Poem Essay

Theodore Roethke 's My Papa 's Waltz

The whiskey on your breath 1

Could make a small boy dizzy 2

But I hung on like death : 3

Such waltzing was not easy . 4

We romped until the pans 5

Slid from the kitchen shelf 6

My mother 's countenance 7

Could not unfrown itself . 8

The hand that held my wrist 9

Was battered on one knuckle 10

At every step you missed 11

My right ear scraped a buckle . 12

You beat time on my head

13

With a palm caked hard by dirt , 14

Then waltzed me off to bed 15

Still clinging to your shirt . 16

- Theodore Roethke

_________

My Papa 's Waltz is a small poem that depicts a few fleeting moments of silent rapport between the father and the son , as the father dances off his tiny son to bed for a long night 's sleep . This poem is well-known for the waltz-like effect it creates in its cadences and rollicking rhythm . However there is another fairly unique feature to it that may not be so easily noticed . Although the poet uses past tense , the content of the poem is presented from the point of view of a small child experiencing it all in the sensory abundance of the living moment rather than that of an adult visiting his childhood and trying to relive a small beautiful event of his past . The difference between these two is that , in the former the original perception and perspective of the child is faithfully retained as far as possible , while in the latter the poet cannot help but bring in his current interpretation of an event lingering in the oldest and perhaps faintest of his memories , seen in a retrospective perspective as it were

This poem has no interpretations or reflections , just rather disjointed images narrated in brusque movements suggesting immature yet keen pattern of perception of a very young child who is experiencing a few particularly happy family moments . William Williams , Roethke 's mentor applauds it for its savage but impeccable perfection of surface , full rhyme and strictly measured lines (Kutsch 68

The verses do have a pleasant nostalgic feel to them , while also being a little rough and rugged in texture . Most of us can easily identify with this poem because of some similar moments of magical intimacy we may have had with our fathers , during our childhood . A professor records his experience on reading the poem

[T]he poem for me had always conjured up a vivid image of a nighttime ritual that shows the connection between father and son . In my mind 's eye , I saw a hardworking man who danced awkwardly but enthusiastically creating a moment of intimacy with his child (Smith 1

The child 's tender age can be inferred by what the poet says in the first stanza that he clung on (to his dad ) like death (Roethke 3 . The father is a source of life and sustenance . The kid must have been pleasantly terrified by his father 's lifting him in the mid-air and prancing about . Such fear is only natural in kids of very young age . The way Daddy is handling the kid scares him , yet at the same time it must have been exhilarating . This waltzing ' was not easy or convenient admits the poet (Roethke 4 . We can imagine the face of a cute kid , part frightened , part fascinated , behind these words . Also , the father must have been slightly drunk , which perhaps explains his light , euphoric mood . But , because of the heightened perception a child normally has the kid could sense a strong whiff of whiskey in his father 's breath The stench of alcohol has often negative connotations , in the present context , however , it gives a certain piquancy to the air and ambience of the poem , and therefore adds to the overall impact of it

The third stanza alludes to the machismo of the father by the mention of a scar the child notices on the arm of the father . Children tend to instinctively adore the image of physical strength and toughness in their fathers , perhaps because of the feeling of extra security it seems to offer them . The father in the present poem could probably be a factory worker who sometimes is able to come back home in time to spend some time with his children , and more frequently it may be just too late by the time he is back at home , and the children may be fast asleep There is a feeling of celebration , whether it is just because the father has time to see and play with his kids , or because of some other reason such as some good news at father 's workplace , or simply because of the effects of alcohol , is not clear . Though words such as battered scraped ' buckle ' beat ' seem out of place in a small poem celebrating the bond between the father and a son , they are used to convey the toughness of the father 's character , which must have made him all the more fascinating to his tiny son

The last stanza confirms that the father is indeed a factory worker ( palm caked hard by dirt , and has a rather rough way of showing his tender affection to his child ( you beat time on my head . It must have been already late for the bed , and the father forcefully pushes the child into the bed , but the child does not want to let go ( still clinging to your shirt . Chances are that the child is taken on a few more merry frolicking rounds all across the house dad and son must have thrown a few more things into disarray , thereby incurring a little more of mother 's helpless fury , before the child is finally tired and put to bed . And that 's the way it goes between the father and a child in happy homes , even under tough circumstances of work and survival . Roethke 's poem does a particularly good job in capturing the fleeting essence of one of those typical happy moments of childhood , as seen from the bright and eager eyes of a child , as opposed to a simple reminiscence couched in evocative words

References

Kusch , Robert . My Toughest Mentor : Theodore Roethke and William Carlos Williams (1940-1948 ' Cranbury , NJ : Associated University Presses 1999

Smith . G . Theodore Roethke 's My Papa 's Waltz : A Reader 's Response 06 March 2007 PAGE

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