Acceptance and even friendship- My Papa's Waltz

Acceptance is a theme throughout the course of the poem "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke. Throughout the course of the poem, the narrator learns to accept things that he does not particularly like about his father. In the first stanza, the narrator states, "The whisky on your great could make a small boy dizzy; but I hung on like death: such waltzing was not easy" (Roethke, line 1-4). Even though the narrator does not like the fact that his father is an alcoholic, he accepts him. When he states that he hung on like death, he states that he is going to stay by his father's side until the day he dies. The narrator states that  even though it is hard to tolerate a father who is "waltzing with alcohol", he learns to accept him for the man that he is. Not only does he accept him, but friendship is shown between them throughout the poem. The title talks about waltzing, which could symbolize friendship between the narrator and his father. The waltz is a dance between between two people who show compassion for each other. By talking about the Waltz in the title, it shows their journey of friendship, companionship, and acceptance of each other.