Mean Time Quizzes

Mean Time Quiz Mean Time

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

ABB CBB DBB

ABBA CDDC

It does not have a consistent rhyme scheme
2 When was this poem first published?
1975

2017

1762

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

Inside the speaker's house

In a hotel

On an unnamed city's streets
4 Why does the speaker believe that the rain is "unmendable"?
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

She is so sad that the world as a whole feels unfixable to her
5 Which of these lines contains alliteration?
"unmendable rain"

"beyond all light"

"one hour from this day"

"stole light from my life"
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 girlfriend as they endure a breakup

It is between the town and the oppressive forces occupying it

It is between the speaker and her siblings
7 How many stanzas does the poem contain?
5

3

6

4
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?
Collected Works of Carol Ann Duffy

Little Red Cap

The World's Wife

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

Tercets

Couplets

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

Sadness

Privacy

Mystery
13 Who is the poem's primary antagonist?
The speaker's ex-partner

The speaker

The speaker's mother

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

Jubilant

Panicked

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

The resetting of clocks in fall

The winter solstice

The new moon
16 Who is the poem's addressee?
The reader

The speaker's client

The speaker's ex-partner

The townspeople
17 What is the poem's meter?
Trochaic hexameter

Iambic pentameter

Dactylic pentameter

Free verse
18 The phrase "bleak streets" is an instance of what?
Spondee

Simile

Onomatopoeia

Personification
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?
A diagnosis of illness

The birth of a child

A crisis of faith

A breakup
21 Which of the following is a major theme of this work?
The challenges of writing

Heartbreak

Human/animal relationships

Solitude
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

Uncomfortable

Small

Sad
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?
Understatement

End rhyme

Hyperbole

Enjambment

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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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