Pulitzer Prize winner Theodore Roethke wrote an emotional poem about a childhood memory. This poem’s setting takes place in a family’s home. It is late at night, way past the speakers’ bedtime. The family of the said speaker is awake in the kitchen. The father gets a little intoxicated and begins to dance with his son. It appears to be a fun family moment because his mom isn’t pleased with the fact that the boy is romping with his father late at night, so the child is put to bed. The author Roethke wrote “My Papa’s Waltz” to share his childhood memory that meant a lot to him even though it was somewhat unpleasant.

In lines 3 and 4 of the poem, Roethke states, “But I hung on like death: / Such waltzing was not easy.” The speaker wants the audience to know that dancing with his father is a difficult thing to do. This however didn’t stop the boy from waltzing with his father. Hanging on like death is a metaphor that indicates how Roethke felt at the time. Since the boy held on so tightly, there’s evidence that he enjoyed spending time with his father. Even if that meant he would have to endure through a waltz with his father late at night. The speaker of the poem accepts this fate and enjoys the ride. The boy and his father danced vigorously in the kitchen. According to the text, “We romped until the pans / Slide down from the kitchen shelf” (Lines 5-6, Roethke). The drunk father takes his child and plays with him. There is a huge ruckus due to the frolicking taking place in the kitchen area. His mom is in the room with them just watching them fool around. It appears that everything is fine since they just keep playing around. His mom doesn’t like that her child is still awake late at night however she lets them dance around until the pans fall off the shelves. The boy doesn’t enjoy this rough play nonetheless he goes through with it because he likes being with his dad.

As the night proceeds, the speaker ends up being put to bed. Roethke writes, “Then waltzed me off to bed / Still clinging to your shirt” (Lines 15 and 16). There is a lot to be taken up from the last lines of the poem. For example, throughout the night, the boy danced with his father in a rough manner. Even in doing so, the speaker was captivated by the experience him and his dad had. What kid wants to go to sleep after bedtime? The boy tried to hold on to his father as long as possible. It proves that he enjoyed the waltz with his father.

The tone that the author uses works really well with the reason he wrote the poem. Roethke uses a few negative words to get his point across. Line 3 emphasizes this by comparing the speakers grip on his dad to death (Roethke). Even though the author uses this specific diction that is dark and gloomy, it doesn’t stop the boy from loving his dad who in many ways is flawed. Throughout the text, there are examples of how the speakers portrays his father that deem to be negative. A good indication of this takes place on lines 9 - 10, “You beat time on my head / With a palm caked hard by dirt” (Roethke). The father of the boy taps to the rhythm of the waltz on his son’s head. His hands contain a lot of dirt therefore he was working throughout the day. This means that the speaker was unable to see him in the day. The author’s word choice demonstrates how he felt about that night.

In the poem, “My Papa’s Waltz” by American poet Theodore Roethke, the author has a unique way of describing his childhood memory. The passage really describes how he felt during this time. It was past bedtime and the speaker got to enjoy being with his family. The slightly drunk father waltzes around with the boy until he gets put to bed. Overall it was a rough dance however that didn’t stop our speaker from having a positive experience.
