Theodore Roethke’s poem, “My Papa’s Waltz” is a poem that describes the speaker’s complicated memories of his father, particularly in how he seems to think fondly of what very well may have been an abusive relationship. The exact extent of the abuse, if present, is intentionally unclear; the poem’s overall tone makes it seem as if the speaker is fond of the memories, but several details emerge that when analyzed, point toward a potentially abusive and violent relationship.

The poem is addressed to the father, although the voice of the speaker is an adult perspective. The very first line identifies whiskey on the father’s breath, which tells the reader that the first memory the speaker has of his father was that he was an alcoholic. Because the poem begins with this memory, we get the sense that it was common for the father to drink whiskey, and that this was not a special occasion. The speaker then describes a dance, and describes himself as hanging onto his father like death. This is a somewhat dark metaphor, as it shows the speaker’s willingness to hang onto his father, as if he were enjoying the dance and not wanting to let go.

The second stanza reveals more about the speaker’s family, particularly his mother, as well as the violence caused by the dance. The dance is described as a romp that makes pans fall down from the shelf, so there is an indication of violence. The second half of the stanza describes the mother, who is watching while frowning. She is obviously upset at what is going on, so this is a clue that shows us that the actual dance might be a metaphor for abuse.

The third stanza reveals a bit of how the dance affected the speaker. The speaker describes his father’s hand as being battered, which shows that his father worked with his hands. This is significant because it implies that they are a working class family, and that his father most likely performed physical labor for a job. More important to the meaning of the poem, his father’s hand is also described in memory as holding his own wrist, which indicates he was unable to escape. Following this description, the speaker tells how his ear would scrape against his father’s buckle whenever the father missed a step. Even if the dance itself is not intended to be abusive, at least from the father’s perspective, it is clear that the dance is causing harm to the speaker.

The final stanza is a bit more specific, following the same theme of the third pattern: the speaker describes a potentially violent action, which in this stanza is having his father beat time on his head, followed by a description of his father’s hand being caked in dirt. This again implies that his father most likely performs physical labor. The poem then ends with the boy being carried off to bed, but clinging to his father the entire time.

The poem itself resembles the rhythmic pattern of a dance, specifically a waltz. It uses a very basic rhyme scheme, with an ABAB pattern in each of its stanzas. The poem also uses a lyrical sound that would make one think the poem is about a happy subject, when in actuality it is not. The dance is used as a metaphor for abuse. Once the specific images are analyzed, it becomes evident that the child is remembering his alcoholic father and how he was abused, either intentionally or because his father simply became too aggressive or rough after he had been drinking. However, the emotional impact of the poem comes from how the speaker remembers the abuse, as he appears to have tolerated it, particularly in the descriptions of where he was hanging onto his father. This implies that even though he was abused, this was the only time his father ever paid attention to him.