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 is written for a courtly audience

It is written in verse

It does not employ any wordplay or figurative language

It is sincere and religious
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

Here’s not your home, here is but wilderness

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

Old English

French

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

Frustrated, even angry

Measured and rational

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

Parallel sentence structure

Alliteration

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

Sir Philip thinks he is such a good person, but he is actually selfish and judgmental

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

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?
Misled people

Dishonest people

Wealthy people

People with crooked spines
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?
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

The world will not affect you, nor you it

To change the world, you must also take on risk
12 Which literary device does NOT appear in the second stanza?
Simile

Metaphor

Alliteration

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

Mutually exclusive

Mutually dependent

Both necessary
14 What does the crockery represent in line 22?
Wealth

Sir Philip

The speaker

The world
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 discuss similar things

Both use parallel sentence structure
16 Which of the following is most similar to the relationship between the speaker and the addressee?
Enemies seeking to destroy each other

Friends on equal terms

King and counsellor

Lover and beloved
17 What does the speaker mean when he tells his addressee to "know your country"?
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

Don't forget English customs and values on your travels
18 What does the speaker mean when he tells the addressee to "hold the high way"
Don't get lost on your travels

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
19 Which of the following did NOT influence "Truth"?
De contemptu mundi by Bernard of Cluny

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
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"?
Beware therefore of kicking at an awl

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!
22 What is the rhyme scheme of "Truth"?
ababbcc

ababaaa

abababb

abcabca
23 What is the "envoy"?
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

A messenger who arrives and interrupts the speaker
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 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

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