In the poem, “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, the main character is a young boy that expresses a deep appreciation for his father regardless of the man’s many faults.  Throughout the piece, the small boy literally dances around the kitchen on his father’s feet performing the waltz. This physical act can also be interpreted as a metaphor for time dancing onwards and the fact that time will not slow down even though the young boy wishes it would. 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. 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 the son ignoring the affects of his father’s addiction to himself would be, “The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy; but I hung on like death: such waltzing was not easy” (Roethke 90.1). The author chose to use a dramatic and dark simile such as, “like death” to highlight the emotional and physical grip the son holds on his father. The father’s alcoholism negatively impacts the son by causing him to have insecurities due to the father’s absence in his life. This emotional implication causes the son to hold onto his father tightly to prevent him from being physically distant. 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. The rhyming structure of the poem is what creates the upbeat tempo because it allows the poem to flow smoothly when being read. However, with further examination one will observe how the negative environment impacts the boy through words such as “dizzy” (Roethke 90.1). 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 is holding onto the son’s wrist and not his hand paints a more violent image in the reader’s mind. 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. From being grabbed by the wrist and getting scraped by a buckle, the son is experiencing physical implications from his father’s alcoholism but chooses to ignore them. 

Due to his childhood innocence and love for his father the son is blinded from the physical abuse in his life. Depending upon how one interprets the vocabulary in the quote, “We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf” (91) will dictate weather or not they identify the possible molestation occurring. The word “romped” found in the quote can be defined as rough playing or coitus, which in either case goes along with the fact that the father and son were acting aggressive enough to cause pans to slide off the shelf.  Another piece of text that supports the fact that the son was being abused is,” You beat time on my head with a palm caked hard by dirt” (90). This quote shows how in his drunken state the father, meaning to or not, was physically hitting the boy’s head. The boy being so young does not recognize the maltreatment he is receiving and only focuses on the fact that he gets to spend time with his father. The hard dirt crusted onto the father’s hand is an indication that he has a physical labor type job. This could explain that the reason why the son has such an adoration for his father is because the son misses his father while he’s gone all day doing manual labor. Thus, causing the son to look past the father’s abusive behavior because he is just happy to be spending time with him.

The young son is an example of how children with an abusive parent will struggle with insecurities; yet reach out for love and support.  The son’s desire for love and attention is shown in “then waltzed me off to bed still clinging to your shirt” (91). This excerpt shows how even though the father is abusive the son will not let go of his physical or emotional hold on him. The word “cling” provides a visual image in the reader’s head that relates to the use of “like death” previously used. The author chose to use such gripping vocabulary to express the impact of the hold the son refuses to let go of on the 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 dense vocabulary to hint to the reader what type of mistreatment is really going on. The significance behind the waltz is that it is a very difficult dance to learn although when properly executed it looks beautiful. This relates to the poem because when read aloud it seems very upbeat and cheerful; however, one will notice the maltreatment within the story after learning the significance behind the vocabulary. The young boy continually seeks affection from his father because he is so innocent that he does not notice the danger he is actually in. This poem could lead to a bigger picture for individuals who come across it and realize that maybe they too are blinded by their love for something and ignore warning signs in their life too. 
