Mean Time Quizzes

Mean Time Quiz Mean Time

1 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?

It does not have a consistent rhyme scheme

ABAB CDCD

ABB CBB DBB

ABBA CDDC
2 When was this poem first published?

2017

1975

1993

1762
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 is so sad that the world as a whole feels unfixable to her

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

It is the beginning of hurricane season
5 Which of these lines contains alliteration?

"unmendable rain"

"one hour from this day"

"beyond all light"

"stole light from my life"
6 Which best describes the poem's conflict?

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 speaker and her girlfriend as they endure a breakup

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

5

4

3

6
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?

Greenwich Mean Time

Ungenerous or unkind 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

Collected Works of Carol Ann Duffy

Mean Time
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

Sadness

Privacy

Ignorance
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?

Thoughtful

Jubilant

Panicked

Despondent
15 Which yearly event does the poem describe?

The winter solstice

The first snow

The new moon

The resetting of clocks in fall
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

Free verse

Trochaic hexameter

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

Simile

Spondee

Onomatopoeia

Personification
19 Who is the poem's speaker?

A priest preparing to hear confessions

A woman preparing for her wedding

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?

A crisis of faith

The birth of a child

A diagnosis of illness

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

Solitude

Human/animal relationships

Heartbreak

The challenges of writing
22 What is most closely meant by the word "gnaw" as used in this poem?

Eat

Torment

Bite

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

Small

Poor

Sad

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?

Hyperbole

Understatement

End rhyme

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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