My Papa’s Waltz Quizzes

My Papa's Waltz Quiz

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

Quintains

Tercets

Quatrains
2 The word "romp" means:
To beat or attack someone

A type of lunchbox

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 type of formal party

A team sport similar to basketball

A uniform worn by coal miners

A popular European ballroom dance
5 Why is the image of the scent of whiskey significant?
It suggests an Irish setting

It hints that the speaker's family is wealthy

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

It hints that the father has a drinking problem
6 Which of the following best describes the poem's message about masculinity?
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

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

ABA

ABAB

ABABB
8 Which of the following is a simile?
"the pans/Slid from the kitchen shelf"

"My right ear scraped a buckle"

"I hung on like death"

"You beat time on my head"
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

Snatching at

Hanging on

Clinging to
11 What is the poem's meter?
Anapestic tetrameter

Iambic trimeter

Trochaic pentameter

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

Assonance

Hyperbole

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

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 way it suggests that abuse and love can look unexpectedly similar from the outside
14 Fill in the blank: "At every step you missed/My right ear scraped a _____"
Button

Buckle

Pocket

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

The simple rhyme scheme shows that the speaker is unintelligent

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
16 Who can most closely be considered the poem's antagonist?
The sister

The father

The teacher

The mother
17 How many stanzas are in "My Papa's Waltz"?
4

5

3

2
18 Who is the poem's speaker?
A teenage girl

A young man

A small boy

A mother
19 Define the word "countenance"
Plan

Face

Attitude or mood

The facade of a house
20 Fill in the blank: "The whiskey on your breath/Could make a small boy _____"
Frightened

Vomit

Drunk

Dizzy
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 performance of spirituality

The American dream

The value of art and culture

The dynamic between father and son
23 Where is the poem set?
The speaker's home

The speaker's family car

The woods outside the speaker's house

The speaker's school
24 Which aspect of the parent-child relationship does this poem explore most deeply?
The power differential between its members

The unbreakable affection between parent and child despite differences

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 cultural heritage or aristocratic norm

As hard work or frivolous play

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