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?
1993

2017

1762

1975
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 knows that the rain has already done irreparable damage

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
5 Which of these lines contains alliteration?
"one hour from this day"

"unmendable rain"

"stole light from my life"

"beyond all light"
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 town and the oppressive forces occupying it

It is between the speaker and her siblings
7 How many stanzas does the poem contain?
4

6

5

3
8 Which best describes the poem's diction?
It is conversational and casual

It is flowery and ornate

It is full of jargon and specialized language

It is slightly archaic
9 Which is NOT a likely meaning of the poem's title?
Idle time occurring between two events

Average amount of time

Greenwich Mean Time

Ungenerous or unkind time
10 In which collection was this work published?
Collected Works of Carol Ann Duffy

The World's Wife

Little Red Cap

Mean Time
11 Which type of stanzas make up this work?
Tercets

Couplets

Sestets

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

Ignorance

Mystery

Privacy
13 Who is the poem's primary antagonist?
Time itself

The speaker's ex-partner

The speaker's mother

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

Despondent

Thoughtful

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

The winter solstice

The first snow

The new moon
16 Who is the poem's addressee?
The reader

The speaker's ex-partner

The speaker's client

The townspeople
17 What is the poem's meter?
Iambic pentameter

Free verse

Trochaic hexameter

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

Onomatopoeia

Spondee

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

A priest preparing to hear confessions

An unnamed person reflecting after the end of a relationship

A young woman who has just heard about her father's death
20 What recent event has occurred for the poem's speaker?
A crisis of faith

The birth of a child

A breakup

A diagnosis of illness
21 Which of the following is a major theme of this work?
The challenges of writing

Solitude

Human/animal relationships

Heartbreak
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

Small

Poor

Sad
24 Which two words are an example of slant rhyme?
streets/mistakes

rain/gnaw

day/say

mean/time
25 The poem's description of "endless nights" is an instance of what?
End rhyme

Enjambment

Understatement

Hyperbole

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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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