Truth (Chaucer poem) Quizzes

Truth (Chaucer poem) "Truth"

1 Which work is Geoffrey Chaucer best known for?

On the Consolation of Philosophy

The Canterbury Tales

Truth

The Revelations of Divine Love
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"?

Rule well yourself, who others advise here

Here’s not your home, here is but wilderness

Therefore, La Vache, cease your old wretchedness

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

Middle English

German

Old English

French
5 What is the tone of the first stanza?

Measured and rational

Urgent, almost panicked

Cynical, ironic

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

Figurative language

Parallel sentence structure

Allusion

Alliteration
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

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

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?

Wealthy people

People with crooked spines

Dishonest people

Misled people
9 Who is "her who wobbles like a ball"?

The earth

The heavens

Philip's lover

A fat woman
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 injure you if you try to fight against it

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 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 dependent

Both necessary

Mutually exclusive

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

The speaker

Sir Philip

The world

Wealth
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?

Lover and beloved

Enemies seeking to destroy each other

King and counsellor

Friends on equal terms
17 What does the speaker mean when he tells his addressee to "know your country"?

Remember that your real home is heaven

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

Don't forget English customs and values on your travels

Don't forget your family when you become powerful
18 What does the speaker mean when he tells the addressee to "hold the high way"

Conform your actions to Christian religious law

Retain control of the actions of those in your realm

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

Don't get lost on your travels
19 Which of the following did NOT influence "Truth"?

De contemptu mundi by Bernard of Cluny

On the Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius

The Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich

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

Increasingly influential idea

Universally accepted dogma

Widely held belief

Fringe concept
21 Which of the following contains a pun on the name "la Vache"?

Here’s not your home, here is but wilderness

Let your thing suffice, though it be small

Beware therefore of kicking at an awl

Forth, pilgrim, forth! Forth, beast, out of your stall!
22 What is the rhyme scheme of "Truth"?

abcabca

ababaaa

ababbcc

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

An addendum added by another poet to summarize the poem

A satirical conclusion that undermines the preceding stanzas
24 Which line of the final stanza is slightly at odds with the preceding stanzas?

For yourself, and others, for heavenly cheer

And truth shall deliver you, have no fear

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?

The poem urges an increasingly intimate relationship with God

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

The poem increasingly emphasizes God's power over Philip

God is equally important throughout

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