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My Papa's Waltz Literary Analysis

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My Papa’s Waltz: by Theodore Roethke The poetic piece of “My Papa’s Waltz” written by Theodore Roethke is a traumatic tale that approaches a psychoanalytic approach to a young boy’s relationship towards his Father. Although the poem itself is only sixteen lines, it is one of Roethke’s most moving and most frequently anthologized or recognized poems [1]. The story has been read as a very warm memory, but easily shifts itself into a perplexed darker narrative that deals with assumptions like abuse. In this analytical essay, I will discuss the past experiences of Theodore Roethke that influenced “My Papa’s Waltz”, emphasizing the psychoanalytical approaches that are defined in this emotional poem. The story is told …show more content…

Roethke places a historical experience to address a social and cultural issue found in drunkenness, which abstracts the harmful nature he once experienced through a vivid psychological approach. For example, lines 5-8 “We romped until the pans. Slid from the kitchen shelf; my mother’s countenance, Could not unfrown itself,” one recognizes the boy enduring a dance by his father that seems to have already been endured by his mother for a long time [5]. The mother’s tone is perceived with anger and depression, but despite her husband’s drunkenness she ignores all that occurs as she continues her regular household work. The rhythm of the poem is cheerfully written only to mask and disguise the resentment truly felt by the author of the poem. All such attributes that characterize “My Papa’s Waltz” reminds the reader why it is such an enriching piece of literature, as its imagery can transparently express all that Roethke experienced emotionally. “My Papa’s Waltz” is a powerful poem that integrates an honest conversation towards the obnoxious nature of drunkenness. Theodore Roethke used this poetic piece to vividly display the perplex issues children in society deal with when confronting a family member who drinks. The poem’s nature is half affectionate and half satirical as it mocks the events his father placed on him that he never

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Roethke also uses an awkward form of rhyme. In other words, in every rhyming pair he contradicts himself. For instance, line one “[t]he whiskey on your breathe” and line three “[b]ut I hung on like death are total opposite in meaning, making diction or word choice extremely important in the poem. Roethke has a different style in poetry and he follows all the rules for diction.

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