Mean Time Quizzes

Mean Time Quiz Mean Time

1 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?

ABAB CDCD

ABBA CDDC

ABB CBB DBB

It does not have a consistent rhyme scheme
2 When was this poem first published?

1762

1993

1975

2017
3 Where does the poem take place?

Inside the speaker's house

In a hotel

On an unnamed city's streets

In a supermarket
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"

"beyond all light"

"unmendable rain"

"one hour from this day"
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

3

6
8 Which best describes the poem's diction?

It is conversational and casual

It is slightly archaic

It is flowery and ornate

It is full of jargon and specialized language
9 Which is NOT a likely meaning of the poem's title?

Ungenerous or unkind time

Average amount of time

Idle time occurring between two events

Greenwich Mean Time
10 In which collection was this work published?

Collected Works of Carol Ann Duffy

Little Red Cap

Mean Time

The World's Wife
11 Which type of stanzas make up this work?

Sestets

Couplets

Quatrains

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

Mystery

Privacy

Ignorance

Sadness
13 Who is the poem's primary antagonist?

Time itself

The speaker

The speaker's mother

The speaker's ex-partner
14 Which best describes the speaker's mood?

Jubilant

Despondent

Panicked

Thoughtful
15 Which yearly event does the poem describe?

The resetting of clocks in fall

The winter solstice

The first snow

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

The townspeople

The reader

The speaker's client

The speaker's ex-partner
17 What is the poem's meter?

Dactylic pentameter

Iambic pentameter

Free verse

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

Personification

Onomatopoeia

Simile

Spondee
19 Who is the poem's speaker?

An unnamed person reflecting after the end of a relationship

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

A priest preparing to hear confessions

A woman preparing for her wedding
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?

Solitude

The challenges of writing

Human/animal relationships

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

Bite

Torment

Eat

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

Sad

Small

Poor

Uncomfortable
24 Which two words are an example of slant rhyme?

mean/time

rain/gnaw

streets/mistakes

day/say
25 The poem's description of "endless nights" is an instance of what?

End rhyme

Enjambment

Hyperbole

Understatement

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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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