Judith Lewis Herman, an American psychiatrist, said: “Many abused children cling to the hope that growing up will bring them escape and freedom. » This quote seems to ring true in “My Papa's Waltz” by Theodore Roethke. My Father's Waltz is one of Theodore Roethke's best-known poems. Poetry is an oral or literary work that is presented in a condensed or compressed form to convey emotions or ideas. Poems are created to express the thoughts and emotions of the writer. This often relies on their effect on the imagery, word association and musical qualities of the language used. Readers are unsure about the theme of Theodore Roethke's "My Daddy's Waltz." Some believe the poem is a memory of a happy exchange between a father and son, while others believe it has darker undertones. The most plausible explanation is that it contains a covert theme of abuse. Child abuse could be considered the theme due to suspicions of alcoholism, the mothers' disgust at what is happening, and the damage done to the kitchen and the child. Careful analysis of key words and stanzas supports the theory of child abuse caused by a destructive, drunken father. The setting, images, and word selection allow the reader to understand the cruelty the little boy endures after his father returns from work. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay My Father's Waltz is a lyric poem. Theodore Roethke wrote this poem in 1942. The poem recounts an exchange between a father and his son in a kitchen. The entire story is told from the perspective of the writer who remembers a moment from his childhood. The story of the alcoholic father dancing with his child across the room, holding him roughly and hitting his head, can be interpreted both positively and negatively. A tough, hard-working man, who loves his son and wants to have fun with him, or it's the story of a drunkard who neglects and abuses his child. The poem follows an alternate rhyme scheme with the occasional slant written into the poem. The meter is an iambic trimeter, a weak syllable followed by a strong syllable with three stressed syllables per line to make the poem very easy. There are three stressed syllables in a line resembling a real waltz, which has three beats. The poem contains four stanzas containing quatrains. The setting of the poem is the kitchen, home life, especially in 1942. “But I held on like death” is an example of a simile in the poem. Some lines also give us general information. Theodore Roethke's father owned a greenhouse, which explains in line 10 why his hands are covered in dirt. One of the reasons why the theme of "My Papa's Waltz" is abuse is that the father is an alcoholic. At the beginning of the poem, we immediately see allusions to alcoholism. “The whiskey on your breath / Could make a little boy dizzy” indicates that the father drank heavily. The father drank so much that his breath caused his son to experience some of the effects of alcohol. As soon as the father comes home from work, you can smell alcohol on his breath. Symptoms of alcohol abuse include impulsivity, poor self-control, and abnormal brain responses to activating stimuli. Many people become argumentative when they drink and some become combative. Alcoholism can cause the drinker to act out. In the poem, the father vents his anger on his son. The mother is helpless and can only frown in fear of being next. Alcoholism is not,.