Howell 1
Kyra Howell
English 25203.01
Response to My Papa’s Waltz
25 April 2011
Drunken Dance
In Theodore Roethke’s poem, “My Papa’s Waltz”, he demonstrates a brutal occurrence
between a boy and his drunken father. Though the speaker is not named, it is quite clear that it is
the little boy. The boy maintains a nonchalant tone throughout the poem, but there is always an
anxious undertone that accompanies it. The poem is set up in four quatrains that have the rhyme
scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH. It should also be noted that the rhythm of the poem is
set up much like the rhythm of the actual waltz. The vivid imagery of this piece also provides
ample evidence of the father’s drunkenness and the struggle the boy must endure.
In the first quatrain one finds that the father, who is drunk, has grabbed his little boy and
is dancing around with him. The boy states the he could smell the whiskey on his father’s breath,
which suggests that excessive drinking was done. He also makes it clear that his father is not
dancing around with him easily. This image is reinforced in the next quatrain, where the boy
claims that they were dancing so roughly that they were knocking things from the shelves and
making a mess. The boy is obviously an unwilling participant because his father has him by the
wrist and is dragging him along. The unsteadiness of the father’s steps is exemplified in the
following quatrain. Every time the father stumbles his son pays by having his ear scraped by his
belt buckle (this also reinforces the roughness of the dance); evidence that the boy is small is also
supported in here (he only comes up to his father’s waist). In the final quatrain the violent dance
comes to an end with the father dragging the poor boy off to bed.
Howell 2
Throughout “My Papa’s Walt”, the little boy illustrates his father’s drunken episode. One
can assume that the father is the sole provider for the family (considering the time period) and
that after a long day’s work he went to the bar and got drunk. He then went home and in his
stupor, dragged his poor little boy around in stumbled form of the waltz. One is given the image
of a rather large, muscular father stumbling around with his boy clinging to him; while the
mother simply watches. The father is completely unaware of rough behavior and accomplishes
nothing more than terrifying his son. This poem illustrates the violence and fear of the drunken
dance..