Daddy Dearest

“Daddy”

Plath's interpretation of the poem is very similar to mine. After reading the piece several times, I became more aware of the tension between the two parts of Plath's heritage and her struggle to recognize them. The Electra complex is also readily apparent in the strong feelings Plath verbalize towards her father, especially in her desire to die to be with him. The dark and twisted symbolism in the poem furthers this interpretation. Experiencing death at such a young age, especially the death of a parent, can have very harsh effects on one's outlook on the world. Given Plath's mental state in regards to her relationship with her father, the heavy handed approach to metaphor is completely appropriate. Her father's Nazi ties serve to further validate this symbolism, however obvious.


“My Papa’s Waltz”

The imagery and metaphor used in "My Papa's Waltz" define the moment between father and son as one of both tenderness and tension. The father's drunken dance with his son after a long day of work followed by drinking holds both positive and negative emotions for the son. The first description we see of the father tells us that he is drunk. That is a powerful first impression and it colors our perception of the actions that take place throughout the rest of the poem. What could have been interpreted as playful dancing between father and son turns into a scene of mock gaiety and forced participation. The mother looks on, frowning, most likely unable to interject on her son's behalf for either fear of punishment or escalation. The son notes the physical characteristics of his father's hands as being dirty and worn, conjuring up a similar view of his emotional attributes. Words like beat, battered, scraped, caked, clinging, and death, all promote this negative characterization. Whether or not the son was aware of his father's actions and their consequences at the time the waltzing occurred leaves room for the interpretation of the poem in a more positive light. If the son did not realize his father was drunk, he may have taken much more pleasure from a session of rough-housing with his father. This view is supported by the recurring use of the word waltz, and the word romp. The pans did not clang and clatter, they slid. The mother's countenance can also support this view, in that she would have been frowning at the boys for being boys and making a mess.

The use of the word waltz is in a more connotative than denotative fashion. Roethke uses the word to give a visual picture of the fleeting, frenzied dance that the father and son engage in and relate it to the behavior of a (most likely) habitually drunken man. The waltz is probably characteristic of the daily life of the father and his family. Frenetic and dangerous, the waltz is a common ritual for the boy and his parents. What differentiates the steps in the dance is the person who is dancing.