Mean Time Quizzes

Mean Time Quiz Mean Time

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

ABB CBB DBB

ABBA CDDC

ABAB CDCD
2 When was this poem first published?
2017

1762

1993

1975
3 Where does the poem take place?
In a hotel

In a supermarket

On an unnamed city's streets

Inside the speaker's house
4 Why does the speaker believe that the rain is "unmendable"?
She knows that the rain has already done irreparable damage

She is so sad that the world as a whole feels unfixable to her

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

It is the beginning of hurricane season
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 and her siblings

It is between the speaker and her girlfriend as they endure a breakup

It is between the speaker on the one hand, and time on the other
7 How many stanzas does the poem contain?
5

4

6

3
8 Which best describes the poem's diction?
It is flowery and ornate

It is slightly archaic

It is full of jargon and specialized language

It is conversational and casual
9 Which is NOT a likely meaning of the poem's title?
Idle time occurring between two events

Greenwich Mean Time

Average amount of time

Ungenerous or unkind time
10 In which collection was this work published?
Mean Time

The World's Wife

Little Red Cap

Collected Works of Carol Ann Duffy
11 Which type of stanzas make up this work?
Couplets

Sestets

Tercets

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

Sadness

Mystery

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

Time itself

The speaker's ex-partner

The speaker's mother
14 Which best describes the speaker's mood?
Despondent

Panicked

Thoughtful

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

The winter solstice

The new moon

The first snow
16 Who is the poem's addressee?
The speaker's client

The speaker's ex-partner

The townspeople

The reader
17 What is the poem's meter?
Dactylic pentameter

Free verse

Iambic pentameter

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

Simile

Spondee

Onomatopoeia
19 Who is the poem's speaker?
A young woman who has just heard about her father's death

An unnamed person reflecting after the end of a relationship

A priest preparing to hear confessions

A woman preparing for her wedding
20 What recent event has occurred for the poem's speaker?
A breakup

A diagnosis of illness

A crisis of faith

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

Solitude

The challenges of writing

Human/animal relationships
22 What is most closely meant by the word "gnaw" as used in this poem?
Bite

Grab

Eat

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

Sad

Uncomfortable

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

streets/mistakes

day/say

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

Enjambment

End rhyme

Hyperbole

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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.

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