Mean Time Quizzes

Mean Time Quiz Mean Time

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

It does not have a consistent rhyme scheme

ABBA CDDC

ABAB CDCD
2 When was this poem first published?
1975

1762

1993

2017
3 Where does the poem take place?
On an unnamed city's streets

In a supermarket

Inside the speaker's house

In a hotel
4 Why does the speaker believe that the rain is "unmendable"?
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

She knows that the rain has already done irreparable damage
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 girlfriend as they endure a breakup

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

It is between the speaker and her siblings

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

3

6

5
8 Which best describes the poem's diction?
It is slightly archaic

It is full of jargon and specialized language

It is flowery and ornate

It is conversational and casual
9 Which is NOT a likely meaning of the poem's title?
Ungenerous or unkind time

Average amount of time

Greenwich Mean Time

Idle time occurring between two events
10 In which collection was this work published?
Collected Works of Carol Ann Duffy

Mean Time

Little Red Cap

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

Sestets

Quatrains

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

Privacy

Mystery

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

Time itself

The speaker's mother

The speaker
14 Which best describes the speaker's mood?
Thoughtful

Despondent

Panicked

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 ex-partner

The townspeople

The reader

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

Trochaic hexameter

Free verse

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

Simile

Onomatopoeia

Spondee
19 Who is the poem's speaker?
A woman preparing for her wedding

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

A priest preparing to hear confessions

An unnamed person reflecting after the end of a relationship
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?
The challenges of writing

Heartbreak

Human/animal relationships

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

Bite

Eat

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

Sad

Small

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

mean/time

rain/gnaw

streets/mistakes
25 The poem's description of "endless nights" is an instance of what?
Enjambment

End rhyme

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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