Climbing My Grandfather Quizzes

Climbing My Grandfather Quiz

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

Owen Sheers

Andrew Waterhouse

Simon Armitage

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

In (2000)

In (2001)

2nd (2000)

2nd (2001)
3 What prize did the collection win?

Forward Prize for Best First Collection

Nobel Prize

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

Environmental field worker and researcher

Poetry professor

Manager at a gas and oil company
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?

Aid climbing

Free climbing

Bouldering

Free soloing
7 What are brogues?

A new pair of pants.

A type of pants designed for any weather.

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

A fancy type of shoe worn at cocktail parties.
8 What is suggested by the description of the grandfather's shoes as "dusty and cracked"?

The grandfather should not wear shoes.

The grandfather kicks his grandson.

The grandfather waits for his wife to clean the shoes.

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

Descend

Move sideways

Summit
11 What is suggested by the grandfather's earth-stained hand?

The grandfather wants to move to the city.

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.
12 Which is an example of an oxymoron?

Gasping for breath

Warm ice

Brown eye

Smiling mouth
13 What might the grandfather's scar represent?

His time in prison

His ability to defend himself

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

His status as a veteran of World War I
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 he hates looking back in time

Because climbing has its dangers

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?

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

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

His splintered nails and his smiling mouth

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 quickly finish the climb

He wants to hurt his grandfather

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

Three

Five

One

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

Brown pants

The scar

The brogues

Climbing
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?

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

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

No—there are birds and clouds circling above

Yes
21 Which of the following is an example of assonance?

the slow pulse of his good heart.

the forehead, the wrinkles well-spaced

to an earth-stained hand. The nails

I cross the screed cheek,
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 speaker's faith in God

The speaker's ardent intellectualism

The grandfather's wisdom

A deep communal relationship between the speaker and his grandfather
24 In which quote does the speaker explicitly refer to his grandfather's character?

his thick hair (soft and white at this altitude)

the slow pulse of his good heart.

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)?

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

Yes—it is an abusive relationship, which mirrors the way rocks can be unforgiving

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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