My Papa's Waltz: New Critical Reading

Undying love of Son to his Father:“My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke 

            While approaching the poem entitled “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke through New Critical reading, persona recollects his childhood memories which were spent with his father. This is the precise depiction of undying love of a son towards his father. Now, persona is in his adulthood and gets into the flashback to recollect all those memories.

            Although dictions of Roethke may create the possibility of literal interpretation including the theme of domestic violence, brutality of father and other; but poem particularly portrays the playful or cheerful waltzing between a son and father. Waltz is a type of dance between two people as partners moving round and round. So, Waltz stands for the several circles of live between a son and father. A young boy (son) seems to be learning those steps which give us the clear image of a boy who is learning to live.

            Roethke begins his first stanza with rhyming like breathe, death and dizzy, easy.

The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.

This stanza clarifies that persona is very young where he goes dizzied by smell of whiskey. But, it’s not declared that father is drunk. That young boy doesn’t find the waltzing easier but still he is hanging hard to learn it. He tries hard to learn it.

            Walt is the perfect symbol of life and circles of life which engages several people. Similarly second stanza begins with playful tone in which son and father are in playful mood with romping. They romp in a bit wild manner though it doesn’t demand reprimand over any character. The tone of terror or frightful environment of first stanza is cut off with playful beginning of second stanza. But still, in some cases readers may get into ambiguities with the Roethke’s application of word ‘Waltz’. Waltz can be the metaphor for violence as well as happiness, cheerful and loving relation. Even the very personal word chosen by a young son ‘Papa’ for his father stands for indispensible love of him towards his father. More of the ambiguities are added in the second stanza with the lines like

‘…pans,

slid from the kitchen self

My mother's countenance
Could not unfrown itself.’

Mother is unhappy or disappointed because her pan has fallen. But it doesn’t include any sort of scolding or reprimanding for either son or father.

            Likewise, third stanza opens with introduction to brute and alcoholic father though it’s implied but not declared. Father seems to be having blue collared career.  This fact is presented by following lines:

The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle; 

Similarly, when they miss the steps, young boy’s ear is scraped. But it’s not deliberate one rather it’s a miss done by his father. When ear is scraped in the buckle, readers may develop the image of violence but we don’t see any kind of deliberation.

            In the similar way, tension is created in the fourth stanza with the two contradictory dictions of Roethke i.e. beat and waltz. In literal context or interpretation, it (beat) may create the image of violation but when it’s used along with waltz, it has intention of continuation of waltzing. In some cases, father is portrayed in dark light in the line like:

With a palm caked hard by dirt,

Nonetheless the father knocked him (son) off into the bed, son is still clinging to his father’s shirt not letting him to go away. So, this poem is very ambiguous poem. But young son is depicted to be showing his undying love towards his father besides several harsh conditions. Roethke has enforced us to read and analyze words but not the assumptions.

Appendix: A

My Papa's Waltz

The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.

We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
Could not unfrown itself.

The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.

You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt. 

Theodore Roethke

Source:

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/my-papa-s-waltz/

Work Citation:

Theodore Roethke. “My Papa’s Waltz” poemhunter.com.  03 Jan. 2003. Web.  12 Dec. 2012.