Chaucer’s Poetry Quizzes

Chaucer's Poetry Chaucer Quiz

By Claire Adler · Edited by James Cooper · Last reviewed September 20, 2022

1 Chaucer is often referred to as:

The son of English poetry

The first English poet

The father of English drama

The father of English poetry
2 When was Chaucer born?

The 1340s

The 1360s

The 1370s

The 1350s
3 Of what social class was Chaucer a member?

Peasants

Aristocracy

Bourgeoisie

Proletariat
4 Where was Chaucer as a young teenager?

Working in his father's company

Living on his parents's estate

Attending school

Working as a servant in a great house
5 Who was England at war with during Chaucer's youth?

Spain

France

Germany

Italy
6 What is Chaucer's most famous work of poetry?

The House of Fame

The Canterbury Tales

The Parliament of Fowls

The Legend of Good Women
7 What is a dream-vision poem?

A poem written to be recited by a mystic

A poem intended to incite visionary dreams

A poem written by someone while they sleep

A poem framed as an account of a dream
8 Which of the following is NOT a conventional aspect of dream-vision poetry?

Beginning in springtime

Multiple narrators

Fantastical elements

Presence of personifications
9 Which of the following is NOT a dream vision?

The Legend of Good Women

The Parliament of Fowls

The House of Fame

The Canterbury Tales
10 Which of the following is NOT a typical aspect of Chaucer's poetry?

Authorial self-awareness

Satirical tone

Based in English poetic tradition

Use of frame narratives
11 Which of the following did Chaucer NOT translate?

The Legend of Good Women

The Consolation of Philosophy

The Roman de la Rose

None of the above
12 What is ekphrasis?

Detailed description of a work of visual art

Work that employs a frame narrative

Heavy use of figurative language

Allusion to Greek mythology
13 Which of the following did Chaucer NOT frequently allude to?

French poetry

Classical mythology

Germanic epics

Early Christian philosophy
14 What stanza form is Chaucer famous for inventing?

Limericks

Rhyme royal

Sonnets

Heroic couplets
15 What is iambic pentameter?

Lines of poetry composed of five pairs of one stressed and one unstressed syllable

Lines of poetry composed of six pairs of one stressed and one unstressed syllable

Lines of poetry composed of six pairs of one unstressed and one stressed syllable

Lines of poetry composed of five pairs of one unstressed and one stressed syllable
16 In which work does Chaucer first employ iambic pentameter?

All of Chaucer's work uses iambic pentameter

The Canterbury Tales

The Legend of Good Women

The Book of the Duchess
17 What distinguishes an author from a writer?

An author is included in the canon

An author writes literature

An author uses sources

An author has a persona
18 How does Chaucer generally portray people?

As sinners deserving condemnation

As motivated by secular concerns

As fools who need to be taken care of

As motivated by religious concerns
19 How does Chaucer usually present himself as a narrator?

As a moral authority

As flawed, even somewhat naive

As an intellectual authority

As a spokesman of God
20 Which of the following is LEAST concerned with the theme of storytelling?

To Rosamond

The Canterbury Tales

The Legend of Good Women

The House of Fame
21 Why did Chaucer spend so much time in Europe?

He was an aristocrat who could travel whenever he wanted to

He was a diplomat

He needed to go there to trade

He was exiled from England
22 Why does Chaucer include Greek gods in his poetry?

To show his frustration with the Church

To explore new ideas and create a sense of fantasy

Because he was secretly a devotee of the religion

None of the above
23 Which other major works of English poetry were written roughly during Chaucer's lifetime?

Piers Plowman

Revelations of Divine Love

Gawain and the Green Knight

All of the above
24 How was English seen when Chaucer was writing?

As the language of poetry and culture

As a common language basically everyone spoke

As the language of religion

As a regional language without much cultural reach
25 Which of the following did Chaucer never write?

A religious treatise

A treatise on navigational devices

A short poem addressed to an aristocrat

A translation of a major religious work

Essays for Chaucer’s Poetry

Chaucer's Poetry literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Chaucer's Poetry.

View our essays for Chaucer’s Poetry…

Lesson Plan for Chaucer’s Poetry

View the lesson plan for Chaucer’s Poetry…

E-Text of Chaucer’s Poetry

Chaucer's Poetry E-Text contains the full text of Chaucer's Poetry

Read the E-Text for Chaucer’s Poetry…

Wikipedia Entries for Chaucer’s Poetry

Introduction

View Wikipedia Entries for Chaucer’s Poetry…