Truth (Chaucer poem) Quizzes

Truth (Chaucer poem) "Truth"

1 Which work is Geoffrey Chaucer best known for?
Truth

On the Consolation of Philosophy

The Canterbury Tales

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

It is written for a courtly audience

It is sincere and religious

It is written in verse
3 Which line most specifically suggests the specific audience of "Truth"?
Let your thing suffice, though it be small

Therefore, La Vache, cease your old wretchedness

Rule well yourself, who others advise here

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

French

German

Old English
5 What is the tone of the first stanza?
Measured and rational

Frustrated, even angry

Cynical, ironic

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 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

He who seeks good things on earth will only make his life worse
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"?
A fat woman

The earth

The heavens

Philip's lover
10 Which of the following BEST expresses the meaning of "busyness" in line 10?
Domestic work

Difficult but necessary labor

Work for the sake of 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?
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 injure you if you try to fight against it

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

Simile

Alliteration

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

Mutually exclusive

Both impossible

Mutually dependent
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 use parallel sentence structure

Both discuss similar things

Both employ a similar tone

Both use figurative language
16 Which of the following is most similar to the relationship between the speaker and the addressee?
Friends on equal terms

King and counsellor

Enemies seeking to destroy each other

Lover and beloved
17 What does the speaker mean when he tells his addressee to "know your country"?
Don't forget English customs and values on your travels

Don't forget your family when you become powerful

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

Remember that your real home is heaven
18 What does the speaker mean when he tells the addressee to "hold the high way"
Conform your actions to Christian religious law

Retain control of the actions of those in your realm

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

Don't get lost on your travels
19 Which of the following did NOT influence "Truth"?
The Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich

On the Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius

De contemptu mundi by Bernard of Cluny

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
Increasingly influential idea

Widely held belief

Universally accepted dogma

Fringe concept
21 Which of the following contains a pun on the name "la Vache"?
Beware therefore of kicking at an awl

Here’s not your home, here is but wilderness

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

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

ababaaa

abababb

ababbcc
23 What is the "envoy"?
A satirical conclusion that undermines the preceding stanzas

A messenger who arrives and interrupts the speaker

A concluding stanza that summarizes the poem and identifies its addressee

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?
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

For yourself, and others, for heavenly cheer
25 How does the depiction of God change over the course of the poem?
The poem urges an increasingly intimate relationship with God

God is equally important throughout

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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