James Dickey, the Poet Laureate when Theodore Roethke died in 1963, once said, “I once had the nerve to ask Picasso the question, 'What is art?' He answered, 'Art is a lie which makes us see the truth.’” (Dickey). Poetry is a form of art that takes a certain type of intellectual understanding to properly interpret the poem being read. Depending on the reader, there could be different interpretations of the same poem. Not all poems are necessarily filled with glee and joy, rather, some are darker and depressing; nevertheless, both types of poems tell the story conveying the true emotion of the situation. The poem My Papa’s Waltz by Theodore Roethke, is a striking poem that tells a story of an abusive experience a child had. Although a piece of writing can have multiple meanings, the reader can interpret that My Papa’s Waltz is a story about a child who was beaten by his father because textual details portray scenes of abuse. The author’s diction evokes feelings that help readers sympathize with the child and the repetition of the idea of fear from abuse offers a link between different stanzas.  

There are many symbols throughout the poem that offer a distinct meaning to the events that transpire. In the poem, Theodore Roethke states, “The whiskey on your breath/ Could make a small boy dizzy:” (Roethke 90). This quote implies that the father drinks often and could possibly be an alcoholic, which is significant because drunk conversations with his child are what potentially leads him to abusive tendencies. This is understandable because alcohol sometimes brings out an aggressive nature in people. The whiskey’s strong odor had a dizzying effect on the child, similar to what someone would feel after taking a blow to the head. In another quote, Theodore Roethke writes, “The hand that held my wrist/ Was battered on one knuckle;/ At every step you missed/ My right ear scraped a buckle.” (Roethke 91). This shows significant symbolic language that further insinuates the father has abusive tendencies towards his son. Typically, when people dance together they do not hold one another’s wrists, but instead hold hands. The battered knuckles symbolize anger because the father was punching something out of indignance and the child scraped his ear on the father’s belt buckle while trying to escape his punches by hugging close to his body. The symbols continue throughout the passage and further help paint the picture of the truth behind child neglect that Roethke wants the reader to understand and discover. 

The striking diction used in the poem helps the reader connect with the characters and relate to the events that occur in the story. In the poem, Theodore Roethke says, “You beat time on my head/ With a palm caked in dirt, / Then waltzed me off to bed/ Still clinging to your shirt.” (Roethke 90). The negative connotation of this quote signifies that the father physically beat the child to show who is in charge, hence the “Palm caked by hard dirt” where the hard dirt represents blood from the beatings. This contains an important emotional aspect because the reader feels compassion toward the child and can relate to the trouble the child is going through. In addition, Roethke uses phrases such as “Still clinging to your shirt” and “You beat time on my head” to assist the reader in perceiving sympathy because the child is clinging to the father’s shirt while being dragged to bed. The language in this stanza allows for the reader to build a relationship full of understanding and relatability with the characters’ emotions during the abusive scenes.

The repetition of similar ideas throughout the poem’s stanzas strengthens the theme of abuse. Theodore Roethke wrote, “We romped until the pans/ Slid from the kitchen shelf;/ My mother’s countenance/ Could not unfrown itself” (Roethke). The abusive theme comes across in this quote because it discusses the pans falling from the shelf, most likely a result from the father, who is in a drunken rage, knocking them off. The theme of the poem is repeated throughout all the stanzas. Similarly, the motion of a waltz is a slow circular motion with repetitive steps. The poem is like a waltz because it uses a rhythmic cycle of every other line containing a rhyme, giving a consistent flow to the poem while also cycling the main idea to reiterate its importance. This motion is a symbol of the repeating relationship cycle between the father and the son. However, the poem also differs from a waltz because it physically is not a dance, but rather a power struggle between father and son. 

Like James Dickey said, “Art is a lie in which makes us see truth”, and Theodore Roethke creates a magnificent piece of art that reveals a truth through an experience with child abuse. My Papa’s Waltz creates a scene where readers can unearth the real story behind the hidden lives of a father and his son and the ever-changing relationship between them. The poem recreates the life of a child who lives his life in fear from a father who abuses his son for unknown reasons. This story raises awareness about child abuse and opens the truth behind the provoking mannerisms that can lead to the abuse in the first place. Textual details, Language used throughout the poem, and the repetition of ideas allows for the reader to relate and see just how much this particular child abuse story is an example events that actually occur in the real world.
