Climbing My Grandfather Quizzes

Climbing My Grandfather Quiz

1 What is the name of the poet who wrote "Climbing My Grandfather"?
Andrew Waterhouse

Owen Sheers

Colin Tudge

Simon Armitage
2 What collection was this poem originally published in? What year?
2nd (2001)

2nd (2000)

In (2001)

In (2000)
3 What prize did the collection win?
Nobel Prize

Forward Prize for Best First Collection

Pulitzer Prize

James Laughlin Award
4 What kind of work did the poet do professionally for most of his career?
Environmental lecturer at a college

Manager at a gas and oil company

Poetry professor

Environmental field worker and researcher
5 What is the poem's meter?
Blank verse

Iambic tetrameter

Free verse

Iambic pentameter
6 What kind of climbing does the speaker decide to do?
Free climbing

Bouldering

Free soloing

Aid climbing
7 What are brogues?
A type of shoe originally designed to be worn outdoors by farmers.

A new pair of pants.

A fancy type of shoe worn at cocktail parties.

A type of pants designed for any weather.
8 What is suggested by the description of the grandfather's shoes as "dusty and cracked"?
The grandfather wears and uses things until they completely fall apart.

The grandfather kicks his grandson.

The grandfather waits for his wife to clean the shoes.

The grandfather should not wear shoes.
9 Which of the following devices is not used in the poem?
Metaphors

Enjambment

Assonance

Rhyme
10 What does it mean to traverse?
Move upward diagonally

Move sideways

Descend

Summit
11 What is suggested by the grandfather's earth-stained hand?
The grandfather hates the environment where he lives.

The grandfather is sloppy and expects his wife to clean him.

The grandfather wants to move to the city.

The grandfather works outdoors in the natural world.
12 Which is an example of an oxymoron?
Gasping for breath

Warm ice

Smiling mouth

Brown eye
13 What might the grandfather's scar represent?
His status as a veteran of World War I

His time in prison

All of the hurt and wounds he has sustained in his lifetime

His ability to defend himself
14 Why does the speaker not look down while resting at his grandfather's shoulder?
Because he wants to go back to being a child again

Because climbing has its dangers

Because he will jump

Because he hates looking back in time
15 Which details make evident that the grandfather's body has not broken down with age, at least in the speaker's reckoning in this poem?
His splintered nails and his smiling mouth

The clouds and birds circling above and the speaker's tiredness

The old stitches of his scar and his earth-stained hand

His "still firm shoulder," the teeth in his smiling mouth, and his thick hair
16 What is suggested by the fact that the speaker "gently" places his feet in the old stitches of his grandfather's scar?
He doesn't care about his grandfather's past

He wants to hurt his grandfather

He wants to quickly finish the climb

He treats his grandfather with care, respect, and reverence
17 How many stanzas are in this poem?
Three

One

Five

Two
18 Which of the following is not a symbol in the poem?
Climbing

Brown pants

The brogues

The scar
19 What does climbing symbolize?
Failure

Descent into madness

Moving upwards in life

The tenacity of the human body and spirit
20 Does the terrain of the grandfather represent the whole world in the poem?
Yes

No—the speaker looks down and sees other climbers below in the grass

No—the speaker jumps off while at his grandfather's shoulder and goes paragliding

No—there are birds and clouds circling above
21 Which of the following is an example of assonance?
the forehead, the wrinkles well-spaced

I cross the screed cheek,

to an earth-stained hand. The nails

the slow pulse of his good heart.
22 What is assonance?
An object in, or the subject of, a poem is described as being the same as another otherwise unrelated object

The repetition of vowel sounds in words that are close together in a sentence or verse

The repetition of syllables, typically at the end of a verse line

The use of words with the same beginning sound
23 What does "knowing" suggest at the end of the poem?
The grandfather's wisdom

The speaker's faith in God

A deep communal relationship between the speaker and his grandfather

The speaker's ardent intellectualism
24 In which quote does the speaker explicitly refer to his grandfather's character?
to a smiling mouth to drink among teeth.

the slow pulse of his good heart.

his thick hair (soft and white at this altitude)

the skin of his finger is smooth and thick like warm ice
25 Is there a distance created between the speaker and his grandfather (and thus the environment)?
Yes—it is an abusive relationship, which mirrors the way rocks can be unforgiving

No—the speaker explicitly states throughout the poem how much he loves his grandfather

Yes—the speaker only gazes upon the landscape of his grandfather from a distance

No—the speaker interacts with and discovers more about his grandfather as he climbs

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Climbing My Grandfather study guide contains a biography of Andrew Waterhouse, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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