Theodore Roethke's poem "My Papa's Waltz" presents an uneasy and uncertain picture of the relationship between father and son. Critics are divided on whether the father depicted is a violent, abusive drunk, an uncouth but well-intentioned parent awkwardly showing affection for his son, or something in between. It is quite possible that the speaker in the poem is unsure as well. He might be using the poem as a way of recalling what he can of his father and trying to decide what the man's intentions were and how he feels about him.

Children are notoriously egotistical. When they are young, they look at every action their parents perform in terms of its effect on them. "My Papa's Waltz" is full of external details: the breath smelling of whiskey, the pans falling off the shelf, the dirt on his father's hands. There is no indication, however, of how the boy's father might be feeling or why he is performing this strange, clumsy dance. The speaker, now an adult, may be trying to piece together these details to gain a glimpse into who his father really was and what he thought and felt. The reader may also be moved to treat their memories in the same forensic fashion, homing in on key episodes from childhood to discover more about the people who inhabited the same physical spaces for many years but whose inner lives remained mysterious.