My Papa’s Waltz Quizzes

My Papa's Waltz Quiz

1 Of what kind of stanzas is this poem composed?

Quatrains

Couplets

Tercets

Quintains
2 The word "romp" means:

To play rowdily

To beat or attack someone

A type of lunchbox

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

Dishes

Spoons

Pots

Pans
4 What is a waltz?

A type of formal party

A uniform worn by coal miners

A team sport similar to basketball

A popular European ballroom dance
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 lets us know that the speaker is old enough to drink

It suggests an Irish setting
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 children are often more attached to gender roles than adults

That masculinity and violence are too often conflated
7 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?

ABABB

ABA

ABAB

ABBA
8 Which of the following is a simile?

"You beat time on my head"

"My right ear scraped a buckle"

"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"?

V sounds

S sounds

E sounds

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

Clinging to

Fussing with

Snatching at

Hanging on
11 What is the poem's meter?

Trochaic pentameter

Anapestic tetrameter

Iambic trimeter

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

Metaphor

Alliteration

Assonance

Hyperbole
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 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 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 _____"

Shoulder

Pocket

Button

Buckle
15 What is one effect of the poem's rhyme scheme?

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

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

The mother

The teacher

The father

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

3

4

2

5
18 Who is the poem's speaker?

A teenage girl

A mother

A small boy

A young man
19 Define the word "countenance"

Face

Attitude or mood

The facade of a house

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

Vomit

Drunk

Frightened

Dizzy
21 Which part of the mother's body is personified?

Her ear

Her hands

Her face

Her stomach
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 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 uncanniness of biological and genetic similarity

The power differential between its members

The inevitable disappointment of parenting

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

As cultural heritage or aristocratic norm

As play or abuse

As artistic expression or rote repetition

As hard work or frivolous play

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