In the poem, My Papa’s Waltz by Theodore Roethke, the son expresses a deep appreciation for his father, even though he contains many faults. Throughout the piece, the small boy dances around the kitchen on his father’s feet performing the waltz. The structure of the poem connects to the beats one must keep in time with while waltzing. Each stanza of the poem consists of four lines which represents the four beats of rhythm. Also, the ABAB rhyme scheme and short sentence structure allows the poem to flow fluidly similar to a waltz. The upbeat tempo of the poem cannot mask the overbearing faults of the father in the piece. However, the young son continually shows that he cares more about spending time with his father than worrying about his issues. The author demonstrates how unconditional love can blind us from the reality of life. 

The son is so consumed in his adoration for his father that he ignores his alcohol addiction. An example of this would be, “The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy; but I hung on like death: such waltzing was not easy” (Harley and Fisk 90). This quote indicates that the father came home reeking of alcohol but the son was too busy enjoying time with his father to be bothered. The author chose to use a dramatic and dark simile such as, “like death”, to highlight the emotional and physical grip the sons holds on his father. Although it is obvious that the type of environment that the father was exposing his son to was not appropriate, the upbeat tempo of the poem suggests the fact that the son did not mind the father’s drunken state. Another demonstration of the son’s lack of care in his father’s clumsiness and drunken state would be, “The hand that held my wrist was battered on one knuckle; at every step you missed my right ear scraped your buckle” (91). The fact that the father’s hand is being described as battered shows that he probably has a more physical type job. This would explain why the father would feel the need to let off some steam from doing manual labor all day, by drinking some whiskey. Also, the reasoning behind the son’s ear getting scraped is that every time the father stumbles from missing a beat, the boy scrapes his ear on the father’s buckle because that is where his head is positioned. Although it may seem like the father is physically harming the son, in reality; the son is standing on his father’s feet enjoying their waltz. The son is so happy to spend time with his father that he doesn’t mind getting a little scraped up.

The son is blinded from the tension brewing within his own family because he is solely focused on spending time with his father.  The discontent of the mother is shown in “We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf; my mother’s countenance could not unfrown itself” (91). The significance of this quote is the state of anger the mother is in due to the mess that the father and son made in the kitchen. This suggests that the mother spends the majority of her time in the kitchen, taking care of the family; whereas the father spends a good portion of his time drinking. One can come to this conclusion because the quote solely focuses on the mother’s countenance not being able to unfrown itself.  This indicates that the mother was upset that the they were waltzing in the kitchen. Also, another reason why the son held a grip on his father “like death” is because by waltzing he is distracting his father from the mother’s fury. As a young boy who is innocent to the harsh realities that life has in store; he only wants to focus on his connection with his father than worry about his mother’s disapproval. 

The young son is an example of how children with an absentee parent will struggle with insecurities; yet reach out for love and support.  The son’s desire for love and attention is shown in “You beat time on my head with a palm caked hard by dirt, then waltzed me off to bed still clinging to your shirt” (91). This excerpt supports the fact that the father must have a job more on lines of physical work because he comes home with hard dirty hands. Although one might read this quote and believe that the father is abusing the son; in reality, he is keeping rhythm in his drunken state by counting the steps on the boy’s head. As the father keeps time, the young boy physically holds tightly onto his father. This significance in this is the fact that this is a way for the son to feel loved and held by the father because he doesn’t get to spend much time with him due to his manual labor job. Also, one will notice that even as the father is putting the son to bed he doesn’t want to let go of his grip. Metaphorically, this could represent the father walking away from the son emotionally but the young boy refusing to stop seeking that level of closeness with his father.

Throughout the poem the young son wears metaphorical blinders to the reality of the environment around him because he is focused on keeping his father’s attention and love. The author chose a rhyming scheme to allow the poem to flow smoothly like a dance, yet; at the same time adding vocabulary that would suggest a rough tone to the reader. This represents the fact that although the waltz itself is a very graceful dance, it is very difficult to execute. When one is learning how to waltz they are bound to make many mistakes, especially if they are intoxicated. This connects to the fact that in life people are also going to make mistakes, such as the father; yet we must continue to try and reach out to one another, such as the son does. Although the father may make a few mistakes in life and while practicing dancing, the son still holds onto their emotional bond.
