Judith Lewis Herman, an American psychiatrist, said: "Many abused children cling to the hope that growing up brings escape and freedom." This quote seems to be true in “My Papa's Waltz” by Theodore Roethke. My Papa's Waltz is one of Theodore Roethke's best-known poems. Poetry is an oral or literary work in condensed or compressed form to convey emotions or ideas. Poems are created to express the thoughts and emotions of the writer. It is often based on their effect on imagery, word association, and the musical qualities of the language used. Readers are uncertain about the theme of Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz." Some believe the poem is a memory of a happy exchange between father and son, while others believe it has darker undertones. The most plausible explanation is that it contains a secret theme of abuse. Child abuse could be considered the theme due to the hints of alcoholism, the mothers' disgust at what is happening and the damage to the kitchen and the child. A careful analysis of the key words and verses confirm the theory of child abuse caused by a destructive and intoxicated father. The setting, imagery, and word selection allow the reader to understand the cruelty the young boy endures after his father returns from work. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay My Papa's Waltz is a lyric poem. Theodore Roethke wrote this poem in 1942. The poem is about an exchange between a father and son in a kitchen. The entire story is told from the point of view of the writer who remembers a moment from his childhood. The story of the alcoholic father who dances with his son around the room, holding him roughly and beating time on his head, could be interpreted positively and negatively. A rough and hardworking man, who loves his son and wants to have fun being with him, or this is the story of a drunkard who neglects and abuses his son. The poem follows an alternative 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 simple. There are three stressed syllables in a line that resembles a real waltz, which has three beats. The poem contains four stanzas containing quatrains. The setting of the poem is the kitchen, the life of the house, especially in 1942. "But I resisted like death" is an example of simile in the poem. Some lines also provide us with basic information. Theodore Roethke's father owned a greenhouse, which explains in line 10 why his hand is pressed into the dirt. One of the reasons why the theme of “My Papa's Waltz” is abuse is because the father is an alcoholic. At the beginning of the poem we immediately see hints of alcoholism. “The whiskey on your breath / Could make a child dizzy” indicates that the father drank heavily. The father drank so much that his breathing caused his son to feel some of the effects of the 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 drinking and some 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 muster a frown for fear of being next. Alcoholism is not just a problem for users, alcoholism affects others too. The victims of alcoholism are a multitude of people: spouses, children, other relatives, bosses, work colleagues,,.