Pilate’s Wife Quizzes

Pilate's Wife Quiz Literary Devices and Themes

1 What is the poem's meter?
Trochaic pentameter

Free verse

Iambic tetrameter

Iambic pentameter
2 To whom does the phrase "The Nazarene" refer?
Moses

Mary

Jesus

Abraham
3 Which is the definition of the word "indolent"?
Sweet

Indecisive

Musical

Idle
4 Which of the following is an instance of simile?
"each tough palm was skewered"

"They seized the prophet then and dragged him out"

"like shells from Galilee"

"clutched the bridle of an ass"
5 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?
It has no consistent rhyme scheme

ABBACDDC

ABABCDECDE

ABAB
6 Which theme do the actions of the crowd most clearly relate to?
The role of bystanders

Fatherhood

Art

Gender
7 Which of the following lines displays alliteration?
"Firstly, his hands - a woman's."

"The crowd was baying for Barabbas."

"His face? Ugly. Talented."

"rough men shouldering a pathway to the gates."
8 Who is the poem's speaker?
A politician's wife in 1960s California

A female mystic in medieval France

An unnamed soldier in World War II

The wife of the biblical figure Pontius Pilate
9 Which is the poem's most prominent symbol?
Skulls

Thorns

Hands

Donkeys
10 What is the best description of the speaker's relationship to her maid?
The two are faithful companions and friends

The speaker does not trust her maid and keeps her actions secret from her

The speaker regards her maid maternally, teaching and advising her

The two do not know one another well, but Duffy hints that they will grow closer over time
11 Who is the poem's antagonist?
The Emperor

The speaker

Pilate

The maid
12 Which of the following is a major theme of the poem?
Racism

Food

Gender

The destruction of nature
13 In which poetry collection did this first appear?
The World's Wife

Standing Female Nude

Mean Time

Little Red Cap
14 What is the closest synonym of the word "baying"?
Gossiping

Weeping

Howling

Resting
15 The speaker compares her husband's hands to which of the following?
Twigs

Mice

Books

Moths
16 Which line uses assonance most extensively?
"the Nazarene was crowned with thorns."

"His brown hands touched me."

"Their pale, mothy touch made me flinch."

"I longed for Rome, home, someone else."
17 Which best describes the poem's tone?
Inquisitive

Lamenting

Humorous

Pragmatic
18 In which year was this poem first published?
1978

1999

2012

2005
19 Pilate displays many traits associated with femininity, despite his power as a man. This is an instance of what?
Paradox

Verbal Irony

Situational Irony

Dramatic Irony
20 What is the poem's setting?
Eighteenth-century India

Fifteenth-century Europe

Twentieth-century Los Angeles

First-century Jerusalem
21 What stanza type is used in this poem?
Sestets

Quatrains

Tercets

Quintains
22 Which contains is an example of sibilance?
"bored stiff, disguised"

"Leave him alone."

"His eyes were eyes to die for."

"I woke up, sweating, sexual, terrified."
23 What does the word "Galilee" refer to?
A temple in ancient Jerusalem

A type of headdress

A silent movie

A sea
24 Who is Barabbas?
The speaker's maid

A priest who leaves the church after a scandal

The man who is pardoned instead of Jesus

The speaker's late first husband
25 Which theme is the most prominent in this work?
Desire

Imagination

Class

Childhood and coming of age

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Study Guide for Pilate’s Wife

Pilate's Wife 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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