Looking past the negativity that someone or something provides is a struggle humans may encounter in life. It can be hard to appreciate someone again when all they do is cause you and others pain. In “My Papa's Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, a son describes specific encounters with his abusive, alcoholic father. Roethke aims to present the feelings the son has towards these events in their relationship. If you look deeper, there are little details that allow the reader to look past this aspect of their relationship. Theodore Roethke uses specific imagery to clarify how the abuse has negatively affected the son and takes pains to provide the text with specific diction to allow the reader to realize that the son's love for his father is still present at the end. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayRoethke decided to use wording that has a positive connotation to allow the audience to look beyond the obvious negative aspect of their father/son relationship. Reading the title for the first time, one assumes that the poem is a more positive reflection on the relationship between father and son. “Pope” is normally contextualized with a more affectionate meaning. “Waltz” contains “a gentle rhythm that makes the dance's fluid movements and elegant rise and fall easy.” Since the waltz is defined as a more graceful dance, this is the reasoning that Roethke chose to include this word in the title. It has been pointed out to readers to overlook that obvious struggle in the relationship. Roethke distracts the reader with diction that provides a happier meaning so that readers can have clarity that the son will always show affection towards his father. The son describes that “We went wild until the pans slipped off the kitchen shelf; ,” who tells us that their meeting could have been a joke because “rupted” is a verb that expresses the energetic playfulness of a child. Roethke purposely uses the word "rupted" in this context so that the audience doesn't get too caught up in the negativity the father projects from his violent actions. Since that word has a more positive meaning, the use of that word only allows the reader to wonder if this was actual violence which is the point Roethke intends to articulate. As the poem continues, it is said that the mother's expression towards the situation in the kitchen makes the reader wonder if it is a real joke. Her "couldn't relax expression" shows that the mother is disappointed by what she sees, implying that violence is occurring. However, noticing the mother's expression justifies the fact that it is in fact not a joke. Because Roethke purposely chooses to include diction like those mentioned in the poem to make the reader develop a better understanding of the son's admiration towards his father, it doesn't matter how abusive their relationship actually was. Specific images are used to express how aggressive the father acted in situations where he was not sober, but he was mostly there to make clear how traumatizing those interactions could be for the son. In some instances in the poem, Roethke makes use of specific diction within images depicting violence to show that the son neglects the pain and instead favors his father: “The hand that held my wrist was struck on a knuckle; ”. Grabbing a wrist is usually done with violence or anger, so this creates an image for the reader of how aggressive the father might have been in/.