Truth (Chaucer poem) Quizzes

Truth (Chaucer poem) "Truth"

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

Truth

The Revelations of Divine Love

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

It does not employ any wordplay or figurative language

It is sincere and religious

It is written for a courtly audience
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

Here’s not your home, here is but wilderness

Rule well yourself, who others advise here
4 What is the original language of "Truth"?
German

Old English

Middle English

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

Measured and rational

Cynical, ironic

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

Alliteration

Figurative language

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

The speaker gives good advice but does not follow it

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

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?
People with crooked spines

Wealthy people

Misled people

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

The heavens

A fat woman

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

Work for the sake of work

Difficult but necessary labor

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 not affect you, nor you 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 injure you if you try to fight against it
12 Which literary device does NOT appear in the second stanza?
Apostrophe

Alliteration

Simile

Metaphor
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?
The speaker

The world

Wealth

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

Both discuss similar things

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"?
Don't forget English customs and values on your travels

Don't forget your family when you become powerful

Remember that your real home is heaven

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

Don't get lost on your travels

Conform your actions to Christian religious law
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 Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius

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

Fringe concept

Increasingly influential idea

Widely held belief
21 Which of the following contains a pun on the name "la Vache"?
Let your thing suffice, though it be small

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
22 What is the rhyme scheme of "Truth"?
ababaaa

abcabca

abababb

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

An addendum added by another poet to summarize the poem

A satirical conclusion that undermines the preceding stanzas

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?
And truth shall deliver you, have no fear

For yourself, and others, for heavenly cheer

To the world cease now to be in thrall

Cry Him mercy, that out of his high goodness
25 How does the depiction of God change over the course of the poem?
God is equally important throughout

The poem increasingly emphasizes God's power over Philip

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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