What would be a good thesis statement that can be used for "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke?I always seem to get stuck on thesis statements!

I usually encourage my students to pick two or three
closely-related poetic elements on which to focus in a thesis,
like:

1. Speaker, Audience, Tone


2. Metaphor,
   Imagery, and Theme


3. Prosody: Meter and Sound
   Effects

"My Papa's Waltz" presents a quandary
among readers: younger readers fear the father, while older readers see him as
relatively harmless.  Do you see him as an alcoholic child-abuser or a fun-loving,
though rowdy, father?  So, take a position and, using approach #1 or #2 above, support
it with textual support.

I find the poem interesting from a
structural level: the first two lines of each stanza seem to be carefree, but the last
two lines have slight turns to a darker side.  Why does Roethke do this?  Is there a
musical or metrical connection to this approach?

Also, look
what other editors have said about how to analyze the poem.  The TPCSTT method always
leads to a good thesis as well.  Again, only focus on two or three of
these:

readability="18">

Title: Ponder the
title before reading the poem

Paraphrase:
Translate the poem into your own
words

Connotation: Contemplate
the poem for meaning beyond the literal
level

Attitude: Observe both
the speaker’s and the poet’s attitude
(tone).

Shifts: Note shifts in
speakers and attitudes or
form

Title: Examine the title
again, this time on an interpretive
level

Theme: Determine what
the poet is saying