In the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, the story of a father and a son dancing is introduced strongly by stating that the father has whiskey on his breath that “could make a small boy dizzy” (90). In the middle of the poem, the father and son “dance” a waltz. The interaction is left up to the reader to interpret. The story ends with the boy clinging to his father’s shirt as he is waltzed off to bed. I chose this poem because the waltz that represents the father-son relationship is strange and caught my attention. The author uses seemingly violent word choice in certain lines, yet makes it clear that the boy still loves the father. The message in this poem can be either positive or negative and depends entirely upon how the individual interprets it while reading. The interpretation is affected by the author’s use of imagery, symbolism, and word choice.

From the start of the poem, the reader might get the feeling that this poem is going to be negative. “The whiskey on your breath / Could make a small boy dizzy” is not exactly the most positive sounding start to a poem (1-2). Any alcoholic term usually has a negative connotation. Furthermore, when used in the context of a father-son relationship, it can be seen as even more negative because alcohol can sometimes lead to abuse. By the third stanza, that seems to be the direction “My Papa’s Waltz” is heading in. “The hand that held my wrist / Was battered on one knuckle” might suggest that the father punched something in his drunken rage (9-10). A young boy would be scared in this situation, which is why the narrator “hung on like death” (3). The third stanza ends with “At every step you missed / My right ear scraped a buckle” (11-12) which once again suggests that the narrator is being abused by the father during the waltz. “You beat time on my head / With a palm caked hard by dirt” is another indication of the father being abusive to the child during the waltz (13). All of this violent word choice most likely leads to the reader interpreting the poem as negative. Fooled by the seemingly positive title, and the idea of a father-son dance, the reader finishes the poem feeling sympathy for the poor boy. Perhaps a reader who has been through an abusive relationship could even feel empathy for the narrator.

Even though the poem may seem overwhelmingly negative at first, it is possible for the reader to have a positive interpretation by analyzing the poem with a literal mindset. For example, the father might not be drunk. He might only be a little bit tipsy, which is why he is dancing so crazily, as hinted by the lines “We romped until the pans / Slid from the kitchen shelf” (5-6). It is not a totally negative thing for a man to have a drink after, perhaps, a long day of work. The lines “But I hung on like death / Such waltzing was not easy” could literally mean that the boy had to hang on to his father very tightly because of the speed of the dancing (3-4). This is not negative at all, in fact, a father and son dancing is a positive thing. The reader can even interpret the hanging on as the boy wanting to be close to his father because he loves him and feels protected by his proximity. Romped is a positive word, and the pans could be sliding off the shelf because of the fast-paced dancing. The battered hand and palm caked by dirt are solid indications of the father being a hard-working man. This makes the reader see that the boy loves and respects his father. Also, the narrator could literally have meant that the father is keeping the beat of the music on the boy’s head while dancing. Lastly, the lines “Then waltzed me off to bed / Still clinging to my shirt” could mean that the father danced with the boy all the way to bed, and the boy did not want to stop dancing because he was having so much fun. With this mindset, the reader finishes the poem thinking that the father and son have a great relationship. 

Every poem can be interpreted in different ways and depends entirely upon the reader. A combination of the reader’s mindset, past experiences, beliefs, etc. can all affect how the reader interprets the poem. For example, a person who has been abused before might have automatically interpreted the poem as negative and connected with the abuse that the narrator was going through. However, a boy who has a great relationship with his father might have read it just like the second interpretation; a healthy father-son relationship and a harmless waltz. Although a poem can have multiple interpretations, one might be more common than the other. This is affected by the author’s diction, imagery, and style of writing. In “My Papa’s Waltz”, the first interpretation is probably more common due to the frequent use of words with violent and negative connotation. The poem contains more negative words than positive, which can easily lead to readers frequently interpreting it as negative. 

“My Papa’s Waltz”, like many poems, can be interpreted in different ways. The first way to interpret this poem is in a negative way that views the father-son relationship as harmful and abusive. The second way to interpret the poem is in a positive way that views the relationship as harmless. The waltz is simply a waltz and the boy loves his hard-working father. Since the poem can mean two different things, it is very interesting. The reader is left with the job of deciphering the meaning, using their own emotions and knowledge. The interpretation depends entirely upon the reader’s own experiences and beliefs but is also affected by how the author uses diction, syntax, and imagery.
