My Papa's Waltz Men and Masculinity Quotes

Whiskey is traditionally considered a manly drink. So that the father drinks whiskey hints that he's macho. However, this man's son, even though a male, is made dizzy by the whiskey – and perhaps the masculinity – of his own father. This is an effective way to establish the ages of these males – one is a man, and one is just a boy.

This is not a beautiful dance, but is one chock full of horseplay and romping. This dance is masculine and rough. Don't forget that in a normal waltz, there is a male and female partner. There's no female here. Instead, a little boy is being spun around in the female role.

The mother's feminine disapproval provides a contrast to the masculinity of her husband and her son, who are making a big ruckus. Either she's enjoying watching them, or wants to protest but is following traditional gender roles by remaining subservient to her husband.

The father has rough hands, which show that he's a working man. We know that, in real life, Roethke's father owned a greenhouse and a timber preserve. In this poem, rough hands that work in the dirt demonstrate this father's manliness.

In the early 20th century it was common for a father to discipline his kids by beating them with his belt. Punishment like that isn't explicitly shown in this poem, but we wonder if this same belt has been used to discipline the boy as well.

This line shows us again that the speaker's father works hard with his hands, making him seem manlier. We wouldn't think that these hints about hardened, battered hands were so important, except now we've heard about them twice. The hardened working hands stick out in the memory of the speaker of this poem.