It can be argued “My Papa’s Waltz” is a poem about a dark, abusive relationship between a father and a son, due to the father's addiction to alcohol, but can also be argued that the poem is about a joyful childhood relationship between a father and son because the poem can be read in two different perspectives. This poem by Theodore Roethke is written this way purposefully in order to show how someone can have more than one perspective on a single body of writing. Roethke is successful because of his word choices due to the fact that they can be interpreted in more than one fashion. By looking at the word choices and how they can be interpreted as multiple views of childhood, we can see that the words used in the poem can define a positive or a negative childhood memory. This is important because there are multiple ideas or themes, such as themes of an abusive or a joyful childhood, that a reader can draw from “My Papa’s Waltz” depending on different perspectives of each individual reader. 

       The words I noticed when I read the poem for the first time were words such as “death, battered, scraped, and clinging”. Theodore Roethke uses these words so that there are two separate ideas for readers to imagine and develop as they read the poem. For example, “Then waltzed me off to bed still clinging to his shirt” (Roethke 15 & 16) used at the end of the poem. This sentence can mean a lighthearted memory of a son clinging to his father's shirt because he is not wanting to go to sleep and end the fun he is having with his father. Understanding the same idea from another quote in the poem, “But I hung on like death such waltzing was not easy” (Roethke 3 & 4). This quote can also describe the idea of a son being swung around by his father, but can also display a fear the son might have been feeling during the waltz, knowing how much whiskey his father has had. It can be difficult to pick up on hidden clues into the narrator's life or ideas of an alternate meaning to a piece of writing when first reading because a reader is just trying to learn about the piece in front of them. 

There are multiple sentences in My Papa’s Waltz that can serve as a double meaning, not only did the quotes from lines 3,4 and 15,16 serve as a double meaning but also the line “at every step you missed my right ear scraped a buckle” (Roethke 11 & 12). This shows that the father couldn’t possibly be thinking straight if he is really doing this to his son and could be missing steps as they dance, but it also leaves the reader with questions such as “why would the father do this to his own son?” or “if the father wasn’t drinking maybe this wouldn’t be happening to the son?’. Without the added element of the alcohol playing a role in the poem, it would just be a poem about a father and son dancing together. The hidden discomfort shown by the son and described in the poem leaves mystery to the reader wondering if everything is as alright as it seems. Understanding that the poem My Papa’s Waltz has multiple meanings, whether it is for just one stanza or just the overall poem itself, gives the reader a better insight to decide if the poem is about a negative childhood memory or a positive childhood memory, thus enhancing the overall purpose, and pleasure for the reader, of the poem. 

It is argued that the way a piece of writing is written can have an affect on how the author expresses the theme or ideas trying to be conveyed in a piece of writing. In this case, how Theodore Roethke uses word choice and specific detail showing the relationship between a positive and negative childhood memory theme is presented, can really allow the reader to truly become more interested in the poem. The word order is normal and the sentences are simple, which helps tell the story of a joyful childhood memory or an abusive childhood memory. The voice of the poem is a passive one, this makes it seem as though the poem is a reflection of the past. The rhythm of the poem is short and choppy with a small rhyming scheme which allows for flow in the poem, thus allowing readers to enjoy what they read while thinking about different ways that they can interpret what they read. I believe the poem targets all audiences, anyone can read it and relate to the poem easily. However with the way the poem is written, it can be interpreted in multiple ways, someone who had an abusive childhood and has abusive childhood memories could relate to the abusive side of the poem and it may be easier for that person to see that perspective. But another person who had a joyful childhood with joyful childhood memories may not see the abusive side of the poem and not relate to that perspective. Theodore Roethke made it easier to approach all audiences by having multiple perspectives, this is one of my favorite aspects of the poem. Every reader reads the same words this allows the reader to form their own opinion (perspective) of what the poem is really about.

Theodore Roethke wrote his poem in a way that made it easy for the reader to connect on a personal level. By looking at the word choices in My Papa’s Waltz one can see that the words used in the poem can define a positive or a negative childhood memory, which most readers don't see until after they have read it multiple times. This poem relates to the reader on a personal level  and the reader is able to draw something different from the work each time, making it truly a classic. 
