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?
Jesus

Mary

Abraham

Moses
3 Which is the definition of the word "indolent"?
Indecisive

Sweet

Musical

Idle
4 Which of the following is an instance of simile?
"like shells from Galilee"

"They seized the prophet then and dragged him out"

"clutched the bridle of an ass"

"each tough palm was skewered"
5 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?
ABBACDDC

It has no consistent rhyme scheme

ABAB

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

Fatherhood

Gender

The role of bystanders
7 Which of the following lines displays alliteration?
"His face? Ugly. Talented."

"The crowd was baying for Barabbas."

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

"rough men shouldering a pathway to the gates."
8 Who is the poem's speaker?
A female mystic in medieval France

A politician's wife in 1960s California

The wife of the biblical figure Pontius Pilate

An unnamed soldier in World War II
9 Which is the poem's most prominent symbol?
Thorns

Hands

Skulls

Donkeys
10 What is the best description of the speaker's relationship to her maid?
The speaker does not trust her maid and keeps her actions secret from her

The two are faithful companions and friends

The speaker regards her maid maternally, teaching and advising her

The two do not know one another well, but Duffy hints that they will grow closer over time
11 Who is the poem's antagonist?
The Emperor

The speaker

Pilate

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

Food

Gender

The destruction of nature
13 In which poetry collection did this first appear?
The World's Wife

Standing Female Nude

Little Red Cap

Mean Time
14 What is the closest synonym of the word "baying"?
Weeping

Gossiping

Resting

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

Books

Twigs

Moths
16 Which line uses assonance most extensively?
"the Nazarene was crowned with thorns."

"His brown hands touched me."

"I longed for Rome, home, someone else."

"Their pale, mothy touch made me flinch."
17 Which best describes the poem's tone?
Humorous

Lamenting

Inquisitive

Pragmatic
18 In which year was this poem first published?
1978

2012

1999

2005
19 Pilate displays many traits associated with femininity, despite his power as a man. This is an instance of what?
Dramatic Irony

Verbal Irony

Situational Irony

Paradox
20 What is the poem's setting?
Fifteenth-century Europe

First-century Jerusalem

Eighteenth-century India

Twentieth-century Los Angeles
21 What stanza type is used in this poem?
Sestets

Tercets

Quintains

Quatrains
22 Which contains is an example of sibilance?
"I woke up, sweating, sexual, terrified."

"Leave him alone."

"bored stiff, disguised"

"His eyes were eyes to die for."
23 What does the word "Galilee" refer to?
A sea

A silent movie

A type of headdress

A temple in ancient Jerusalem
24 Who is Barabbas?
The man who is pardoned instead of Jesus

The speaker's maid

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

Class

Childhood and coming of age

Desire

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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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