Truth (Chaucer poem) Quizzes

Truth (Chaucer poem) "Truth"

1 Which work is Geoffrey Chaucer best known for?
The Canterbury Tales

The Revelations of Divine Love

On the Consolation of Philosophy

Truth
2 In what sense is "Truth" uncharacteristic of Chaucer's work?
It does not employ any wordplay or figurative language

It is written in verse

It is sincere and religious

It is written for a courtly audience
3 Which line most specifically suggests the specific audience of "Truth"?
Therefore, La Vache, cease your old wretchedness

Rule well yourself, who others advise here

Let your thing suffice, though it be small

Here’s not your home, here is but wilderness
4 What is the original language of "Truth"?
Old English

Middle English

German

French
5 What is the tone of the first stanza?
Urgent, almost panicked

Measured and rational

Frustrated, even angry

Cynical, ironic
6 Which literary device does Chaucer most extensively employ in the first stanza?
Figurative language

Alliteration

Allusion

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

Sir Philip wants to rule others, but cannot even rule himself

The speaker gives good advice but does not follow it
8 Which of the following BEST expresses the meaning of "the crooked" in line 8?
Dishonest people

Wealthy people

People with crooked spines

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

A fat woman

The earth

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

Difficult but necessary labor

Having a great deal to do

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 will not affect you, nor you it

The world is delicate and you must not be violent with it
12 Which literary device does NOT appear in the second stanza?
Metaphor

Simile

Apostrophe

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

Both impossible

Mutually dependent

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

The speaker

The world

Wealth
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?
King and counsellor

Enemies seeking to destroy each other

Lover and beloved

Friends on equal terms
17 What does the speaker mean when he tells his addressee to "know your country"?
Remember that your real home is heaven

Don't forget English customs and values on your travels

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

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

Retain control of the actions of those in your realm

Conform your actions to Christian religious law

Don't get lost on your travels
19 Which of the following did NOT influence "Truth"?
De contemptu mundi by Bernard of Cluny

The Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich

On the Misery of the Human Condition by Pope Innocent III

On the Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius
20 Which of the following BEST describes the role of "contemptus mundi" in late medieval culture
Increasingly influential idea

Universally accepted dogma

Widely held belief

Fringe concept
21 Which of the following contains a pun on the name "la Vache"?
Here’s not your home, here is but wilderness

Let your thing suffice, though it be small

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

Beware therefore of kicking at an awl
22 What is the rhyme scheme of "Truth"?
abcabca

ababbcc

ababaaa

abababb
23 What is the "envoy"?
A messenger who arrives and interrupts the speaker

A satirical conclusion that undermines the preceding stanzas

An addendum added by another poet to summarize the poem

A concluding stanza that summarizes the poem and identifies its addressee
24 Which line of the final stanza is slightly at odds with the preceding stanzas?
To the world cease now to be in thrall

And truth shall deliver you, have no fear

For yourself, and others, for heavenly cheer

Cry Him mercy, that out of his high goodness
25 How does the depiction of God change over the course of the poem?
The poem increasingly emphasizes God's power over Philip

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

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