds. Sounds can help set the tone for a piece. In Line 3, Roethke writes, “But I hung on like death.” In this line, “death” is a word with hard sounding consonants and death itself is a harsh word. The use of this literary device—cacophony—gives the readers a more imaginative and meaningful experience when interpreting the piece. In this poem, the writer uses contradictions throughout the paper and he uses cacophony and euphony—soft sounding words—to help enrich the contradictions. In the third stanza, Roethke writes, “The hand that held my wrist / Was battered on one knuckle; / At every step you missed / My right ear scraped by a buckle” (Line 9-12). This portion of the piece uses both contrast and cacophony and euphony. In Line 9, his father is shown to have held his wrists which is not an intimate way to treat your child. The use of “wrist” (Line 9) shows the coldness of the father. Next, the writer describes the one of the knuckles that held his wrists and it was “battered” (Line 10). A battered knuckle most likely comes from hard-work which further shows the intensity of the father. Lastly, he wrote, “At every step you missed / My right eat scraped a belt” (Line 10-11). In these two last lines, Roethke describes that if he missed a step of ‘the waltz’ then he would be greeted with the belt, which was a punishment device. This again shows the intensity of the father even with something as simple as missing a step. Despite all the harshness toward the son, Roethke still writes, “You beat time on my head / With a palm caked hard by dirt, / Then waltzed me off to bed / Still clinging to your shirt.” In the end, the brutality of the father may have caused strain on Roethke but it still created a deep, complex bond between his father and him. 

Overall, Theodore Roethke explains the relationship between father and son in his poem, My Papa’s Waltz, by using contrast and diction. There was clearly a lot of tension between Roethke and his father by the images and symbols Roethke presented. Even though the stern, abrasive actions of the father were hard on the son, the son still felt the tough love given by his father. Using contrast and diction in literature helps writers creatively and effectively teach their lessons and stories to readers. They both take messages and meanings to a deeper level by forcing the readers to dig into the words of the piece and interpret what they mean.
