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)

2nd (2000)

2nd (2001)

In (2001)
3 What prize did the collection win?

Nobel Prize

Forward Prize for Best First Collection

James Laughlin Award

Pulitzer Prize
4 What kind of work did the poet do professionally for most of his career?

Environmental field worker and researcher

Manager at a gas and oil company

Environmental lecturer at a college

Poetry professor
5 What is the poem's meter?

Free verse

Iambic tetrameter

Blank verse

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

Free climbing

Aid 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 waits for his wife to clean the shoes.

The grandfather should not wear shoes.

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

The grandfather kicks his grandson.
9 Which of the following devices is not used in the poem?

Assonance

Metaphors

Rhyme

Enjambment
10 What does it mean to traverse?

Summit

Descend

Move sideways

Move upward diagonally
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?

Brown eye

Smiling mouth

Gasping for breath

Warm ice
13 What might the grandfather's scar represent?

His status as a veteran of World War I

His time in prison

His ability to defend himself

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

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

His splintered nails and his smiling mouth

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 treats his grandfather with care, respect, and reverence

He wants to hurt his grandfather

He doesn't care about his grandfather's past

He wants to quickly finish the climb
17 How many stanzas are in this poem?

Two

Five

Three

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

Climbing

The brogues

The scar

Brown pants
19 What does climbing symbolize?

Descent into madness

The tenacity of the human body and spirit

Failure

Moving upwards in life
20 Does the terrain of the grandfather represent the whole world in the poem?

No—there are birds and clouds circling above

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

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

the slow pulse of his good heart.

I cross the screed cheek,

to an earth-stained hand. The nails

the forehead, the wrinkles well-spaced
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

A deep communal relationship between the speaker and his grandfather

The speaker's ardent intellectualism

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

his thick hair (soft and white at this altitude)

to a smiling mouth to drink among teeth.

the slow pulse of his good heart.

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)?

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

Climbing My Grandfather Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Climbing My Grandfather is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Ask Your Own Question

Study Guide for Climbing My Grandfather

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

Read the Study Guide for Climbing My Grandfather…