Truth (Chaucer poem) Quizzes

Truth (Chaucer poem) "Truth"

1 Which work is Geoffrey Chaucer best known for?
The Revelations of Divine Love

Truth

On the Consolation of Philosophy

The Canterbury Tales
2 In what sense is "Truth" uncharacteristic of Chaucer's work?
It is sincere and religious

It is written for a courtly audience

It is written in verse

It does not employ any wordplay or figurative language
3 Which line most specifically suggests the specific audience of "Truth"?
Let your thing suffice, though it be small

Here’s not your home, here is but wilderness

Rule well yourself, who others advise here

Therefore, La Vache, cease your old wretchedness
4 What is the original language of "Truth"?
Old English

German

Middle English

French
5 What is the tone of the first stanza?
Cynical, ironic

Frustrated, even angry

Urgent, almost panicked

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

Alliteration

Parallel sentence structure

Allusion
7 Which of the following best describes the irony of the first stanza?
He who seeks good things on earth will only make his life worse

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

The speaker gives good advice but does not follow it

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?
Wealthy people

Misled 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?
Work for the sake of work

Having a great deal to do

Domestic work

Difficult but necessary labor
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?
Alliteration

Apostrophe

Metaphor

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

Both necessary

Mutually dependent

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 use figurative language

Both use parallel sentence structure

Both employ a similar tone

Both discuss similar things
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 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"
Retain control of the actions of those in your realm

Don't get lost on your travels

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

Conform your actions to Christian religious law
19 Which of the following did NOT influence "Truth"?
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

De contemptu mundi by Bernard of Cluny
20 Which of the following BEST describes the role of "contemptus mundi" in late medieval culture
Universally accepted dogma

Increasingly influential idea

Widely held belief

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

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

ababbcc

abababb

abcabca
23 What is the "envoy"?
A concluding stanza that summarizes the poem and identifies its addressee

A satirical conclusion that undermines the preceding stanzas

An addendum added by another poet to summarize the poem

A messenger who arrives and interrupts the speaker
24 Which line of the final stanza is slightly at odds with the preceding stanzas?
Cry Him mercy, that out of his high goodness

And truth shall deliver you, have no fear

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?
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

The poem urges an increasingly intimate relationship with God

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