Truth (Chaucer poem) Quizzes

Truth (Chaucer poem) "Truth"

1 Which work is Geoffrey Chaucer best known for?

The Canterbury Tales

On the Consolation of Philosophy

The Revelations of Divine Love

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

It is sincere and religious

It is written for a courtly audience

It does not employ any wordplay or figurative language

It is written in verse
3 Which line most specifically suggests the specific audience of "Truth"?

Therefore, La Vache, cease your old wretchedness

Here’s not your home, here is but wilderness

Let your thing suffice, though it be small

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

Measured and rational

Urgent, almost panicked

Frustrated, even angry
6 Which literary device does Chaucer most extensively employ in the first stanza?

Figurative language

Parallel sentence structure

Allusion

Alliteration
7 Which of the following best describes the irony of the first stanza?

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

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?

Misled people

Dishonest people

Wealthy people

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

Philip's lover

The earth

The heavens

A fat woman
10 Which of the following BEST expresses the meaning of "busyness" in line 10?

Difficult but necessary labor

Work for the sake of work

Domestic work

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?

The world will injure you if you try to fight against it

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

To change the world, you must also take on risk

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

Alliteration

Simile

Metaphor

Apostrophe
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 exclusive

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

The world

Wealth

The speaker

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

Both use parallel sentence structure

Both discuss similar things

Both use figurative language

Both employ a similar tone
16 Which of the following is most similar to the relationship between the speaker and the addressee?

Enemies seeking to destroy each other

Lover and beloved

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"

Conform your actions to Christian religious law

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

Retain control of the actions of those in your realm

Don't get lost on your travels
19 Which of the following did NOT influence "Truth"?

On the Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius

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
20 Which of the following BEST describes the role of "contemptus mundi" in late medieval culture

Universally accepted dogma

Widely held belief

Increasingly influential idea

Fringe concept
21 Which of the following contains a pun on the name "la Vache"?

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

Let your thing suffice, though it be small
22 What is the rhyme scheme of "Truth"?

abababb

ababbcc

abcabca

ababaaa
23 What is the "envoy"?

An addendum added by another poet to summarize the poem

A concluding stanza that summarizes the poem and identifies its addressee

A messenger who arrives and interrupts the speaker

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

For yourself, and others, for heavenly cheer

And truth shall deliver you, have no fear

Cry Him mercy, that out of his high goodness

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

The poem increasingly emphasizes God's power over Philip

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

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