In poetry, dark undertones are often masked by lighthearted imagery. This is the case in Theodore Roethke’s poem “My Papa’s Waltz” which disguises a physical altercation between a father and son as a playful dance. Roethke employs diction and imagery to simultaneously reveal and disguise the reality of the scene experienced by the youthful narrator.

The narrator, still a small boy, witnesses the event unfolding before him as a cheerful dance, but accompanies each reference to his metaphorical waltz with a statement reflective of fear. “I hung on like death,” he said upon recalling that “such waltzing was not easy” (Roethke lines 3-4). The author’s choice to utilize death in his comparison indicates that the speaker cannot merely be playfully moving about with his father. He is afraid to let go, afraid of what awaits him if he does, so he holds steady. His father continues their poetic brawl swinging him about the kitchen, dancing with him until the pots were rocked from their shelves, and finally “{waltzing him] off to bed / still clinging to [his] shirt” (Roethke lines 15-16). Rather than prepare for the comfort that is often associated with sleep and a gentle tucking in of the comforters by a loved one, the narrator clings to his father. This idea of clinging illuminates the speaker’s fear and negates the perspective of his waltz as a simple dance in lieu of a moment of physical violence. While each of these images of a small boy holding tight to his father could be perceived upon first glance in an innocent light as reflective of a child who does not want a pleasant moment with his father to end, closer inspection clearly identifies them as indicative of abuse. 

Significance can be found in the brief nod to the speaker’s mother as well. She is depicted as the sole witness to her son’s anguish, a figure in the corner whose countenance “could not unfrown itself” (Roethke line 8). Why would a cheerful moment between the two men in her life cause her displeasure? The answer it would not. But, a fight on the other hand could—and presumably would—elicit such a displeased response. No mother would want to see her son hurt by anyone. Even less by his own father, a man she expects to love her child as wholly and unconditionally as she does. So, she watches on displeased, presumably unable to interfere. By examining the time period of the work—early twentieth century, more specifically the 1940s—it is easier to understand why this woman may not have felt like she had the power to step in. With this in mind, her displeasure at not only the scene before her but her inability to take action become justified as well. Slowly, it becomes clear that she is not saddened by their waltz.  Her frown is the result of violence. If Roethke had decided to discard this detail, the true meaning of his work would have been harder to derive and potentially lost altogether under the guise of a casual dance. 

The waltz is most clearly identified as a euphemism for abuse through indirect references to the speaker’s father. The hands which hold the narrator are described as being “battered on one knuckle” (Roethke line 10). This image of battered knuckles aligns the hands of the boy’s father, a drunkard, with those of a fighter. It can be assumed that the father has taken a swing or two, perhaps at the boy or perhaps at some unidentified inanimate object, but either way the effect of his blow is etched onto his skin. His aggression towards his son can also be seen on lines thirteen and fourteen when the narrator states, “you beat time on my head / with a palm caked hard by dirt” (Roethke). Rather than imply a gentle encounter through the use of a term like “pat,” the author chose the word “beat” suggesting a rougher tempo. The inclusion of the detail regarding the texture of the man’s palms being hard due to the dirt adhering to his skin is indicative of the speaker’s discomfort. If the father had been lightly tapping a rhythm against his son’s head as they danced about the room, the speaker would be unlikely to notice the severity of his father’s fingers. They would feel light against his hair rather than hardened and dirt-caked. Roethke’s specific word choice in both cases act as guideposts to the conclusion that the waltz is merely a metaphor for a violent encounter between a father and son. 

Theodore Roethke employs diction and imagery in his poem “My Papa’s Waltz” that allow for the work to be interpreted in both a positive and negative fashion. The poem masks the physical abuse of a young boy by his intoxicated, alcoholic father with a metaphorical waltz. The dance allows this unpleasant memory to be transformed into a fanciful retelling that aims to disguise the darkness of this occurrence with an air of playfulness that is not in fact reality. Roethke’s technique is not new. Dark images and messages have been masked time and time again in literature and popular culture by those that are more easily consumed and digested by readers and audiences alike. It is a method that allows for multiple interpretations that reflect the light and dark connotations assigned to each scene. 
