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

Simon Armitage

Colin Tudge
2 What collection was this poem originally published in? What year?

In (2000)

In (2001)

2nd (2001)

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

Pulitzer Prize

Nobel Prize

James Laughlin Award

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

Environmental field worker and researcher

Poetry professor

Manager at a gas and oil company

Environmental lecturer at a college
5 What is the poem's meter?

Blank verse

Iambic pentameter

Free verse

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

Free soloing

Bouldering

Free climbing

Aid climbing
7 What are brogues?

A type of pants designed for any weather.

A fancy type of shoe worn at cocktail parties.

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

A new pair of pants.
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 should not wear shoes.

The grandfather kicks his grandson.

The grandfather waits for his wife to clean the shoes.
9 Which of the following devices is not used in the poem?

Assonance

Enjambment

Metaphors

Rhyme
10 What does it mean to traverse?

Summit

Move sideways

Descend

Move upward diagonally
11 What is suggested by the grandfather's earth-stained hand?

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

The grandfather works outdoors in the natural world.

The grandfather hates the environment where he lives.

The grandfather wants to move to the city.
12 Which is an example of an oxymoron?

Smiling mouth

Brown eye

Warm ice

Gasping for breath
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 climbing has its dangers

Because he hates looking back in time

Because he wants to go back to being a child again

Because he will jump
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 old stitches of his scar and his earth-stained hand

His "still firm shoulder," the teeth in his smiling mouth, and his thick hair

The clouds and birds circling above and the speaker's tiredness
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 treats his grandfather with care, respect, and reverence

He doesn't care about his grandfather's past

He wants to hurt his grandfather
17 How many stanzas are in this poem?

Three

Two

One

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

The scar

Brown pants

The brogues

Climbing
19 What does climbing symbolize?

Descent into madness

Moving upwards in life

Failure

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

Yes

No—there are birds and clouds circling above

No—the speaker looks down and sees other climbers below in the grass
21 Which of the following is an example of assonance?

I cross the screed cheek,

the slow pulse of his good heart.

to an earth-stained hand. The nails

the forehead, the wrinkles well-spaced
22 What is assonance?

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

An object in, or the subject of, a poem is described as being the same as another otherwise unrelated object

The use of words with the same beginning sound

The repetition of syllables, typically at the end of a verse line
23 What does "knowing" suggest at the end of the poem?

The grandfather's wisdom

A deep communal relationship between the speaker and his grandfather

The speaker's faith in God

The speaker's ardent intellectualism
24 In which quote does the speaker explicitly refer to his grandfather's character?

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

to a smiling mouth to drink among teeth.
25 Is there a distance created between the speaker and his grandfather (and thus the environment)?

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

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 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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