Mean Time Quizzes

Mean Time Quiz Mean Time

1 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?
ABAB CDCD

ABBA CDDC

ABB CBB DBB

It does not have a consistent rhyme scheme
2 When was this poem first published?
1993

1762

1975

2017
3 Where does the poem take place?
In a hotel

On an unnamed city's streets

Inside the speaker's house

In a supermarket
4 Why does the speaker believe that the rain is "unmendable"?
She is practical and crafty, and sees the world through the lens of mending and fixing

She is so sad that the world as a whole feels unfixable to her

It is the beginning of hurricane season

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

"beyond all light"

"stole light from my life"

"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 town and the oppressive forces occupying it

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?
5

4

3

6
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?
Greenwich Mean Time

Idle time occurring between two events

Average amount of time

Ungenerous or unkind time
10 In which collection was this work published?
Little Red Cap

Collected Works of Carol Ann Duffy

Mean Time

The World's Wife
11 Which type of stanzas make up this work?
Tercets

Quatrains

Sestets

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

Mystery

Ignorance

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

The speaker's ex-partner

The speaker

Time itself
14 Which best describes the speaker's mood?
Panicked

Jubilant

Despondent

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

The resetting of clocks in fall

The new moon

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

The townspeople

The reader

The speaker's ex-partner
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

Spondee

Personification

Onomatopoeia
19 Who is the poem's speaker?
A priest preparing to hear confessions

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

An unnamed person reflecting after the end of a relationship

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 breakup

A crisis of faith
21 Which of the following is a major theme of this work?
Solitude

The challenges of writing

Human/animal relationships

Heartbreak
22 What is most closely meant by the word "gnaw" as used in this poem?
Eat

Grab

Bite

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

Small

Poor

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

Hyperbole

End rhyme

Understatement

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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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