What Is A Literal Interpretation Of My Papa's Waltz

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In the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” the young boy reveals the good times he has lived with his father. This poem has two different interpretations, a literal interpretation and a counterfeit interpretation. I’ll be interpreting it literally. The poem is about a young boy and his father waltzing around their home. The father has been drinking, but nowhere in the poem it is stated that he is an alcoholic like others presume. They are dancing and it seems that the young boy remembers his life with his father as joyful and playful. His father and him seem to have a very close relationship. The boy explains, “With every step you missed/My right ear scraped a buckle,” the father waltzes with his son rough, but he doesn’t mean to hurt his son intentionally.

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