My Papa’s Waltz Quizzes

My Papa's Waltz Quiz

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

Quintains

Quatrains

Tercets
2 The word "romp" means:
A type of lunchbox

To beat or attack someone

A country harvest festival

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

Dishes

Pots

Pans
4 What is a waltz?
A type of formal party

A popular European ballroom dance

A team sport similar to basketball

A uniform worn by coal miners
5 Why is the image of the scent of whiskey significant?
It hints that the speaker's family is wealthy

It suggests an Irish setting

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 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?
ABA

ABAB

ABBA

ABABB
8 Which of the following is a simile?
"My right ear scraped a buckle"

"the pans/Slid from the kitchen shelf"

"I hung on like death"

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

M sounds

E sounds

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

Hanging on

Clinging to

Fussing with
11 What is the poem's meter?
Iambic trimeter

Iambic pentameter

Anapestic tetrameter

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

Assonance

Metaphor

Alliteration
13 Which is a central irony in the poem?
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

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 _____"
Buckle

Pocket

Shoulder

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

The teacher

The sister

The mother
17 How many stanzas are in "My Papa's Waltz"?
3

2

5

4
18 Who is the poem's speaker?
A mother

A young man

A small boy

A teenage girl
19 Define the word "countenance"
Face

The facade of a house

Plan

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

Dizzy

Drunk

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

Her ear

Her hands

Her face
22 What does the waltz symbolize?
The American dream

The value of art and culture

The dynamic between father and son

The performance of spirituality
23 Where is the poem set?
The woods outside the speaker's house

The speaker's home

The speaker's family car

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 hard work or frivolous play

As cultural heritage or aristocratic norm

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

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