the final version instead of 'hand'. McKenna mentions this revision in saying that "the father's palm is indeed hard, albeit from honest work; he is a hard man as well as a hard worker. He even plays hard" (35-36). McKenna comments further by stating that the revisions in the first two lines of the fourth stanza "personalize the dance between the speaker and his father. At the same time, they add an undeniably negative tone with the words 'beat' and 'palm caked hard'. In addition, the three stressed syllables in 'palm caked hard' emphasize the insistent, invasive power of the father over the child" (36). It is evident through these changes that Roethke really wanted to say something in this poem. All of the different changes made in the poem are quite demonstrative of how powerful his feelings for his father must have been. "Roethke tried, through careful revisions to balance negative and positive tones in 'My Papa's Waltz'" (McKenna 36).Although the dance between him and his father was rough and aggressive, the very fact that Roethke chose to write about the waltz indicates that it is a special moment he remembers sharing with his father. The poet has a remarkable ability to describe the moment and not his feelings. This is what makes "My Papa's Waltz" so interesting and leaves so much to interpretation....
