My Papa's Waltz Essay

Theodore Roethke wrote the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” which reflects on his childhood memories of his father carrying him to bed. He reminisces about a past memory of him clinging to his father while walking through the house in a drunken state. He remembers how the voluminous smell of whiskey on his father’s breath could make him dizzy. How his father would accidently knock the pans until they fell off the kitchen shelf still lingers in his memory. He recalls his ear being scraped against his father’s belt buckle after every step he missed. His father would hit him in a disciplinary fashion for staying up late, causing his intoxicated father to carry him to bed. In his poem, “My Papa’s Waltz”, Theodore Roethke establishes the theme of power through the metaphor of dance, the imagery of violence, and the alternating meter. The theme of power is established through the metaphor of dance in the poem “My Papa’s Waltz.” Waltzing refers to
Intentional violence refers to purposely inflicting the boy. Nonintentional violence refers to accidently inflicting the boy. An example of nonintentional violence is “at every step you missed, my right ear scraped a buckle” (Roethke 1). This is important because it shows how the father established power by allowing the son to get hurt. The father solely had control of over the son scarping his ear on the belt buckle. If the father was not there, then the boy would not be harmed. An example of intentional violence is when Roethke says “You beat time on my head, with a palm caked hard by dirt” (Roethke 1). This literally describes the boy being hit by the father’s hand. The father establishes power over the boy by hitting him, knowing that the boy will not hit back. Overall, the theme of power is displayed in the imagery of violence in the poem by intentional and nonintentional