Interpretation of The Poem; My Papa’s Waltz by Theodore Roethke

In "My Papa’s Waltz" by Theodore Roethke, the interpretation of the poem depends on the readers perspective. It is a great poem that can give different ideas to different people. Some people believe that this poem has a hidden message of parental abuse. But other people think that this poem is one of happy moment shared between father and son. According to the images and language, the symbols and tone, in the poem gave me the clue of the love between father and son, not of an abusive relationship. As a reader, I can see, a son who wanted to spend some quality time with his father before his bed and probably does not get enough time to spend together.

Firstly, the tone of the poem is an accurate reflection of feelings which ties the father and son in an implied relationship. In general, readers can find the tone is either joyful or sad. As the poem consists of many sides of the tone. Growing up consists of realizing how childhood experiences made impressions on us as adults. Since, the poem is written in adult age, in way mature thoughts and feelings are displayed rather than childish ones. To me, the speaker just trying to hide and impose his adulthood’s frustration on his childhood memories.

Secondly, the most important elements in "My Papa’s Waltz" is about sound: rhyme and rhythm, which is misleading. The pleasant rhythm created by Roethke which makes the poem sound short and sweet to me. The rhyme of the poem further trances the reader into a sad and painful believing tone of the poem. However, this rhyme and rhythm is deceiving. In the poem there is something not quite sound with pleasant memory in the harsh sounds. But the rhythmic tone brings repetition in which the rhyming words are not completely identical such as "dizzy" and "easy" (Roethke 2,4). These insignificant limitations reflect the speaker’s feelings towards his father. Although he has unconditional love for his father, that love cannot disguise those limitations.

Thirdly, the poetic language in "My Papa’s Waltz" is so precise, that it can make more debate on the meaning of the poem. Mostly, it has controversial interpretations as the words have individual different meanings. At the beginning the title, "My Papa’s Waltz" discloses what the poem is about. The waltz means an easiness and grace, and the word Papa is used which implies an extreme closeness and admiration. Similar the popular phrase, "Don’t judge a book by its cover," no one should judge this poem by its title. Although, the title conveys lightness, the content draws darkness and perversion.

Another form of poetic language is metaphor which revealing the emotion in this poem, especially since it is tough to distinguish. The only symbol of metaphor, in the poem gives the most haunting notion, "I hung on like death" (3). This introduces the reader to a darker thought, further confirming that there is an emotional excitement tone. In the room of things, "My Papa’s Waltz" is an image of the father-son relationship in the poem. Most importantly, the waltz represents the dance between love and resentment between the father and son that enlightened me as a reader.

In short, any one’s personal experiences with their father or father figures may influence them to interpret "My Papa’s Waltz" to be strictly a happy or traumatic memory. Just like many broken relationships, some people may be notice on the outside. However, the relationship may be not broken on the inside. Each element helps to build the impact that the memory in admiration of the father, but seeing through those elements also allows the reader to see the abuse the speaker suffered in his childhood.