Misinterpretations of a Waltz in My Papa’s Waltz

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"Misinterpretations of a Waltz" in My Papa’s Waltz

"We romped until the pans / Slid from the kitchen shelf" (5-6). In numerous poems different readers vista a variety of ways to interpret what poems actually mean. This is very much true in Theodore Roethke's poem "My Papa's Waltz." The quote mentioned has caused many misconceptions about what the poem; "My Papa's Waltz" actually refers to. The two superior interpretations of critics are that Roethke's poem describes abuse or a dance. The abuse seems much more apparent in "My Papa's Waltz" because of the language that Roethke uses. The dance is interpreted because the boy is innocent and knows nothing else therefore the abuse seems normal. The drunkenness of his Papa, the mother's ignorance, and the way the child describes his abuse are very clear interpretations of mistreatment in Theodore Roethke's poem "My Papa's Waltz."

In the opening of the poem the young boy lets the audience know how he remembers his Papa. He remembers him by "The whiskey on your breath / could make a small boy dizzy" (1-2). The first declara...

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