Climbing My Grandfather Quizzes

Climbing My Grandfather Quiz

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

Simon Armitage

Owen Sheers

Colin Tudge
2 What collection was this poem originally published in? What year?
2nd (2001)

In (2001)

In (2000)

2nd (2000)
3 What prize did the collection win?
James Laughlin Award

Nobel Prize

Pulitzer Prize

Forward Prize for Best First Collection
4 What kind of work did the poet do professionally for most of his career?
Poetry professor

Environmental field worker and researcher

Environmental lecturer at a college

Manager at a gas and oil company
5 What is the poem's meter?
Iambic tetrameter

Blank verse

Iambic pentameter

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

Free soloing

Bouldering

Aid climbing
7 What are brogues?
A new pair of pants.

A fancy type of shoe worn at cocktail parties.

A type of shoe originally designed to be worn outdoors by farmers.

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 waits for his wife to clean the shoes.

The grandfather wears and uses things until they completely fall apart.

The grandfather kicks his grandson.

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

Assonance

Enjambment

Metaphors
10 What does it mean to traverse?
Descend

Move sideways

Move upward diagonally

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

The grandfather works outdoors in the natural world.

The grandfather wants to move to the city.

The grandfather is sloppy and expects his wife to clean him.
12 Which is an example of an oxymoron?
Brown eye

Warm ice

Smiling mouth

Gasping for breath
13 What might the grandfather's scar represent?
His status as a veteran of World War I

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

His ability to defend himself

His time in prison
14 Why does the speaker not look down while resting at his grandfather's shoulder?
Because climbing has its dangers

Because he will jump

Because he hates looking back in time

Because he wants to go back to being a child again
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 "still firm shoulder," the teeth in his smiling mouth, and his thick hair

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
16 What is suggested by the fact that the speaker "gently" places his feet in the old stitches of his grandfather's scar?
He wants to quickly finish the climb

He wants to hurt his grandfather

He treats his grandfather with care, respect, and reverence

He doesn't care about his grandfather's past
17 How many stanzas are in this poem?
Three

Five

Two

One
18 Which of the following is not a symbol in the poem?
Brown pants

The brogues

The scar

Climbing
19 What does climbing symbolize?
Failure

Moving upwards in life

Descent into madness

The tenacity of the human body and spirit
20 Does the terrain of the grandfather represent the whole world in the poem?
No—the speaker jumps off while at his grandfather's shoulder and goes paragliding

No—there are birds and clouds circling above

Yes

No—the speaker looks down and sees other climbers below in the grass
21 Which of the following is an example of assonance?
to an earth-stained hand. The nails

the forehead, the wrinkles well-spaced

I cross the screed cheek,

the slow pulse of his good heart.
22 What is assonance?
The repetition of syllables, typically at the end of a verse line

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

The use of words with the same beginning sound

An object in, or the subject of, a poem is described as being the same as another otherwise unrelated object
23 What does "knowing" suggest at the end of the poem?
The speaker's ardent intellectualism

The speaker's faith in God

A deep communal relationship between the speaker and his grandfather

The grandfather's wisdom
24 In which quote does the speaker explicitly refer to his grandfather's character?
the skin of his finger is smooth and thick like warm ice

the slow pulse of his good heart.

his thick hair (soft and white at this altitude)

to a smiling mouth to drink among teeth.
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

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

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

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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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