Truth (Chaucer poem) Quizzes

Truth (Chaucer poem) "Truth"

1 Which work is Geoffrey Chaucer best known for?

Truth

The Revelations of Divine Love

On the Consolation of Philosophy

The Canterbury Tales
2 In what sense is "Truth" uncharacteristic of Chaucer's work?

It is sincere and religious

It is written in verse

It is written for a courtly audience

It does not employ any wordplay or figurative language
3 Which line most specifically suggests the specific audience of "Truth"?

Here’s not your home, here is but wilderness

Let your thing suffice, though it be small

Rule well yourself, who others advise here

Therefore, La Vache, cease your old wretchedness
4 What is the original language of "Truth"?

Old English

German

Middle English

French
5 What is the tone of the first stanza?

Cynical, ironic

Frustrated, even angry

Urgent, almost panicked

Measured and rational
6 Which literary device does Chaucer most extensively employ in the first stanza?

Allusion

Alliteration

Figurative language

Parallel sentence structure
7 Which of the following best describes the irony of the first stanza?

Sir Philip thinks he is such a good person, but he is actually selfish and judgmental

He who seeks good things on earth will only make his life worse

The speaker gives good advice but does not follow it

Sir Philip wants to rule others, but cannot even rule himself
8 Which of the following BEST expresses the meaning of "the crooked" in line 8?

Dishonest people

Misled people

Wealthy people

People with crooked spines
9 Who is "her who wobbles like a ball"?

The earth

A fat woman

Philip's lover

The heavens
10 Which of the following BEST expresses the meaning of "busyness" in line 10?

Work for the sake of work

Domestic work

Difficult but necessary labor

Having a great deal to do
11 What does the metaphor "kicking at an awl" imply about trying to make the world a better place?

To change the world, you must also take on risk

The world will not affect you, nor you it

The world is delicate and you must not be violent with it

The world will injure you if you try to fight against it
12 Which literary device does NOT appear in the second stanza?

Metaphor

Apostrophe

Simile

Alliteration
13 Fill in the blank: The line "control yourself, who would control your peer" casts self-control and power as:

Mutually dependent

Both impossible

Both necessary

Mutually exclusive
14 What does the crockery represent in line 22?

The world

The speaker

Sir Philip

Wealth
15 Which of the following is NOT a similarity between stanza one and stanza two?

Both employ a similar tone

Both use parallel sentence structure

Both use figurative language

Both discuss similar things
16 Which of the following is most similar to the relationship between the speaker and the addressee?

Lover and beloved

Friends on equal terms

King and counsellor

Enemies seeking to destroy each other
17 What does the speaker mean when he tells his addressee to "know your country"?

Don't forget your family when you become powerful

Remember that your real home is heaven

Don't delude yourself into forgetting the flaws of your country

Don't forget English customs and values on your travels
18 What does the speaker mean when he tells the addressee to "hold the high way"

Don't try to change the world, just go along with everyone else

Don't get lost on your travels

Retain control of the actions of those in your realm

Conform your actions to Christian religious law
19 Which of the following did NOT influence "Truth"?

De contemptu mundi by Bernard of Cluny

On the Misery of the Human Condition by Pope Innocent III

On the Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius

The Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich
20 Which of the following BEST describes the role of "contemptus mundi" in late medieval culture

Increasingly influential idea

Fringe concept

Universally accepted dogma

Widely held belief
21 Which of the following contains a pun on the name "la Vache"?

Let your thing suffice, though it be small

Forth, pilgrim, forth! Forth, beast, out of your stall!

Beware therefore of kicking at an awl

Here’s not your home, here is but wilderness
22 What is the rhyme scheme of "Truth"?

ababbcc

ababaaa

abcabca

abababb
23 What is the "envoy"?

A messenger who arrives and interrupts the speaker

An addendum added by another poet to summarize the poem

A concluding stanza that summarizes the poem and identifies its addressee

A satirical conclusion that undermines the preceding stanzas
24 Which line of the final stanza is slightly at odds with the preceding stanzas?

To the world cease now to be in thrall

Cry Him mercy, that out of his high goodness

And truth shall deliver you, have no fear

For yourself, and others, for heavenly cheer
25 How does the depiction of God change over the course of the poem?

God becomes less and less important as Philip moves away from the true path

God is equally important throughout

The poem urges an increasingly intimate relationship with God

The poem increasingly emphasizes God's power over Philip

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