My Papa’s Waltz Quizzes

My Papa's Waltz Quiz

1 Of what kind of stanzas is this poem composed?

Quatrains

Tercets

Couplets

Quintains
2 The word "romp" means:

To play rowdily

A type of lunchbox

To beat or attack someone

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

Spoons

Dishes

Pans

Pots
4 What is a waltz?

A popular European ballroom dance

A uniform worn by coal miners

A team sport similar to basketball

A type of formal party
5 Why is the image of the scent of whiskey significant?

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

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 masculinity and violence are too often conflated

That fathers must pass masculine skills on to sons

That women can also be masculine
7 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?

ABA

ABAB

ABBA

ABABB
8 Which of the following is a simile?

"You beat time on my head"

"the pans/Slid from the kitchen shelf"

"My right ear scraped a buckle"

"I hung on like death"
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

Snatching at

Hanging on

Fussing with
11 What is the poem's meter?

Trochaic pentameter

Iambic trimeter

Anapestic tetrameter

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

Metaphor

Hyperbole

Alliteration

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 way that the mother is supposed to protect her child, but actually harms him

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 _____"

Buckle

Button

Pocket

Shoulder
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 simple rhyme scheme shows that the speaker is unintelligent

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

The sister

The mother

The teacher

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

3

4

5

2
18 Who is the poem's speaker?

A mother

A teenage girl

A small boy

A young man
19 Define the word "countenance"

Plan

The facade of a house

Attitude or mood

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

Frightened

Drunk

Dizzy

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

Her hands

Her face

Her stomach

Her ear
22 What does the waltz symbolize?

The value of art and culture

The performance of spirituality

The dynamic between father and son

The American dream
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 unbreakable affection between parent and child despite differences

The inevitable disappointment of parenting

The uncanniness of biological and genetic similarity

The power differential between its members
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