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:
To beat or attack someone

A country harvest festival

A type of lunchbox

To play rowdily
3 Fill in the blank: "We romped until the _____/Slid from the kitchen shelf"
Spoons

Pans

Pots

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 lets us know that the speaker is old enough to drink

It hints that the father has a drinking problem

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 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?
ABA

ABABB

ABBA

ABAB
8 Which of the following is a simile?
"I hung on like death"

"My right ear scraped a buckle"

"the pans/Slid from the kitchen shelf"

"You beat time on my head"
9 Which sounds produce assonance in the phrase "At every step you missed"?
M sounds

V sounds

E sounds

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

Clinging to

Hanging on

Snatching at
11 What is the poem's meter?
Iambic pentameter

Iambic trimeter

Anapestic tetrameter

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

Hyperbole

Metaphor

Alliteration
13 Which is a central irony in the poem?
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

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
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 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 shows that the speaker is unintelligent
16 Who can most closely be considered the poem's antagonist?
The sister

The mother

The father

The teacher
17 How many stanzas are in "My Papa's Waltz"?
5

4

3

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

A small boy

A young man

A mother
19 Define the word "countenance"
Face

Plan

Attitude or mood

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

Frightened

Vomit

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

Her face

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 speaker's school

The speaker's family car

The speaker's home

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 unbreakable affection between parent and child despite differences

The inevitable disappointment of parenting
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 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