Mean Time Quizzes

Mean Time Quiz Mean Time

By Eleanor Stern · Edited by James Cooper · Last reviewed February 06, 2023

1 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?

ABAB CDCD

It does not have a consistent rhyme scheme

ABBA CDDC

ABB CBB DBB
2 When was this poem first published?

1993

1762

1975

2017
3 Where does the poem take place?

Inside the speaker's house

In a hotel

In a supermarket

On an unnamed city's streets
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

She is practical and crafty, and sees the world through the lens of mending and fixing

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

"unmendable rain"

"stole light from my life"

"beyond all light"

"one hour from this day"
6 Which best describes the poem's conflict?

It is between the town and the oppressive forces occupying it

It is between the speaker on the one hand, and time on the other

It is between the speaker and her girlfriend as they endure a breakup

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

4

5

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?

Average amount of time

Greenwich Mean Time

Ungenerous or unkind time

Idle time occurring between two events
10 In which collection was this work published?

Mean Time

The World's Wife

Collected Works of Carol Ann Duffy

Little Red Cap
11 Which type of stanzas make up this work?

Sestets

Couplets

Tercets

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

Privacy

Ignorance

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?

Despondent

Panicked

Thoughtful

Jubilant
15 Which yearly event does the poem describe?

The resetting of clocks in fall

The new moon

The first snow

The winter solstice
16 Who is the poem's addressee?

The townspeople

The speaker's ex-partner

The reader

The speaker's client
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?

Spondee

Onomatopoeia

Simile

Personification
19 Who is the poem's speaker?

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

A priest preparing to hear confessions

A woman preparing for her wedding

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

A breakup

A diagnosis of illness

The birth of a child
21 Which of the following is a major theme of this work?

Heartbreak

The challenges of writing

Solitude

Human/animal relationships
22 What is most closely meant by the word "gnaw" as used in this poem?

Bite

Grab

Torment

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

Sad

Poor

Uncomfortable

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

rain/gnaw

mean/time

streets/mistakes

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

Enjambment

Understatement

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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