With such an ironic title, one would assume that Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” would be uplifting or actually about the “Waltz” but that’s not the case. As one starts to analysis the reading, they’ll notice that symbolism plays a huge role in author Theodore Roethke’s poem, with the “waltz” being number one on the list. The author uses metaphors, imagery, and similes throughout the entire poem to give the poem a double meaning or point of view. It’s safe to say that in the more literal sense of the title, a father is simply having a dance with his son, but after analyzing, there is some sense of child abuse going on. The interpretation that was formed after reading this poem is that, Roethke uses symbolic imagery to depict the truth behind the father and son’s relationship. 

Playing off the first few lines before lines 3-4, Roethke starts the poem off by using words like “dizzy” and “death”, to set a both scared and negative tone. Predicting just from the title, the narrator (the son) is clearly addressing his father in the first two lines of the poem. “The whiskey…” on his breath “could make a small boy dizzy” which in other words means he’s drunk. Moving onto the next line, “But I hung on like death” (Line 3) the author uses the word “death” as a simile to indicate that the bot is indeed getting “dizzy” from the strong aroma of alcohol on his father’s breath. Roethke uses such an exaggerated word to describe the fear that a child has to help provoke the son’s breathtaking grasp. The poem doesn’t blatantly scream out violence but it does let the readers know that his dad is under the influence, which could eventually lead to abuse. I interpreted the use of the word “Waltz” in the poem as a metaphor to describe the father and son’s relationship or even the abuse. The first example comes pretty early when the boy states, “Such waltzing was not easy” (Line 4) using the “waltz” as a metaphor for the relationship between the two (father and son). Basically describing their relationship wasn’t always “easy”. 

In stanza 2 the first two lines gives a glimpse of playfulness and a setting, as it says they “romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf;” (Lines 5-6). Moving on to the next couple lines, Roethke adds in a third person. Who does not seem too happy with the mess that these two were making; “My mother’s countenance, could not unfrown itself.” (Lines 7-8).  Just from the meaning of the word countenance, the lines are saying that she could not stop frowning upon the situation. One could argue that these lines interpret that she looked upset externally but internally she was smiling. The next example that contributes to the interpretation of child abuse does not appear until the 3rd stanza. 

Playing into the imagery side of the reading, Roethke paints an aggressive image of the father’s “battered on one knuckle” (Line 10) hand holding the child by the wrist in lines 9 and 10. As seen in the actual waltz the dancers hold each other hands but in this case, the father is holding the son by the wrist, which can look aggressive. One would say the one battered knuckle could be from hitting something or someone and one would argue that it could also be from a hard day’s work. Jumping right into the quote, “At every step you missed, my right ear scraped a buckle.” (Lines 11-12), this gave me more evidence to add to my interpretation of a violent relationship between the two. One may take it as another use of symbolism of the father’s actual, not so physical, mistakes that has hurt is son in the process. In this sense symbolism is used to tell a deeper story and add to the plot. 

Leading into the last stanza Roethke creates a clear sense of roughness the father has. Even though the word “beat” is used in reference to the beat of the waltz, it still plays into the thought of physical abuse. Not quick sure what the father’s career was but from previous research Roethke’s father owned a greenhouse so one can see where the “palm caked hard by dirt” comes from. Between the battered knuckles and dirty hands, the father has a very rough and slightly physical way about him. But despite all of that he simply sharing a dance with his son. After acknowledging the amount symbolic imagery used in this poem, it intensified the plot and mural of story. One could also so say that the devices made the poem seem more personal to the author. Using these figurative devices also gives the writer’s writing character, but it all comes back to my interpretation of a child abuse.
