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 in verse

It is sincere and religious

It does not employ any wordplay or figurative language

It is written for a courtly audience
3 Which line most specifically suggests the specific audience of "Truth"?
Here’s not your home, here is but wilderness

Therefore, La Vache, cease your old wretchedness

Rule well yourself, who others advise here

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

Old English

German

French
5 What is the tone of the first stanza?
Measured and rational

Cynical, ironic

Frustrated, even angry

Urgent, almost panicked
6 Which literary device does Chaucer most extensively employ in the first stanza?
Figurative language

Allusion

Alliteration

Parallel sentence structure
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 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
8 Which of the following BEST expresses the meaning of "the crooked" in line 8?
People with crooked spines

Misled people

Dishonest people

Wealthy people
9 Who is "her who wobbles like a ball"?
The heavens

A fat woman

Philip's lover

The earth
10 Which of the following BEST expresses the meaning of "busyness" in line 10?
Work for the sake of work

Difficult but necessary labor

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?
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

The world is delicate and you must not be violent with it
12 Which literary device does NOT appear in the second stanza?
Metaphor

Simile

Alliteration

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

Both necessary

Mutually exclusive

Both impossible
14 What does the crockery represent in line 22?
The world

Sir Philip

Wealth

The speaker
15 Which of the following is NOT a similarity between stanza one and stanza two?
Both discuss similar things

Both employ a similar tone

Both use figurative language

Both use parallel sentence structure
16 Which of the following is most similar to the relationship between the speaker and the addressee?
Lover and beloved

Enemies seeking to destroy each other

Friends on equal terms

King and counsellor
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"
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

Retain control of the actions of those in your realm
19 Which of the following did NOT influence "Truth"?
On the Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius

On the Misery of the Human Condition by Pope Innocent III

De contemptu mundi by Bernard of Cluny

The Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich
20 Which of the following BEST describes the role of "contemptus mundi" in late medieval culture
Widely held belief

Increasingly influential idea

Universally accepted dogma

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

Beware therefore of kicking at an awl

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

Here’s not your home, here is but wilderness
22 What is the rhyme scheme of "Truth"?
ababbcc

abcabca

ababaaa

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

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
24 Which line of the final stanza is slightly at odds with the preceding stanzas?
And truth shall deliver you, have no fear

To the world cease now to be in thrall

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?
God is equally important throughout

The poem increasingly emphasizes God's power over Philip

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

The poem urges an increasingly intimate relationship with God

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