Truth (Chaucer poem) Quizzes

Truth (Chaucer poem) "Truth"

1 Which work is Geoffrey Chaucer best known for?

Truth

The Revelations of Divine Love

On the Consolation of Philosophy

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

It is written in verse

It is sincere and religious

It is written for a courtly audience

It does not employ any wordplay or figurative language
3 Which line most specifically suggests the specific audience of "Truth"?

Here’s not your home, here is but wilderness

Rule well yourself, who others advise here

Therefore, La Vache, cease your old wretchedness

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

French

German

Middle English

Old English
5 What is the tone of the first stanza?

Urgent, almost panicked

Cynical, ironic

Frustrated, even angry

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

Alliteration

Allusion

Parallel sentence structure

Figurative language
7 Which of the following best describes the irony of the first stanza?

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

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
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 heavens

The earth
10 Which of the following BEST expresses the meaning of "busyness" in line 10?

Domestic work

Work for the sake of work

Having a great deal to do

Difficult but necessary labor
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 is delicate and you must not be violent with it

The world will injure you if you try to fight against it

The world will not affect you, nor you it
12 Which literary device does NOT appear in the second stanza?

Simile

Alliteration

Metaphor

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

Mutually exclusive

Mutually dependent

Both impossible

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

Sir Philip

The speaker

The world

Wealth
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?

Friends on equal terms

King and counsellor

Enemies seeking to destroy each other

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

Remember that your real home is heaven

Don't forget your family when you become powerful

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

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 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

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

The Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich

On the Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius

De contemptu mundi by Bernard of Cluny

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

Widely held belief

Fringe concept

Increasingly influential idea

Universally accepted dogma
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

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"?

ababbcc

abababb

ababaaa

abcabca
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?

Cry Him mercy, that out of his high goodness

For yourself, and others, for heavenly cheer

To the world cease now to be in thrall

And truth shall deliver you, have no fear
25 How does the depiction of God change over the course of the poem?

The poem urges an increasingly intimate relationship with God

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

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