My Papa’s Waltz

In Theodore Roethke's poem "My Papa's Waltz," the father's characteristics are revealed not through dialogue, but rather entirely through the narrator son's words.

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Disclosure of characteristics of one person through the words of others is common in our society. It reflects the way people view others, as well as their actions toward them. Therefore, even though the poem "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke consists of no dialogue; the class was still able to analyze the father through the words of his son. In fact, the use of "Our Manual: SAT II/ The SAT Program" further incorporated the character of the father.

In every house hold, lies a relationship that can only be 'seen' through their own words or facial expressions. For example, the poem began with a rough image of a father who drinks, "The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy" ("My papa's waltz" by Theodore Reothke, lines 1 & 2). This tells the reader that the father is stressed, and relieves it by the unfortunate tendency of drinking.

In the following line, the son uses the word 'death', which is a harsh word that by 'listening' to the son tells us he does not approve of his father's drinking. In fact, the tone of the poem changes, for ."..the character who is speaking holds a different opinion ...than that of the person about whom he or she is speaking." ("Our Manual: SAT II Lit/ The SAT Program, p.24. However, the son and his father are lively dancing, making a mess in the kitchen by 'romping' the dishes. Therefore, the fathers' characteristic consists of being boisterous and joyful when spending quality time with his son. On the other hand, "my mother's countenance could not unfrown itself" ("My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke, lines&8), tells us that the son

'sees' the mother as selfish and jealous that him and his father are having a good time; by stating the powerful words 'mother' and 'countenance' rather than 'mama' and 'face'. Although, the 'mother' might be angry only because the father is 'romping' up the son when he should be calm and getting ready to sleep. For example, "Use caution, in accepting the words of other Characters...for how their personal interest might affect their words concerning the Character in question..." ("Our Manual: SAT II Lit/ The SAT Program, P.24).

Father's usually spend their day hard at work, not having any time