Mean Time Quizzes

Mean Time Quiz Mean Time

1 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?
ABBA CDDC

It does not have a consistent rhyme scheme

ABAB CDCD

ABB CBB DBB
2 When was this poem first published?
1993

1975

2017

1762
3 Where does the poem take place?
Inside the speaker's house

In a hotel

On an unnamed city's streets

In a supermarket
4 Why does the speaker believe that the rain is "unmendable"?
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

She knows that the rain has already done irreparable damage
5 Which of these lines contains alliteration?
"beyond all light"

"stole light from my life"

"unmendable rain"

"one hour from this day"
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 speaker and her girlfriend as they endure a breakup

It is between the town and the oppressive forces occupying it
7 How many stanzas does the poem contain?
4

5

6

3
8 Which best describes the poem's diction?
It is slightly archaic

It is full of jargon and specialized language

It is conversational and casual

It is flowery and ornate
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?
The World's Wife

Little Red Cap

Collected Works of Carol Ann Duffy

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

Quatrains

Tercets

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

Ignorance

Sadness

Privacy
13 Who is the poem's primary antagonist?
The speaker's mother

Time itself

The speaker's ex-partner

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

Jubilant

Despondent

Thoughtful
15 Which yearly event does the poem describe?
The first snow

The winter solstice

The new moon

The resetting of clocks in fall
16 Who is the poem's addressee?
The townspeople

The speaker's client

The speaker's ex-partner

The reader
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?
Personification

Simile

Onomatopoeia

Spondee
19 Who is the poem's speaker?
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

A woman preparing for her wedding
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?
Heartbreak

Solitude

Human/animal relationships

The challenges of writing
22 What is most closely meant by the word "gnaw" as used in this poem?
Torment

Bite

Eat

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

Small

Uncomfortable

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

day/say

streets/mistakes

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

Understatement

Enjambment

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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