Truth (Chaucer poem) Quizzes

Truth (Chaucer poem) "Truth"

1 Which work is Geoffrey Chaucer best known for?

Truth

The Revelations of Divine Love

The Canterbury Tales

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

It is written for a courtly audience

It does not employ any wordplay or figurative language

It is written in verse

It is sincere and religious
3 Which line most specifically suggests the specific audience of "Truth"?

Here’s not your home, here is but wilderness

Rule well yourself, who others advise here

Therefore, La Vache, cease your old wretchedness

Let your thing suffice, though it be small
4 What is the original language of "Truth"?

French

German

Middle English

Old English
5 What is the tone of the first stanza?

Urgent, almost panicked

Frustrated, even angry

Cynical, ironic

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

Parallel sentence structure

Figurative language

Allusion

Alliteration
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?

Misled people

Wealthy people

People with crooked spines

Dishonest people
9 Who is "her who wobbles like a ball"?

A fat woman

Philip's lover

The earth

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

Having a great deal to do

Difficult but necessary labor

Work for the sake of work

Domestic work
11 What does the metaphor "kicking at an awl" imply about trying to make the world a better place?

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

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

Mutually dependent

Both necessary

Both impossible

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

Wealth

The speaker

The world

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

Both employ a similar tone

Both use figurative language

Both use parallel sentence structure

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

King and counsellor

Lover and beloved

Enemies seeking to destroy each other

Friends on equal terms
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 delude yourself into forgetting the flaws of your country

Remember that your real home is heaven

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"

Retain control of the actions of those in your realm

Conform your actions to Christian religious law

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

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
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"?

Here’s not your home, here is but wilderness

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

Beware therefore of kicking at an awl

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

abababb

ababaaa

abcabca

ababbcc
23 What is the "envoy"?

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

A satirical conclusion that undermines the preceding stanzas
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

For yourself, and others, for heavenly cheer

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

The poem urges an increasingly intimate relationship with God

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

God is equally important throughout

The poem increasingly emphasizes God's power over Philip

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