My Papa’s Waltz Quizzes

My Papa's Waltz Quiz

1 Of what kind of stanzas is this poem composed?
Quintains

Tercets

Quatrains

Couplets
2 The word "romp" means:
A country harvest festival

To play rowdily

To beat or attack someone

A type of lunchbox
3 Fill in the blank: "We romped until the _____/Slid from the kitchen shelf"
Pots

Pans

Dishes

Spoons
4 What is a waltz?
A team sport similar to basketball

A uniform worn by coal miners

A popular European ballroom dance

A type of formal party
5 Why is the image of the scent of whiskey significant?
It lets us know that the speaker is old enough to drink

It hints that the speaker's family is wealthy

It hints that the father has a drinking problem

It suggests an Irish setting
6 Which of the following best describes the poem's message about masculinity?
That fathers must pass masculine skills on to sons

That children are often more attached to gender roles than adults

That masculinity and violence are too often conflated

That women can also be masculine
7 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?
ABA

ABBA

ABAB

ABABB
8 Which of the following is a simile?
"You beat time on my head"

"I hung on like death"

"the pans/Slid from the kitchen shelf"

"My right ear scraped a buckle"
9 Which sounds produce assonance in the phrase "At every step you missed"?
S sounds

M sounds

E sounds

V sounds
10 Fill in the blank "Then waltzed me off to bed/Still _____ _____ your shirt."
Hanging on

Snatching at

Clinging to

Fussing with
11 What is the poem's meter?
Iambic trimeter

Trochaic pentameter

Iambic pentameter

Anapestic tetrameter
12 The H sounds in the phrase "the hand that held my wrist" are an example of which?
Alliteration

Assonance

Hyperbole

Metaphor
13 Which is a central irony in the poem?
The way it suggests that abuse and love can look unexpectedly similar from the outside

The speaker's conviction that he is being abused, though he is not

The way that the mother is supposed to protect her child, but actually harms him

The fact that the speaker wants to be with his family, even though they mistreat him
14 Fill in the blank: "At every step you missed/My right ear scraped a _____"
Buckle

Button

Shoulder

Pocket
15 What is one effect of the poem's rhyme scheme?
The intricate rhyme scheme mimics the intricate complexity of the father's character

The simple rhyme scheme creates an ironically innocent, childlike tone

The simple rhyme scheme shows that the speaker is unintelligent

The poem has no rhyme scheme: it imitates the chaos of the events being described
16 Who can most closely be considered the poem's antagonist?
The teacher

The mother

The father

The sister
17 How many stanzas are in "My Papa's Waltz"?
5

2

4

3
18 Who is the poem's speaker?
A small boy

A teenage girl

A young man

A mother
19 Define the word "countenance"
The facade of a house

Plan

Face

Attitude or mood
20 Fill in the blank: "The whiskey on your breath/Could make a small boy _____"
Dizzy

Frightened

Vomit

Drunk
21 Which part of the mother's body is personified?
Her hands

Her face

Her stomach

Her ear
22 What does the waltz symbolize?
The performance of spirituality

The American dream

The dynamic between father and son

The value of art and culture
23 Where is the poem set?
The speaker's home

The speaker's school

The speaker's family car

The woods outside the speaker's house
24 Which aspect of the parent-child relationship does this poem explore most deeply?
The unbreakable affection between parent and child despite differences

The uncanniness of biological and genetic similarity

The inevitable disappointment of parenting

The power differential between its members
25 What are the two primary possible ways to understand the poem's "waltz"?
As cultural heritage or aristocratic norm

As artistic expression or rote repetition

As hard work or frivolous play

As play or abuse

Study Guide for My Papa’s Waltz

My Papa's Waltz study guide contains a biography of Theodore Roethke, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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My Papa's Waltz

by Theodore Roethke

My Papa's Waltz Quiz

My Papa’s Waltz Questions and Answers

Study Guide for My Papa’s Waltz

Lesson Plan for My Papa’s Waltz