"My Papa's Waltz"
ENG/125
March 28, 2011

"My Papa's Waltz" My Papa’s Waltz is a fairly straightforward poem written in iambic triameter. The last word of the first and third line of each quatrain rhyme as does the last word of the second and fourth line. This poem is a reflection of an event in the life of a little boy, and because of the rhyming style of poem, it is clear it is written from a child’s perspective. The little boy recalls an experience dancing a waltz with his father in their home. Although there are many opinions circulating about whether or not his was a positive experience, I think it was. I think this is a memory of a small boy cavorting with his father. The first stanza tells the reader that the father has had perhaps too much whiskey to drink. The boy says that the smell of his father’s breath made him dizzy. This must mean that the boy is very familiar with his father in this drunken state. This does not necessarily mean that the boy was traumatized by this event, just simply that he knows his father has had some whiskey to drink. He recalls that he had to hang on tight and that it was not easy for him to hold on to his father during this waltz. The waltz is typically a slow ballroom dance in three-quarter time that give the impression that the dancers are gliding around the room. The boy’s dance with his father is hardly gliding around a room considering the boy says he “hung on like death” (Barnet, Burto, & Cain, 2011, p. 786). In the next stanza the wild waltz continues as the boys and his father romp around the kitchen knocking pans from the shelf. In this stanza, the son recalls his mother’s reaction to this boisterous activity in her kitchen. The son says that his “mother’s countenance could not unfrown itself” (Barnet, Burto, & Cain, 2011, p. 786). Countenance refers to his mother’s expression, an expression that could not change from a frown. His mother could not smile. At this point in the poem perhaps the son is confused about his mother’s reaction. It may simply just be a description of what he saw, and the son was not affected by her response. Perhaps his mother is not pleased with her husband’s drunken behavior. It could simply just be that she is annoyed because they danced her pots off the shelf. The son does not speak about the mother again, which makes be think that he was not too concerned about how she was feeling. By the third stanza, the son begins to offer more of a description of his father. His father had a battered knuckle, meaning that the knuckle had damage from hard labor. The boy’s father must have a job that requires his hands. He describes how his father missed steps as he danced the waltz, which enforces my thought that the father was clearly quite intoxicated. The son may not have been to concerned with his father’s missed steps but more concerned that with each missed step his “right ear scraped the buckle” (Barnet, Burto, & Cain, 2011, p. 787). This is not intentional on behalf of the father but merely just circumstances. The son is a child only at waist height with his father. Though he states that his ear scraped his father buckle he is probably not too concerned because of the fun and excitement of dancing with his father. I have memories of dancing with my dad during parties my parent would occasionally have. My father often wore big belt buckles because he grew up on a farm and around rodeos. I remember the feeling of that buckle on my face when I ran to hug him. During these parties, he would put my feet on top of his and teach me how to two-step. My father was an alcoholic and I remember the smell of alcohol on his breath and although it did not scare me, I clearly remember the feeling that my father was very different when he was drinking and that made me uncomfortable. In the final stanza, the son gives the reader more detail about his father’s hands and how his hands were “caked with dirt” (Barnet, Burto, & Cain, 2011, p. 787). This supports the thought that his father worked hard with his hands. The boys father may be a farmer. The son states that his father “beat time on his head” (Barnet, Burto, & Cain, 2011, p. 787). I do not think that the word beat meant that it his father was roughly hitting the son’s head. In the final line the son is clinging to his father’s shirt as he is waltzed to bed. This shows that the son does not want the dancing to stop. Perhaps the father works very long hours and rarely sees his father. I have a clear sense of loving affection between the father and the son. The vision of a son clinging to his father’s shirt is very endearing. Poetry can bring about many interpretations from its readers. The reader’s personal experiences direct his or her reactions to a poem. My life experiences have allowed me to conclude that this is a fun playful poem about the excitement of a vigorous active waltz between a boy and his father. Although written by an adult, the poem is child like with its rhyming pattern, which helps the readers imagine that the poem is from a child’s perspective. A moment in time when a father and his son bonded with each other before the son has to go to bed.

References
Barnet, S., Burto, W., & Cain, W. E. (2011). Literature for composition (9th ed.). Hagerstown, MD: Longman.