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?
2017

1975

1762

1993
3 Where does the poem take place?
In a supermarket

Inside the speaker's house

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 knows that the rain has already done irreparable damage

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
5 Which of these lines contains alliteration?
"stole light from my life"

"beyond all light"

"one hour from this day"

"unmendable rain"
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

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

Ungenerous or unkind time

Average amount of time

Greenwich Mean Time
10 In which collection was this work published?
Little Red Cap

The World's Wife

Mean Time

Collected Works of Carol Ann Duffy
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

The speaker's mother

Time itself

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

Despondent

Panicked

Jubilant
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 townspeople

The reader

The speaker's ex-partner

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

Trochaic hexameter

Free verse

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

Onomatopoeia

Personification

Spondee
19 Who is the poem's speaker?
An unnamed person reflecting after the end of a relationship

A priest preparing to hear confessions

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

A woman preparing for her wedding
20 What recent event has occurred for the poem's speaker?
The birth of a child

A diagnosis of illness

A crisis of faith

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

Solitude

The challenges of writing

Human/animal relationships
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?"
Uncomfortable

Poor

Small

Sad
24 Which two words are an example of slant rhyme?
mean/time

rain/gnaw

streets/mistakes

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

End rhyme

Understatement

Hyperbole

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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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