My Papa’s Waltz Quizzes

My Papa's Waltz Quiz

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

Quintains

Couplets

Tercets
2 The word "romp" means:
A type of lunchbox

To beat or attack someone

To play rowdily

A country harvest festival
3 Fill in the blank: "We romped until the _____/Slid from the kitchen shelf"
Pans

Pots

Spoons

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

A popular European ballroom dance

A uniform worn by coal miners

A type of formal party
5 Why is the image of the scent of whiskey significant?
It hints that the speaker's family is wealthy

It hints that the father has a drinking problem

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 fathers must pass masculine skills on to sons

That women can also be masculine

That masculinity and violence are too often conflated

That children are often more attached to gender roles than adults
7 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?
ABABB

ABBA

ABAB

ABA
8 Which of the following is a simile?
"My right ear scraped a buckle"

"You beat time on my head"

"I hung on like death"

"the pans/Slid from the kitchen shelf"
9 Which sounds produce assonance in the phrase "At every step you missed"?
S sounds

E sounds

V sounds

M sounds
10 Fill in the blank "Then waltzed me off to bed/Still _____ _____ your shirt."
Hanging on

Clinging to

Snatching at

Fussing with
11 What is the poem's meter?
Trochaic pentameter

Iambic trimeter

Iambic pentameter

Anapestic tetrameter
12 The H sounds in the phrase "the hand that held my wrist" are an example of which?
Alliteration

Metaphor

Hyperbole

Assonance
13 Which is a central irony in the poem?
The speaker's conviction that he is being abused, though he is not

The way it suggests that abuse and love can look unexpectedly similar from the outside

The fact that the speaker wants to be with his family, even though they mistreat him

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 _____"
Button

Shoulder

Buckle

Pocket
15 What is one effect of the poem's rhyme scheme?
The poem has no rhyme scheme: it imitates the chaos of the events being described

The simple rhyme scheme creates an ironically innocent, childlike tone

The intricate rhyme scheme mimics the intricate complexity of the father's character

The simple rhyme scheme shows that the speaker is unintelligent
16 Who can most closely be considered the poem's antagonist?
The teacher

The mother

The father

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

5

3

4
18 Who is the poem's speaker?
A young man

A mother

A teenage girl

A small boy
19 Define the word "countenance"
The facade of a house

Attitude or mood

Face

Plan
20 Fill in the blank: "The whiskey on your breath/Could make a small boy _____"
Drunk

Vomit

Dizzy

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

Her hands

Her stomach

Her ear
22 What does the waltz symbolize?
The American dream

The value of art and culture

The dynamic between father and son

The performance of spirituality
23 Where is the poem set?
The speaker's school

The speaker's home

The speaker's family car

The woods outside the speaker's house
24 Which aspect of the parent-child relationship does this poem explore most deeply?
The inevitable disappointment of parenting

The uncanniness of biological and genetic similarity

The power differential between its members

The unbreakable affection between parent and child despite differences
25 What are the two primary possible ways to understand the poem's "waltz"?
As hard work or frivolous play

As play or abuse

As artistic expression or rote repetition

As cultural heritage or aristocratic norm

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

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