Truth (Chaucer poem) Quizzes

Truth (Chaucer poem) "Truth"

1 Which work is Geoffrey Chaucer best known for?
The Revelations of Divine Love

Truth

The Canterbury Tales

On the Consolation of Philosophy
2 In what sense is "Truth" uncharacteristic of Chaucer's work?
It is written in verse

It is written for a courtly audience

It is sincere and religious

It does not employ any wordplay or figurative language
3 Which line most specifically suggests the specific audience of "Truth"?
Let your thing suffice, though it be small

Here’s not your home, here is but wilderness

Therefore, La Vache, cease your old wretchedness

Rule well yourself, who others advise here
4 What is the original language of "Truth"?
French

Middle English

Old English

German
5 What is the tone of the first stanza?
Cynical, ironic

Frustrated, even angry

Measured and rational

Urgent, almost panicked
6 Which literary device does Chaucer most extensively employ in the first stanza?
Alliteration

Figurative language

Parallel sentence structure

Allusion
7 Which of the following best describes the irony of the first stanza?
Sir Philip wants to rule others, but cannot even rule himself

The speaker gives good advice but does not follow it

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

Sir Philip thinks he is such a good person, but he is actually selfish and judgmental
8 Which of the following BEST expresses the meaning of "the crooked" in line 8?
Wealthy people

Dishonest people

People with crooked spines

Misled people
9 Who is "her who wobbles like a ball"?
Philip's lover

The heavens

A fat woman

The earth
10 Which of the following BEST expresses the meaning of "busyness" in line 10?
Difficult but necessary labor

Having a great deal to do

Domestic work

Work for the sake of work
11 What does the metaphor "kicking at an awl" imply about trying to make the world a better place?
The world will injure you if you try to fight against it

To change the world, you must also take on risk

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

The world will not affect you, nor you it
12 Which literary device does NOT appear in the second stanza?
Alliteration

Metaphor

Apostrophe

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

Mutually dependent

Both necessary

Both impossible
14 What does the crockery represent in line 22?
Sir Philip

The speaker

Wealth

The world
15 Which of the following is NOT a similarity between stanza one and stanza two?
Both discuss similar things

Both employ a similar tone

Both use parallel sentence structure

Both use figurative language
16 Which of the following is most similar to the relationship between the speaker and the addressee?
Lover and beloved

Enemies seeking to destroy each other

King and counsellor

Friends on equal terms
17 What does the speaker mean when he tells his addressee to "know your country"?
Don't delude yourself into forgetting the flaws of your country

Remember that your real home is heaven

Don't forget English customs and values on your travels

Don't forget your family when you become powerful
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"?
On the Misery of the Human Condition by Pope Innocent III

The Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich

On the Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius

De contemptu mundi by Bernard of Cluny
20 Which of the following BEST describes the role of "contemptus mundi" in late medieval culture
Universally accepted dogma

Increasingly influential idea

Fringe concept

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!

Here’s not your home, here is but wilderness

Beware therefore of kicking at an awl
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

A concluding stanza that summarizes the poem and identifies its addressee

A satirical conclusion that undermines the preceding stanzas

An addendum added by another poet to summarize the poem
24 Which line of the final stanza is slightly at odds with the preceding stanzas?
Cry Him mercy, that out of his high goodness

For yourself, and others, for heavenly cheer

And truth shall deliver you, have no fear

To the world cease now to be in thrall
25 How does the depiction of God change over the course of the poem?
God is equally important throughout

The poem urges an increasingly intimate relationship with God

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

The poem increasingly emphasizes God's power over Philip

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