Interpretation In My Papa's Waltz, By Theodore Roethke

My Papa’s Waltz, by Theodore Roethke, is a poem that has been interpreted in two very different ways. The first interpretation is that the poem is a child’s loving memory of his father who had too much to drink and the second interpretation is a child’s memory of his abusive father. After I read the poem, instead of looking at the two interpretations as completely unalike, I came to believe that both of the interpretations co-existed with each other and were valid. In order to understand why I believed so, it is important to break the poem apart and analyze the speaker, style, tone, and theme of the poem. The speaker of the poem seems to be a son recollecting his memories as a child and the relationship he had with his father. The memory is

It is a dance that can easily be played out in the head and is memorable. Although there are words and images with positive associations there are also those with negative associations. The speaker recalls that he “hung on like death” when dancing with his father while his “mother’s countenance could not unfrown itself”. Other words like “dizzy”, “romped”, “battered”, “scraped”, and “beat” are used in the speaker’s recollection. The style of the poem also helps to convey the tone of the speaker. The speaker’s tone gives off a range of emotions. The waltz the speaker remembers shows the love he has for his father, yet the negative words and images used displays fear and resentment in the speaker’s tone. The memory doesn’t come off all too pleasant as it did at first. In the poem, the young boy was as most children are; innocent and oblivious. The mother, however, doesn’t seem to be oblivious. The way she is described gives off a worrisome sensation. Instead of smiling or laughing while her husband and son dance, the mother frowns. The mother’s facial expression gives readers insight into what the family is