Typically alcoholism covers up problems that a person is dealing with internally.  Although mostly all alcoholics have underlying issues, they don’t all act the same when they are drunk.  Some people who have drinking problems act happy and careless when they drink, however the scariest type of alcoholics act out aggressively towards others when they drink.  The poem, “My Papa’s Waltz,” by Theodore Roethke, is about a dance between a young boy and his drunken father, told from the viewpoint of the son.  While the waltz may seem like a fun and light-hearted dance at first, it has a much bigger meaning than initially perceived.  Upon analyzing the poem, it becomes clear that the rough and aggressive actions made by the father during the dance represent that he is an alcoholic and abusive towards his son and wife.

This poem opens up by informing the reader that the father is highly intoxicated.  The father shows signs of alcoholism from when his son describes, “The whiskey on your breath/ Could make a small boy dizzy,” signifying that this man drinks an abnormal amount.  His young son smells the alcohol immediately and is nauseated by it.  It is clear that the child knows his father is heavily intoxicated not only from the smell of whiskey on his breath, but also from when he describes his father during the dance, “At every step you missed.”  This shows that during the waltz, the father was unable to walk straight, and it was noticeable to his son.  These drinking patterns and behaviors are signs of an alcoholic and can be scarring for this young child to witness. 

Aside from the heavy drinking, the poem begins showing signs that the father is a violent person as well.  This is shown when the son describes how his, “hand that held my wrist/ Was battered on one knuckle.”  Battered knuckles signify that the father was either in a fight or got injured somehow.  Since he clearly has bad drinking habits, it is likely that this was from an accident that happened while he was drunk.  Between the father’s drunken behavior along with his battered knuckles, even before the waltz between him and his son started, the son was already noticeably concerned for his father.

The traditional way for two people to do the waltz is to stand up straight with their shoulders back and their heads held high, taking careful steps and ensuring that they do not step on each other.  The first example that depicts how the father is abusive is when he does not dance in the proper fashion of the waltz, but instead, as the son describes, “We romped until the pans/ Slid from the kitchen shelf.”  While normally an adult would be very careful when dancing with a child, the father clearly does not care if he is pushing his child around and crashing into the objects around them.  Another example that shows how the father’s reckless nature of the dance is hurting his son is when the son describes, “My right ear scraped a buckle.”  It seems as though throughout this entire waltz, the young boy is getting injured and thrown around by his noticeably drunken father which is extremely uncomfortable for a young child to experience. 

From previous examples, it is clear that the father is an alcoholic and potentially abusive as well.  Another example that supports the belief that the father is abusive is when the young boy looks over to his mother during the waltz and sees, “My mother’s countenance/ Could not unfrown itself.”  One possible reason that the mother is upset is because she is witnessing her drunk husband exposing his alcoholic behavior around their child.  However, looking deeper into it, she could also be afraid to interfere in the dance to stop her husband because he clearly gets violent when he is drunk, as shown by his aggressive actions during the waltz along with his battered knuckles.  Therefore, all she can do it watch what is happening, terrified, and frown.  

Even though throughout the story the father is highly intoxicated, bumping into pans, and scraping his sons ear with his belt, at the end the young boy still, “hung on like death.”  This shows that even though the situation may have made his son and wife uncomfortable, the son still looks up to his father and is dependent on him.  Furthermore, the son mentions again when he was going to bed he was, “Still clinging to your shirt,” which sounds as if he is hanging on to his father for dear life.  The son still loves his father and looks up to him, and “clinging” on to him shows he does not want to let go of his father, which could also signify that he does not want to see him fall into a deeper pit of alcoholism as well.

From the text, it is clear that the father’s waltz was not lighthearted and loving like it should have been, however was reckless and made his son feel uncomfortable.  In this poem, both the mother and young boy are afraid to stand up to the father because of his aggressive alcoholism.  Typically alcoholism covers up many issues a person is dealing with - their problems.  When the father gets drunk, he clearly releases his aggression and is mindless to the fact that he is both physically injuring and mentally scarring his son.  At the end of the poem, the son still clings on to his father because both him and his mother both love him and don’t want to see him in such a bad state.  This dance represents both the sad and terrifying effects of alcoholism on a family and also how in an abusive relationship, even when the abuser acts out, if the people they are hurting still love, care, and look up to them, then they will still be there, but they will also remember the horrifying memories of the abuse forever.
