Summary Of My Papa's Waltz By Theodore Roethke

In Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” the reader is subjected to what can be seen to some as a horrific episode of abuse. However, as the reading continues the words and phrases that the narrator uses give the reader a sense that he doesn’t look at this experience as something bad. The speaker is reflecting on a childhood experience involving his father. Both sides could argue as to what this poem is truly about. From my point of view, the imagery and language, symbolism, and tone in the poem give the impression of the love between a boy and his father, not of an abusive relationship. I think that a reader could be thrown off by the language due to the mention of the strong smell of whiskey coming from the father: “The whiskey on your breath