The waltz is a type of dance between two partners to a specific beat of time.  It has been known as a romantic and beautiful dance; however, its use in the poem adds beauty and covers up a darker event happening.  The poem’s rhythm reads in a happy, playful tone, but its words and use of secondary images shows that brutality exists.  By looking at words relating to the waltz in Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz”, one can see a common trend of each word relating to violence, which most reader do not see; this is important because it illustrates the poem as a metaphor for the resentful, yet affectionate relationship between the father and son.

From the very first stanza of the poem, the reader gets an idea of what waltzing is like for the speaker. Waltzing between the father and the boy is described as “not easy” (Roethke 4).  Though the father is the one who is intoxicated, to the boy the dance is difficult, making it unenjoyable for him.  The dance provokes fear causing the boy to hang “on like death” (3).  The idea of death, an extreme end result of violence, is introduced early in the poem; however, its use shows undeniable love between the two as the boy refuses the let go of his father.  This small image, describing the waltz as not easy, develops the metaphor of the poem as it implies a difficult relationship for the father and son.

In the fifth line, the speaker describes the waltz as a “romp”. This term is generally interpreted as rough, energetic play, but when examined more closely, romp can be defined as sexual activity. This word describes unlawful sexual activity, such as incest or domestic violence. This definition explains the mother’s countenance, which “could not unfrown itself” (8).  She is displeased with the activity happening in the kitchen, but is too afraid of her violent, drunk husband to speak up to stop it.  The activity is rough and causes a mess of the kitchen, causing the pans to slide from the shelves (6).  The speaker is reminiscing on the incestuous relationship with his father, whom the mother fears.  This illicit image of the waltz gives the reader further interpretation of the resentment in the father-son relationship.  

As the poem continues, so does the development of the image of the waltz.  The drunkenness of the father is reintroduced as he begins to miss steps in the dance (11).  Each step the father misses, the speaker exclaims his “right ear scraped a buckle” (12).  This seems to be accidental, but the boy still gets hurt due to his father’s drunken failure.  The position of the dance requires the partners to be locked in hand, which is shown in line nine.  The familiar hand of the father holds the boy’s wrist.  The hand is “battered on one knuckle” (10) connoting violence which the father takes part in.  The father’s drunken and violent actions leave marks on himself and his son.  Though feeling a sense love for his father, bitterness is felt when the boy remembers the pain he had to take for his father’s mistakes.  

Line thirteen consists of the most obvious confession of a violent relationship in the poem: the word “beat”. The speaker says, “You beat time on my head” (13).  Though a timely beat is required for the waltz, one can “keep” time just as easily as one can “beat” it.  This specific choice of the word implies a negative, violent interpretation of the father-son relationship.  The palm beating on the boy’s head is “caked hard by dirt” (14).  This could be a metaphor for the father’s dirty deeds, such as abuse and illicit sexual activity.  He has done bad things and, similar to the battered knuckle, they have left marks on him.  This instance of the poem, confirming violence between the father and son, supports the resentment the son feels for his father.

The poem concludes with the boy being waltzed off to bed by his father (15).  The activity lasts all night until the son’s bedtime.  However, the boy is not ready to let go of his father as he still clings to his father’s shirt (16).  This image shows the affectionate side of the father and son’s relationship.  No matter how tough the waltz is, the boy continues to hang on to his father, showing care and love for him.  After a long night of difficult waltzing, the boy still loves his papa.  This final image closes the poem, leaving the metaphor for the father-son relationship to be interpreted as ending in affection.  

The rhythm, rhyme, and tone of the poem are useful when interpreting the overall image of the waltz.  The iambic trimeter rhythm makes the poem a waltz itself.  A waltz contains three beats to a measure and the poem contains three stressed syllables to a line.  Every other line in each stanza rhymes, with most being slant rhymes.  These two elements are misleading because they add a playful, sing-song feel to the poem.  The poem sounds short and sweet making the reader believe the tone is also sweet and light, which is not the case.  The tone is a reflection of the speaker’s feelings towards his father; therefore, consisting of more than one facet.  The speaker reminisces on his childhood and sympathizes for his childhood self.  The speaker also shows disappointment in his father and for his actions, but uses the image of the waltz to cover up the bad memory.  This is done out of undeniable affection for his father.  Though these elements are deceiving to the reader, they reveal the speaker’s emotions and contribute to the interpretation of the father-son relationship. 

The dance-related terms Roethke chooses (waltz, romp, step, beat) beautify the experience the speaker had as a child with his father.  However, their alternative meanings relating to violence illustrate the waltz for what it truly is.  The terms’ double meanings create secondary images that develop the central image that the dancing is actually a beating.  The retrospective narration, deceitful rhythm, and multi-facet tone develop the poem, along with the terms, to develop the poem as a metaphor for the father and son’s relationship.  The speaker remembers the abuse and feels resentment towards his father, but the affection will always remain, as it did through the difficult waltz.  The violence revealed by the poem is covered up by the beauty of the waltz, illustrating the poem as a metaphor for the affectionate and destructive father-son relationship.
