High on a pedestal sits a rough and ragged man. With calloused hands and leathery skin, to most he is nothing more than an ordinary worker, but to the beady eyes that follow his every move he is a king. His dirty baseball cap is a crown, his stained clothes are made of the finest material and studded with jewels, his worn shoes are the best boots. In that child's eyes, his father is nothing less than magnificent and incapable of any wrong. Although words cannot properly define the unconditional love a child feels for his father, the tone and imagery that Theodore Roethke uses in his poem "My Papa's Waltz" has a beautiful way of describing it. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Roethke first uses imagery to draw the reader in and allow him to imagine the scene painted before him. By initially mentioning the whiskey on his father's breath, Roethke begins to paint a picture of his father as a rough being. He then presents himself as a “little child” clinging to his father as if he never intends to let him go as they dance throughout the family's house. The reader's initial reaction based on the imagery is negative and only when the tone is set can the reader see the true theme of Roethke's words. While the image of the mother with a "face" that "can't raise her forehead" and all the steps missing from her father continue to support the negative connotations, the fact that the boy clings to his father throughout the waltz and never lets it go sets a very positive tone. Despite getting scratched by a buckle when his father trips or has “the weather beating on his head,” the boy remains “clinging” to his father's shirt. The mother probably sees the father as drunk and unnecessarily violent with the child. However, for the father and son lost in the waltz, it is a moment where the unconditional love between the two shines through the external situation. The bond between father and son is unconditional. No matter what the two look like or where they are, the fact that they will always be there for each other regardless of the circumstances is enough to keep the love alive and strong. Roethke uses imagery to set the tone for "My Papa's Waltz" and then allows both elements together to create the theme that shows the unwavering, unconditional love between a dad and his son..