My Papa’s Waltz Quizzes

My Papa's Waltz Quiz

1 Of what kind of stanzas is this poem composed?

Quatrains

Couplets

Quintains

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"

Spoons

Pans

Pots

Dishes
4 What is a waltz?

A popular European ballroom dance

A team sport similar to basketball

A type of formal party

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 suggests an Irish setting

It lets us know that the speaker is old enough to drink

It hints that the speaker's family is wealthy
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 women can also be masculine

That fathers must pass masculine skills on to sons
7 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?

ABAB

ABA

ABABB

ABBA
8 Which of the following is a simile?

"I hung on like death"

"You beat time on my head"

"My right ear scraped a buckle"

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

V sounds

E sounds

M sounds

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

Fussing with

Hanging on

Clinging to

Snatching at
11 What is the poem's meter?

Anapestic tetrameter

Iambic pentameter

Iambic trimeter

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

Metaphor

Assonance

Alliteration

Hyperbole
13 Which is a central irony in the poem?

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

The speaker's conviction that he is being abused, though he is not
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 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 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 sister

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

3

4

2

5
18 Who is the poem's speaker?

A small boy

A mother

A young man

A teenage girl
19 Define the word "countenance"

Face

Plan

The facade of a house

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

Vomit

Dizzy

Frightened

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

Her ear

Her face

Her stomach

Her hands
22 What does the waltz symbolize?

The dynamic between father and son

The American dream

The performance of spirituality

The value of art and culture
23 Where is the poem set?

The speaker's school

The woods outside the speaker's house

The speaker's home

The speaker's family car
24 Which aspect of the parent-child relationship does this poem explore most deeply?

The unbreakable affection between parent and child despite differences

The inevitable disappointment of parenting

The power differential between its members

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

As artistic expression or rote repetition

As cultural heritage or aristocratic norm

As play or abuse

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