What Is The Meaning Of My Papa's Waltz

In Theodore Roethke’s poem, “My Papa’s Waltz,” a child and the father appear to be dancing. The author uses descriptive words to explain the dance that is happening between the father and child. The child’s experience in the poem is not a pleasant one, we see this throughout the detailed lines.
The father in the story appears to be very drunk. This is seen in the very beginning of the poem. The child states: “The whiskey on your breath / Could make a small boy dizzy” (lines 1-2). It is also apparent that the father is drunk when the child stated: “At every step you missed / My right ear scraped a buckle” (11-12). These lines clearly show that the father is drunk, by the smell on his breath and how he is dancing, he is also giving the child pain as shown in line 12. One may argue that the father had maybe just taken a drink and that’s why the whiskey smell is so strong. If that were the case though the father wouldn’t be having trouble dancing. The drunken father and the pain that he is causing the child proves that the child is not enjoying the dance.
This is also seen at the very beginning of the poem. The child states: “But I hung on like death / Such waltzing was not easy (3-4). These lines show that the child is having trouble dancing with the father since he is having to hold on like death and says that the waltzing is not easy. The child also stated: “Then waltzed me off to bed / Still clinging to your shirt (15-16). These lines show that the child is clinging to the father probably in fear. A person may argue that the child is holding on tight because of the love he has for that father. If this were the case, the child wouldn’t have brought up that the dancing was difficult. The hard dancing and the child holding on tight shows that the child is not enjoying dancing with the father and is more than likely fearing