Mean Time Quizzes

Mean Time Quiz Mean Time

1 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?
It does not have a consistent rhyme scheme

ABBA CDDC

ABAB CDCD

ABB CBB DBB
2 When was this poem first published?
2017

1993

1975

1762
3 Where does the poem take place?
In a hotel

In a supermarket

Inside the speaker's house

On an unnamed city's streets
4 Why does the speaker believe that the rain is "unmendable"?
She knows that the rain has already done irreparable damage

She is practical and crafty, and sees the world through the lens of mending and fixing

It is the beginning of hurricane season

She is so sad that the world as a whole feels unfixable to her
5 Which of these lines contains alliteration?
"stole light from my life"

"one hour from this day"

"beyond all light"

"unmendable rain"
6 Which best describes the poem's conflict?
It is between the town and the oppressive forces occupying it

It is between the speaker on the one hand, and time on the other

It is between the speaker and her siblings

It is between the speaker and her girlfriend as they endure a breakup
7 How many stanzas does the poem contain?
5

4

3

6
8 Which best describes the poem's diction?
It is flowery and ornate

It is full of jargon and specialized language

It is slightly archaic

It is conversational and casual
9 Which is NOT a likely meaning of the poem's title?
Average amount of time

Ungenerous or unkind time

Idle time occurring between two events

Greenwich Mean Time
10 In which collection was this work published?
The World's Wife

Mean Time

Collected Works of Carol Ann Duffy

Little Red Cap
11 Which type of stanzas make up this work?
Quatrains

Tercets

Couplets

Sestets
12 In this poem, darkness is metaphorically used to represent what?
Ignorance

Sadness

Privacy

Mystery
13 Who is the poem's primary antagonist?
The speaker

The speaker's mother

The speaker's ex-partner

Time itself
14 Which best describes the speaker's mood?
Jubilant

Panicked

Despondent

Thoughtful
15 Which yearly event does the poem describe?
The resetting of clocks in fall

The first snow

The winter solstice

The new moon
16 Who is the poem's addressee?
The reader

The townspeople

The speaker's ex-partner

The speaker's client
17 What is the poem's meter?
Iambic pentameter

Free verse

Dactylic pentameter

Trochaic hexameter
18 The phrase "bleak streets" is an instance of what?
Personification

Spondee

Simile

Onomatopoeia
19 Who is the poem's speaker?
A priest preparing to hear confessions

A young woman who has just heard about her father's death

A woman preparing for her wedding

An unnamed person reflecting after the end of a relationship
20 What recent event has occurred for the poem's speaker?
A diagnosis of illness

A breakup

A crisis of faith

The birth of a child
21 Which of the following is a major theme of this work?
The challenges of writing

Human/animal relationships

Heartbreak

Solitude
22 What is most closely meant by the word "gnaw" as used in this poem?
Bite

Eat

Grab

Torment
23 What is most closely meant by the word "bleak?"
Uncomfortable

Poor

Sad

Small
24 Which two words are an example of slant rhyme?
rain/gnaw

day/say

streets/mistakes

mean/time
25 The poem's description of "endless nights" is an instance of what?
End rhyme

Enjambment

Understatement

Hyperbole

Mean Time Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Mean Time is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Ask Your Own Question

Study Guide for Mean Time

Mean Time study guide contains a biography of Carol Ann Duffy, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Read the Study Guide for Mean Time…