Parents are one of the greatest gifts afforded to you in this world. In “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, a young boy talks about how he and his father danced together while his father was drunk one night. This poem is commonly misconstrued into thinking that the father is actually beating and abusing this child rather than dancing with him. However, that is the beauty of this poem; Roethke gave the reader the freedom to form their own opinion about the parents, positive or negative. Roethke does a great job of portraying the father in this poem as an exemplary father who loves and cares about his son. There are many examples in this poem that should prove to the reader that Roethke intended this poem to be read with a positive mindset. Theodore Roethke grew up in Saginaw, Michigan and wrote many volumes of critically acclaimed poetry. He is also considered one of the most accomplished poets of his generation.

The first example is that the father was more than likely not that intoxicated. In the first and second line, Roethke states “The Whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy” (lines1-2). Some people would say that this meant that the father was drunk, but anyone who has drunk whiskey before knows that a double shot would make you only a little tipsy. So, how would a young boy know how drunk his father is; the answer is that he would not know. As for the father, he had probably just come home from a long day at work and decided to have a glass of whiskey as a way of signifying that he was done for the day. After he had the glass of whiskey, he decided to play with his son and dance with him around the house. During of which, Roethke never mentions the father having more whiskey or actually being drunk at all. So if Roethke never even mentions that the father is drunk, then it should be clear that he is not drunk.

The second example is that the father sacrifices his time to rest in order to play and spend time with his son. In the poem, the father comes home for a drink. However, after the drink, he dances with his son and did not stop until he walks his son off to bed at the end of the poem. By doing this, the father proves that he was willing to give up his own personal time to rest after a long day at work in order to make his son happy by dancing and playing with him. This is important to the way the reader should interpret the poem; if the father is an abusive drunk, would he have taken the time out of his time to rest to spend time with his son? Probably not. The only possible assumption would be that he was drunk and did not know how to be nice to his child. However, that seems like a stretch to try and prove as a reason he is a bad father, although he is not.

 Finally, Roethke never stated that the father never mistreated the child. So, if it was never stated, then it must be true that the child was never beaten or physically abused because that was ever stated. The only argument that someone who said that this poem is negative would have is when Roethke said “You beat time on my head with a palm caked by dirt” (lines 13-14). However, that does not mean that the father was beating his son, but rather patting him on the head with his palm that still had dirt on it from wherever he worked. The child in this poem seems like any other child in this world, young, innocent, loves his parents, and deserves no harm to him; and by the way Roethke writes the poem, that seems to be exactly the state the child lives in. 

From the key points explained, it seems to be clear to see how the poem gives off a more positive feel. Readers who have a negative feeling towards this poem probably just read too critically into the poem. Once again, that is the great part of Roethke’s writing. Roethke was able to either have readers read too critically and miss the point. The poem does not go too deep, but rather puts everything into a literal meaning. From the actual dancing, to the father “beating” time on his son’s head, Roethke’s poem proves that parents are the greatest blessings in our lives and that they would do anything for their children.
