My Papa’s Waltz Quizzes

My Papa's Waltz Quiz

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

Tercets

Quintains

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"
Spoons

Dishes

Pans

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

A type of formal party

A popular European ballroom dance

A uniform worn by coal miners
5 Why is the image of the scent of whiskey significant?
It hints that the father has a drinking problem

It hints that the speaker's family is wealthy

It suggests an Irish setting

It lets us know that the speaker is old enough to drink
6 Which of the following best describes the poem's message about masculinity?
That masculinity and violence are too often conflated

That children are often more attached to gender roles than adults

That fathers must pass masculine skills on to sons

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

ABABB

ABAB

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

"My right ear scraped a buckle"

"the pans/Slid from the kitchen shelf"

"I hung on like death"
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

Fussing with

Clinging to
11 What is the poem's meter?
Iambic trimeter

Iambic pentameter

Anapestic tetrameter

Trochaic pentameter
12 The H sounds in the phrase "the hand that held my wrist" are an example of which?
Hyperbole

Metaphor

Assonance

Alliteration
13 Which is a central irony in the poem?
The fact that the speaker wants to be with his family, even though they mistreat him

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
14 Fill in the blank: "At every step you missed/My right ear scraped a _____"
Pocket

Shoulder

Button

Buckle
15 What is one effect of the poem's rhyme scheme?
The simple rhyme scheme creates an ironically innocent, childlike tone

The poem has no rhyme scheme: it imitates the chaos of the events being described

The simple rhyme scheme shows that the speaker is unintelligent

The intricate rhyme scheme mimics the intricate complexity of the father's character
16 Who can most closely be considered the poem's antagonist?
The mother

The teacher

The sister

The father
17 How many stanzas are in "My Papa's Waltz"?
2

5

4

3
18 Who is the poem's speaker?
A mother

A young man

A teenage girl

A small boy
19 Define the word "countenance"
Face

The facade of a house

Plan

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

Frightened

Dizzy

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

Her stomach

Her hands

Her ear
22 What does the waltz symbolize?
The value of art and culture

The dynamic between father and son

The American dream

The performance of spirituality
23 Where is the poem set?
The woods outside the speaker's house

The speaker's family car

The speaker's home

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

The power differential between its members

The inevitable disappointment of parenting

The uncanniness of biological and genetic similarity
25 What are the two primary possible ways to understand the poem's "waltz"?
As play or abuse

As hard work or frivolous play

As cultural heritage or aristocratic norm

As artistic expression or rote repetition

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