“My Papa’s Waltz,” a poem by Theodore Roethke, is centered around the relationship between an alcoholic father and his son. The poem depicts an instance referred to as a “waltz” when the alcoholic father abuses the speaker, a small child. Through rhetorical strategies such as imagery, diction, and rhyme scheme Roethke to reveals events about his personal life and symbolize the abusive relationship he had with his own dad. Even though the speaker seems to resent his abuser, he also seems to forgive his father as the poem resolves. 

The author utilizes vivid imagery to expose the father’s abusive nature. “The whisky on your breath/could make a small boy dizzy” (1-2).  reveals the extent of the father’s alcoholism since the concentration of alcohol in the father’s breath alone is enough to have an effect on the speaker. Similarly, Roethke states, “My mother’s countenance could not unfrown itself”’ to further expose the situation as abusive and adversarial. Additionally, the inability of the mother to “unfrown” her demeanor affirms that the father son interaction does not follow the peaceful connotation of a “waltz.” One may also see the level of abuse when the father and son “romped until the pans/Slid from the kitchen shelf” (5). Such Symbolism represents the extent of the father’s inebriation; as it takes no meager force to knock pans from a kitchen shelf. Roethke uses descriptive language to build suspense in the situation and engages the audience. The inclusion of descriptive language in “My papa’s Waltz” also helps the readers picture the situation which further exposed the abuse of the father. 

Furthermore, Theodore Roethke employs the use of carefully chosen diction to convey to the reader a sense of danger and concern the son has for the father; for example, “But I hung on like death.” (3). The connotation of the word “death” is one of dismay, angst, mournfulness, dread. The use of a word with such connotation presents the genuine depressing mood of the poem. Moreover, the abusive relationship between the speaker and the assailant is exposed when he “beat time” (13) on the speaker’s head. The rough, and barbaric connotation of the word beat describes the father’s wrongdoing. The opposition to a less brutal word choice is evidence of the abusive relationship the poet is conveying. The opposition to a less adversarial vocabulary when the speaker says “With palm caked hard by dirt,” is evidence of the apprehensive attitude the father has, because it suggests the father follows a blue collared line or work and possibly had a long day. The father’s dirty hands also show that he didn’t even bother to wash his hands and therefore forcefully attempted to “waltz” with his son. Additionally, Roethke states “The hand that held my wrist/ Was battered on one knuckle;” as a way to further expose the possibly difficult, and frustrating line of work of the father (9-10). The connotation of the word ‘dirt” and “battered” shows a clear attempt of the author to provide the reader with the notion of an abusive, ill tempered, careless, and rough father. 

Finally, the author uses rhyme scheme to better arrest his audience and create controversy. In Stanza one “The whiskey on your breath/Could make a small boy dizzy;/But I hung on like death:/Such waltzing was not easy,” Has a rhyme scheme of abab, along with subsequent stanzas. The alternating rhyme scheme provides the misconception that the authors mood is cheerful and lively by.  The reality is, Roethke made a stylistic decision to give the poem the rhythm of a waltz. Since the topic at hand is very deep and intimate; the author creates separation by adding an active and moving rhythm. It is common for artists to use a stilly and cheerful rhyme scheme in order to create emotional separation for the given topic. Throughout the essay the rhyme scheme in the lines “We romped until the pans /Slid from the kitchen shelf;/ My mother’s countenance/ Could not unfrown itself. Follows the pattern of cded, which is similar to rhyme scheme of the first stanza and continues the silly and cheerful tone of the poem. By incorporation of emotional separation the author is also able to create controversy between readers and give the idea that the father is not abusive but simply playing with the speaker. 

  Rhetorical strategies are abundant in the poem “My Papa’s Waltz.” Rhetorical strategies include word choice, rhyme scheme, and figurative language such as imagery. Theodore employs imagery to reveal his genuine message within the poem. The use of lucid descriptive language and colorful words helps the audience to better understand the personal anecdote the author is disclosing. His recapitulation of his own childhood memories is brutal, challenging, and despairing as he illustrates the self-destructive nature of his alcoholic father. Similarly, Rhyme scheme is used by the poet to deceive the audience to believe the interaction is happy and frivolous when it is in fact a grotesque portrayal of a sick act committed by an ill human being.  Lastly, Theodore’s word choice plays a vital role in how the poem is perceived by the audience. By using words with a harsh and bitter connotation instead of words of the opposing connotation the author creates a mood that is bright and sweet. The combination of rhetorical strategies applied by any poet is the primary tool used to convey any message, whether it be happy, sad, horrendous, or distressful the manner in which a poet, rhymes, uses words, and describes a scenario determines every aspect in the interpretation of the message. The use of specific language and the stylistic approach made by Roethke 
