Mean Time Quizzes

Mean Time Quiz Mean Time

1 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?
ABB CBB DBB

ABBA CDDC

ABAB CDCD

It does not have a consistent rhyme scheme
2 When was this poem first published?
1762

1993

2017

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

On an unnamed city's streets

Inside the speaker's house

In a supermarket
4 Why does the speaker believe that the rain is "unmendable"?
It is the beginning of hurricane season

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

She knows that the rain has already done irreparable damage

She is so sad that the world as a whole feels unfixable to her
5 Which of these lines contains alliteration?
"unmendable rain"

"beyond all light"

"stole light from my life"

"one hour from this day"
6 Which best describes the poem's conflict?
It is between the speaker and her siblings

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 girlfriend as they endure a breakup
7 How many stanzas does the poem contain?
3

6

5

4
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

Greenwich Mean Time

Average amount of time

Idle time occurring between two events
10 In which collection was this work published?
The World's Wife

Little Red Cap

Mean Time

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

Couplets

Sestets

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

Sadness

Ignorance

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

The speaker

Time itself

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

Thoughtful

Jubilant

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

The new moon

The first snow

The winter solstice
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?
Free verse

Dactylic pentameter

Trochaic hexameter

Iambic pentameter
18 The phrase "bleak streets" is an instance of what?
Onomatopoeia

Simile

Spondee

Personification
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 crisis of faith

A breakup

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

Heartbreak

Human/animal relationships

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

Eat

Torment

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

Poor

Sad

Small
24 Which two words are an example of slant rhyme?
mean/time

rain/gnaw

day/say

streets/mistakes
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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