Climbing My Grandfather Quizzes

Climbing My Grandfather Quiz

1 What is the name of the poet who wrote "Climbing My Grandfather"?

Owen Sheers

Colin Tudge

Andrew Waterhouse

Simon Armitage
2 What collection was this poem originally published in? What year?

2nd (2000)

In (2000)

2nd (2001)

In (2001)
3 What prize did the collection win?

Forward Prize for Best First Collection

James Laughlin Award

Pulitzer Prize

Nobel Prize
4 What kind of work did the poet do professionally for most of his career?

Environmental lecturer at a college

Poetry professor

Environmental field worker and researcher

Manager at a gas and oil company
5 What is the poem's meter?

Iambic pentameter

Blank verse

Free verse

Iambic tetrameter
6 What kind of climbing does the speaker decide to do?

Free soloing

Bouldering

Aid climbing

Free climbing
7 What are brogues?

A type of shoe originally designed to be worn outdoors by farmers.

A fancy type of shoe worn at cocktail parties.

A type of pants designed for any weather.

A new pair of pants.
8 What is suggested by the description of the grandfather's shoes as "dusty and cracked"?

The grandfather should not wear shoes.

The grandfather waits for his wife to clean the shoes.

The grandfather wears and uses things until they completely fall apart.

The grandfather kicks his grandson.
9 Which of the following devices is not used in the poem?

Assonance

Rhyme

Metaphors

Enjambment
10 What does it mean to traverse?

Move sideways

Descend

Move upward diagonally

Summit
11 What is suggested by the grandfather's earth-stained hand?

The grandfather works outdoors in the natural world.

The grandfather wants to move to the city.

The grandfather is sloppy and expects his wife to clean him.

The grandfather hates the environment where he lives.
12 Which is an example of an oxymoron?

Gasping for breath

Warm ice

Brown eye

Smiling mouth
13 What might the grandfather's scar represent?

All of the hurt and wounds he has sustained in his lifetime

His ability to defend himself

His time in prison

His status as a veteran of World War I
14 Why does the speaker not look down while resting at his grandfather's shoulder?

Because he wants to go back to being a child again

Because he will jump

Because he hates looking back in time

Because climbing has its dangers
15 Which details make evident that the grandfather's body has not broken down with age, at least in the speaker's reckoning in this poem?

The clouds and birds circling above and the speaker's tiredness

His "still firm shoulder," the teeth in his smiling mouth, and his thick hair

His splintered nails and his smiling mouth

The old stitches of his scar and his earth-stained hand
16 What is suggested by the fact that the speaker "gently" places his feet in the old stitches of his grandfather's scar?

He wants to quickly finish the climb

He treats his grandfather with care, respect, and reverence

He wants to hurt his grandfather

He doesn't care about his grandfather's past
17 How many stanzas are in this poem?

One

Three

Two

Five
18 Which of the following is not a symbol in the poem?

The scar

The brogues

Climbing

Brown pants
19 What does climbing symbolize?

Moving upwards in life

The tenacity of the human body and spirit

Descent into madness

Failure
20 Does the terrain of the grandfather represent the whole world in the poem?

No—there are birds and clouds circling above

No—the speaker jumps off while at his grandfather's shoulder and goes paragliding

No—the speaker looks down and sees other climbers below in the grass

Yes
21 Which of the following is an example of assonance?

the forehead, the wrinkles well-spaced

to an earth-stained hand. The nails

the slow pulse of his good heart.

I cross the screed cheek,
22 What is assonance?

The repetition of vowel sounds in words that are close together in a sentence or verse

An object in, or the subject of, a poem is described as being the same as another otherwise unrelated object

The use of words with the same beginning sound

The repetition of syllables, typically at the end of a verse line
23 What does "knowing" suggest at the end of the poem?

A deep communal relationship between the speaker and his grandfather

The grandfather's wisdom

The speaker's ardent intellectualism

The speaker's faith in God
24 In which quote does the speaker explicitly refer to his grandfather's character?

the skin of his finger is smooth and thick like warm ice

to a smiling mouth to drink among teeth.

his thick hair (soft and white at this altitude)

the slow pulse of his good heart.
25 Is there a distance created between the speaker and his grandfather (and thus the environment)?

Yes—the speaker only gazes upon the landscape of his grandfather from a distance

No—the speaker interacts with and discovers more about his grandfather as he climbs

Yes—it is an abusive relationship, which mirrors the way rocks can be unforgiving

No—the speaker explicitly states throughout the poem how much he loves his grandfather

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