Mean Time Quizzes

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Mean Time Quiz Mean Time

1 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?

ABBA CDDC

It does not have a consistent rhyme scheme

ABAB CDCD

ABB CBB DBB
2 When was this poem first published?

1993

2017

1975

1762
3 Where does the poem take place?

Inside the speaker's house

In a hotel

In a supermarket

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

It is the beginning of hurricane season

She is practical and crafty, and sees the world through the lens of mending and fixing
5 Which of these lines contains alliteration?

"beyond all light"

"one hour from this day"

"stole light from my life"

"unmendable rain"
6 Which best describes the poem's conflict?

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

It is between the town and the oppressive forces occupying it

It is between the speaker and her siblings

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

6

4

3

5
8 Which best describes the poem's diction?

It is full of jargon and specialized language

It is slightly archaic

It is conversational and casual

It is flowery and ornate
9 Which is NOT a likely meaning of the poem's title?

Average amount of time

Ungenerous or unkind time

Greenwich Mean Time

Idle time occurring between two events
10 In which collection was this work published?

Mean Time

The World's Wife

Collected Works of Carol Ann Duffy

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

Tercets

Sestets

Quatrains

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

Mystery

Ignorance

Privacy

Sadness
13 Who is the poem's primary antagonist?

The speaker's mother

Time itself

The speaker

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

Despondent

Jubilant

Panicked

Thoughtful
15 Which yearly event does the poem describe?

The new moon

The winter solstice

The first snow

The resetting of clocks in fall
16 Who is the poem's addressee?

The speaker's client

The reader

The speaker's ex-partner

The townspeople
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?

Simile

Personification

Onomatopoeia

Spondee
19 Who is the poem's speaker?

A woman preparing for her wedding

A priest preparing to hear confessions

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

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

The birth of a child

A breakup

A diagnosis of illness

A crisis of faith
21 Which of the following is a major theme of this work?

The challenges of writing

Heartbreak

Solitude

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

Bite

Torment

Grab

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

Uncomfortable

Small

Poor

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

mean/time

day/say

streets/mistakes

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

End rhyme

Hyperbole

Understatement

Enjambment

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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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