My Papa’s Waltz

Theodore Roethke wrote “My Papa’s Waltz” to illustrate the disturbing issues of child abuse and alcoholism. The poem shows a child’s pain. The following analysis describes a few elements that make the poem more interesting and engaging. Furthermore, it expresses the opinion about these elements.

The main elements of “My Papa’s Waltz” help people to understand the deep meanings and nuances of the poem. Some of the interesting elements are diction, image and irony. For example, the line “Such waltzing was not easy” emphasizes the observation of a child. The child uses ordinary words instead of using sophisticated vocabulary. Also, the word “countenance” in the stanza “My mother’s countenance could not unfrown itself” shows special significance to the child’s consciousness. Thus, such dictions make the poem more interesting (Guz, n.d.).

Moreover, the stanza “The hand that held my wrist was battered on one knuckle” brings a child’s image of the speaker. Also, it explains that the child’s father is more aggressive to hold his child’s wrist. In addition, the stanza “You beat time on my head with a palm caked hard by dirt” shows the rough image of the speaker’s father. He has a hard and dirty hand, which creates problems to the speaker (Wood, 2008).

Besides, the line “The whiskey on your breath” shows irony, because the smell of whiskey may make a child dizzy. However, the speaker tries to swing around his father, which shows that the small child’s life is quite hard and painful. Also, the stanza, “We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf” expresses that the child faces a violent environment with crashes and disruptions, but still he is carefree in this domestic world. Thus, these lines show the irony (Guz, n.d.).

The important elements of the poem, such as diction, image and irony, have affected my response to the poem. These elements create an opinion that the child is terrorized by the abusive behavior of his father. However, he is playing with his father before the bedtime. His father is little rough but not angry. Some of the words and elements describe the playful nature of the boy. For example, the poet uses the word “romped” to describe the playful behavior of both father and son. Moreover, Roethke tries to portray an unsettled nature between father and son by introducing a dance. A few stanzas focus on the disorder and missteps of the father (Guz, n.d.).

Roethke creates a child’s image of the speaker by describing that he is holding his father’s hand. However, the poet uses the word “battered” to tell about the rough and violent behavior of the child’s father. In addition, Roethke uses unusual lines and words to show the facial expression of the child and his father. Also, the poet invents the word “unfrown” that shows special emphasis in a stanza and describes the poet’s consciousness towards his mother. At the same time, a few lines of the poem show irony that takes my attention and affects my opinion. For example, the first line of the poem shows irony. Roethke describes that the child gets the smell of whiskey, which is dangerous for him. Also, the word “death” in line four presents certain dangers of the situation. Furthermore, the word “romped” shows irony, because it shows the waltz as a careless dance. However, romping may result into violent conditions, such as crashes or disruptions (Wood, 2008).

In conclusion, the poem “My papa’s Waltz” describes a child abuse and alcoholism. Roethke portrays the main elements of the poem in an interesting way and it takes readers’ attention. He uses the diction, image and irony of the speaker in an effective way that changes the readers’ opinions. Thus, the poet illustrates important elements of the poem.