Source: Storyboard That
My Papa’s Waltz
-Theodore Roethke
The whiskey on your breath
But I hung on like death
Such waltzing was not easy.
We romped until pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother’s countenance
Could not unfrown itself.
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.
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Literal
Comprehension:
The poem opens up
with a charming and heartlifting family scene of father and son dancing with
each other. The father is obviously drunk because his breath smelled strongly
of whisky which made the little boy dizzy. But he kept on hanging to his father
even though the dance steps were hard to keep up. They go on dancing around the
kitchen knocking down all the utensils there. The mother is certainly angry at
the mess they have created. However she chooses to remain silent and not
disturb the father-son waltz. The father is holding the boy’s wrist and he can
see that his father’s knuckles were bruised. Every time they missed a step, the
little boy would scrape his ear against his father’s belt buckle. The father
would beat rhythm on the boy’s head. Despite of this, the boy wouldn’t let his
father go even when he was tucked in bed.
Interpretation:
The poem may be a
vivid image of nighttime ritual that shows the connection between father and
son. The father is a hardworking man who dances awkwardly but enthusiastically,
creating a moment of intimacy with his child. The mother is a regular housewife
who has to put up with her husband’s alcoholism every day.
In fact, the poem
reflects the state of family where the father is a chronic drinker. Alcoholism
is a major family problem in the modern society. As depicted in the poem, the
children often have to suffer the physiological and psychological impact of
their parent’s relationship. The waltz that the boy is talking about is to stop
the quarrel between his mother and father.
On a deeper note, the
poem may be referring to a harsh father-son relationship. Mother is guilty of
not preventing the husband from beating. “Hang on like death” phrase is hardly
a positive description of something a little boy welcomes, and death is a
threatening word. In little boy’s act of clinging to his father’s shirt, we see
his love for his father irrespective of how hard he has been on him. He is afraid
of losing his father because of excessive alcoholism.
Critical Thinking
The poem is titled
waltz to refer something like dancing. However, reading between the lines, the
true nature of father-son and husband-wife relationship is revealed. Waltz
should not be taken literally here. Instead, the poem is indicative of violent
relationship that exists in the family.
The poem leaves it to
the reader’s imagination and analysis regarding the takeaway from the
literature. The dancing moments portrayed in the poem provides some pleasant experience
but at the same time, the darker side of the waltz is revealed. The reader is
left confused at the end of the poem. Should we feel happy for the father-son
relationship? What about his mother? Why is she not doing anything to save him?
She is just letting the father beat her son.
Somebody please call
Child Service! 911.
Assimilation:
Even though the
father is a habitual drunkard, the reader can see his love for his son. In any situation,
the children play central role to bring together father and mother in family. The
poem is not about violent relationship between father and son but a playful
relationship between a hardworking father and a good son. No wonder, the poem
has stood the test of time. The overall tone and feeling contains love, pain,
humor and nostalgia, all blended. This poem is worth memorizing.
©Linking the Myths2014: Summary and Four Levels of the Poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke
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