Truth (Chaucer poem) Quizzes

Truth (Chaucer poem) "Truth"

1 Which work is Geoffrey Chaucer best known for?
The Canterbury Tales

On the Consolation of Philosophy

The Revelations of Divine Love

Truth
2 In what sense is "Truth" uncharacteristic of Chaucer's work?
It is written for a courtly audience

It is sincere and religious

It does not employ any wordplay or figurative language

It is written in verse
3 Which line most specifically suggests the specific audience of "Truth"?
Let your thing suffice, though it be small

Rule well yourself, who others advise here

Here’s not your home, here is but wilderness

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

German

French

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

Cynical, ironic

Urgent, almost panicked

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

Figurative language

Allusion

Parallel sentence structure
7 Which of the following best describes the irony of the first stanza?
The speaker gives good advice but does not follow it

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

Sir Philip thinks he is such a good person, but he is actually selfish and judgmental

He who seeks good things on earth will only make his life worse
8 Which of the following BEST expresses the meaning of "the crooked" in line 8?
People with crooked spines

Wealthy people

Misled people

Dishonest people
9 Who is "her who wobbles like a ball"?
The earth

Philip's lover

The heavens

A fat woman
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?
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

To change the world, you must also take on risk
12 Which literary device does NOT appear in the second stanza?
Simile

Metaphor

Apostrophe

Alliteration
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

The speaker

Wealth

Sir Philip
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 parallel sentence structure

Both use figurative language
16 Which of the following is most similar to the relationship between the speaker and the addressee?
King and counsellor

Friends on equal terms

Enemies seeking to destroy each other

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

Remember that your real home is heaven
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

Conform your actions to Christian religious law

Retain control of the actions of those in your realm
19 Which of the following did NOT influence "Truth"?
The Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich

De contemptu mundi by Bernard of Cluny

On the Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius

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
Fringe concept

Increasingly influential idea

Widely held belief

Universally accepted dogma
21 Which of the following contains a pun on the name "la Vache"?
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!

Beware therefore of kicking at an awl
22 What is the rhyme scheme of "Truth"?
ababaaa

ababbcc

abcabca

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

A satirical conclusion that undermines the preceding stanzas

A concluding stanza that summarizes the poem and identifies its addressee

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

For yourself, and others, for heavenly cheer

Cry Him mercy, that out of his high goodness

To the world cease now to be in thrall
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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