A piece of writing as short as a 16 line poem can be layered with endless hidden meanings, feelings, and other aspects of critical writing.  “My Papa’s Waltz”, by Theodore Roethke is a poem telling the story of a young boy with an abusive and alcoholic father.  The boy uses irony when labeling the situation, strong diction to make the poem harsh, and imagery so that the reader has a picture of the household.  Through these three literary devices, the reader can interpret that the young boy still loved and respected his father, even though the relationship was abusive.  

The first close reading aspect that leads to a clear interpretation of the text is the irony of the poem.  The title of the poem is ‘My Papa’s Waltz’ which is ironic because a waltz is something beautiful and fluent,  when really the ‘waltz’ is representing the way the little boy dances around the situation.  By the author calling it a waltz, a reader can understand that the boy sees beauty in his father even in such an ugly situation.  After three stanzas of explaining how abusive the dad was and how scared the boy and his mom were, the poem then ends with “Then waltzed me off the bed still clinging to your shirt” (Roethke 91).  The boy is explaining that he still holds on tightly to his father, and through this the reader can see irony because the boy is reacting differently than one would expect.  Because of this obvious irony, it allows the reader to interpret the true meaning clearly.  The boy is blind to the problems with his father, because part of him still loves his father, so he parallels abuse with a dance.

The second was to understand the text with close reading is by studying the diction that the author used.  In the first stanza the words ‘whiskey’ and ‘breath’ are used so the reader immediately knows there is an alcohol problem.  Later in the first stanza, the boy says “But I hung on like death; Such waltzing was not easy” (Roethke 90).  The two words that stood out here are ‘death’ and ‘waltzing’.  By studying this diction in the same stanza, a reader can spot the contradiction between the positive and the negative, and can understand the situation the boy is explaining, without the boy necessarily saying it.  Later in the poem, the reader learns the level of abuse that the boy is experiencing through words like ‘battered’, ‘scaraped’, and ‘beat’.  Because of this harsh diction, a reader can assume that the boy is getting hurt.  The most powerful word is ‘clinging’ in the last line of the poem.  By using ‘clinging’ it shows that through all of the abuse the boy still holds on to his dad.  Overall, diction can tell a lot about the main idea of a poem, even if it isn't being stated directly.  

The final important literary device used in the poem is imagery.  The poem creates a very specific image, where you can picture not only the boy and his fathers relationship, but the layout of the house and how the mother is coping with all of it.  All of this is done through descriptive imagery.  In the second stanza, the condition of the house is evident, “We romped until the pans, Slid from the kitchen shelf” (Roethke 91).  This line gives the reader a good mental image of the scene of the household.  Immediately one pictures a run-down kitchen, some dishes left out, and pots and pans on the floor, making something innocent seem suddenly dangerous.  The following line “My mother’s countenance could not unfrown itself”, gives the reader an image of what the mom was going through, and makes one question if she's only staying in this situation for her son, because he is still connected to his dad.  Imagery is a hugely important literary device, because through creating a scene in your head, you can connect with the author more.  

Overall, “My Papa’s Waltz” is a sad but beautiful poem, and with literary devices, a reader can determine the deeper meaning of the poem.  Because of the irony of the waltz, the reader can picture the inner struggle that the little boy is facing.  The diction in the poem makes the reader understand the severity of the situation.  Finally, the imagery of the poem gives the reader a scene to picture, so that the reader can connect with the situation more.  These three aspects of close reading work together to explain the sons inner struggle of not wanting to lose his dad, and accepting that he already has.  
