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?

1975

1762

2017

1993
3 Where does the poem take place?

Inside the speaker's house

In a supermarket

On an unnamed city's streets

In a hotel
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?

"beyond all light"

"one hour from this day"

"stole light from my life"

"unmendable rain"
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 town and the oppressive forces occupying it

It is between the speaker and her girlfriend as they endure a breakup
7 How many stanzas does the poem contain?

5

4

6

3
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?

Average amount of time

Greenwich Mean Time

Idle time occurring between two events

Ungenerous or unkind time
10 In which collection was this work published?

Mean Time

The World's Wife

Little Red Cap

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

Couplets

Quatrains

Sestets

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

Sadness

Mystery

Ignorance

Privacy
13 Who is the poem's primary antagonist?

Time itself

The speaker

The speaker's mother

The speaker's ex-partner
14 Which best describes the speaker's mood?

Jubilant

Despondent

Panicked

Thoughtful
15 Which yearly event does the poem describe?

The new moon

The resetting of clocks in fall

The winter solstice

The first snow
16 Who is the poem's addressee?

The reader

The speaker's client

The townspeople

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

Trochaic hexameter

Dactylic pentameter

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?

An unnamed person reflecting after the end of a relationship

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

A woman preparing for her wedding

A priest preparing to hear confessions
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?

Heartbreak

Human/animal relationships

The challenges of writing

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

Grab

Bite

Eat

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

Poor

Sad

Uncomfortable

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

rain/gnaw

day/say

mean/time

streets/mistakes
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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