Mean Time Quizzes

Mean Time Quiz Mean Time

1 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?
ABAB CDCD

ABB CBB DBB

It does not have a consistent rhyme scheme

ABBA CDDC
2 When was this poem first published?
1762

1975

2017

1993
3 Where does the poem take place?
In a supermarket

On an unnamed city's streets

Inside the speaker's house

In a hotel
4 Why does the speaker believe that the rain is "unmendable"?
She knows that the rain has already done irreparable damage

It is the beginning of hurricane season

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

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"

"one hour from this day"

"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 speaker and her siblings

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

It is between the town and the oppressive forces occupying it
7 How many stanzas does the poem contain?
4

5

3

6
8 Which best describes the poem's diction?
It is slightly archaic

It is conversational and casual

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

Idle time occurring between two events

Greenwich Mean Time

Average amount of time
10 In which collection was this work published?
Little Red Cap

Collected Works of Carol Ann Duffy

The World's Wife

Mean Time
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

Mystery

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

The speaker

The speaker's ex-partner

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

Despondent

Jubilant

Panicked
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 reader

The townspeople

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

Dactylic pentameter

Iambic pentameter

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

Spondee

Simile

Onomatopoeia
19 Who is the poem's speaker?
An unnamed person reflecting after the end of a relationship

A woman preparing for her wedding

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

A priest preparing to hear confessions
20 What recent event has occurred for the poem's speaker?
A breakup

The birth of a child

A diagnosis of illness

A crisis of faith
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?
Grab

Torment

Eat

Bite
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

rain/gnaw

streets/mistakes

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

Enjambment

Hyperbole

End rhyme

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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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