Pilate’s Wife Quizzes

Pilate's Wife Quiz Literary Devices and Themes

1 What is the poem's meter?

Iambic tetrameter

Free verse

Iambic pentameter

Trochaic pentameter
2 To whom does the phrase "The Nazarene" refer?

Mary

Abraham

Moses

Jesus
3 Which is the definition of the word "indolent"?

Sweet

Musical

Idle

Indecisive
4 Which of the following is an instance of simile?

"each tough palm was skewered"

"clutched the bridle of an ass"

"They seized the prophet then and dragged him out"

"like shells from Galilee"
5 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?

ABBACDDC

ABAB

It has no consistent rhyme scheme

ABABCDECDE
6 Which theme do the actions of the crowd most clearly relate to?

Art

Fatherhood

The role of bystanders

Gender
7 Which of the following lines displays alliteration?

"The crowd was baying for Barabbas."

"His face? Ugly. Talented."

"Firstly, his hands - a woman's."

"rough men shouldering a pathway to the gates."
8 Who is the poem's speaker?

An unnamed soldier in World War II

A politician's wife in 1960s California

A female mystic in medieval France

The wife of the biblical figure Pontius Pilate
9 Which is the poem's most prominent symbol?

Donkeys

Hands

Thorns

Skulls
10 What is the best description of the speaker's relationship to her maid?

The two are faithful companions and friends

The two do not know one another well, but Duffy hints that they will grow closer over time

The speaker does not trust her maid and keeps her actions secret from her

The speaker regards her maid maternally, teaching and advising her
11 Who is the poem's antagonist?

The speaker

Pilate

The maid

The Emperor
12 Which of the following is a major theme of the poem?

Racism

Gender

The destruction of nature

Food
13 In which poetry collection did this first appear?

Mean Time

Little Red Cap

The World's Wife

Standing Female Nude
14 What is the closest synonym of the word "baying"?

Resting

Howling

Weeping

Gossiping
15 The speaker compares her husband's hands to which of the following?

Twigs

Books

Mice

Moths
16 Which line uses assonance most extensively?

"Their pale, mothy touch made me flinch."

"His brown hands touched me."

"the Nazarene was crowned with thorns."

"I longed for Rome, home, someone else."
17 Which best describes the poem's tone?

Pragmatic

Inquisitive

Humorous

Lamenting
18 In which year was this poem first published?

1999

2005

1978

2012
19 Pilate displays many traits associated with femininity, despite his power as a man. This is an instance of what?

Verbal Irony

Situational Irony

Dramatic Irony

Paradox
20 What is the poem's setting?

Fifteenth-century Europe

Eighteenth-century India

Twentieth-century Los Angeles

First-century Jerusalem
21 What stanza type is used in this poem?

Quintains

Tercets

Sestets

Quatrains
22 Which contains is an example of sibilance?

"His eyes were eyes to die for."

"I woke up, sweating, sexual, terrified."

"Leave him alone."

"bored stiff, disguised"
23 What does the word "Galilee" refer to?

A temple in ancient Jerusalem

A silent movie

A sea

A type of headdress
24 Who is Barabbas?

The speaker's maid

The man who is pardoned instead of Jesus

A priest who leaves the church after a scandal

The speaker's late first husband
25 Which theme is the most prominent in this work?

Imagination

Childhood and coming of age

Desire

Class

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Study Guide for Pilate’s Wife

Pilate's Wife 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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