"My Papa's Waltz" By Theodore Roethke

Theodore Roethke was born in Saginaw, Michigan and lived a complex life. He suffered greatly from abandonment and loss, leading him to write some extremely great works in his day. He attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and died of a heart attack in his friends swimming pool.

     This poem, written by Theodore Roethke, can be interpreted in two ways. Depending on how the reader would like to view the poem, it can portray a happy memory or a depressing memory. My literal meaning of this poem is that the "waltz" occurring throughout the poem, is realistically another term used for the beating the father is doing to his son. The poet uses diction throughout this poem that can be interpreted in a couple of ways or be read in a contrasting manner. For example, the words "waltz", "beat",  "dizzy" and "romped" could have more than one meaning in the language of this specific piece of writing. In the way I read the poem, the language is a positive mask for a negative meaning. The way the "waltz" is described portrays the father as an alcoholic who comes home and beats his son in a routinely way. The speaker seems to be looking back with a feeling of sadness on a memory from his childhood. He wants to remember his father in a positive way but he knows from this specific memory, his father's actions are now poignant to how he remembers his childhood.