The Times Are Tidy (Leaving Cert English): Quizzes
📚Quizzes
Practise the questions
13 questions from this quiz
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Practise the questions
13 questions from this quiz
How many lines is 'The Times Are Tidy' and how are they arranged?
How many lines is 'The Times Are Tidy' and how are they arranged?
22 lines across 4 stanzas
In which collection was 'The Times Are Tidy' published posthumously in 1965?
In which collection was 'The Times Are Tidy' published posthumously in 1965?
Ariel
What is the central contrast explored in the poem?
What is the central contrast explored in the poem?
Ordered, mundane present vs. chaotic, adventurous past
Why does Plath write this poem in free verse?
Why does Plath write this poem in free verse?
Form mirrors theme of structure vs. freedom
What does the 'stuck record' metaphor represent?
What does the 'stuck record' metaphor represent?
Repetition & monotony of modern life
What dual nature does the tidiness motif represent?
What dual nature does the tidiness motif represent?
Benefits (safety/comfort) & costs (boredom/emptiness)
What figure represents the past in the poem?
What figure represents the past in the poem?
A ghostly admiral
What does 'Unlucky the hero born / In this province of the stuck record' suggest?
What does 'Unlucky the hero born / In this province of the stuck record' suggest?
Heroes have no adventures in modern life
What does 'the mayor's rotisserie turns / Round of its own accord' show?
What does 'the mayor's rotisserie turns / Round of its own accord' show?
Human displacement by automation
What does 'riding against the lizard' that has 'withered to leaf-size' symbolize?
What does 'riding against the lizard' that has 'withered to leaf-size' symbolize?
Past dangers diminished to insignificance
What historical event does 'The last crone got burnt up / More than eight decades back' reference?
What historical event does 'The last crone got burnt up / More than eight decades back' reference?
Witch trials
What benefit of progress does Plath acknowledge with 'The cow milks cream an inch thick'?
What benefit of progress does Plath acknowledge with 'The cow milks cream an inch thick'?
Material benefits and safety
What historical era influenced Plath's commentary on modern 'tidiness'?
What historical era influenced Plath's commentary on modern 'tidiness'?
Post-war era with mechanization