Truth (Chaucer poem) Quizzes

Truth (Chaucer poem) "Truth"

1 Which work is Geoffrey Chaucer best known for?

The Revelations of Divine Love

On the Consolation of Philosophy

Truth

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

It is sincere and religious

It is written in verse

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

Let your thing suffice, though it be small

Therefore, La Vache, cease your old wretchedness

Rule well yourself, who others advise here
4 What is the original language of "Truth"?

Old English

German

Middle English

French
5 What is the tone of the first stanza?

Frustrated, even angry

Measured and rational

Urgent, almost panicked

Cynical, ironic
6 Which literary device does Chaucer most extensively employ in the first stanza?

Figurative language

Alliteration

Allusion

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

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

Dishonest people

Misled people

People with crooked spines
9 Who is "her who wobbles like a ball"?

The earth

A fat woman

The heavens

Philip's lover
10 Which of the following BEST expresses the meaning of "busyness" in line 10?

Domestic work

Having a great deal to do

Work for the sake of 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 is delicate and you must not be violent with it

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

To change the world, you must also take on risk

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

Metaphor

Apostrophe

Alliteration

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

Mutually dependent

Mutually exclusive

Both necessary

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

The world

Wealth

The speaker

Sir Philip
15 Which of the following is NOT a similarity between stanza one and stanza two?

Both use figurative language

Both employ a similar tone

Both discuss similar things

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

Friends on equal terms

Enemies seeking to destroy each other

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

Don't forget your family when you become powerful

Remember that your real home is heaven

Don't forget English customs and values on your travels

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

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"?

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

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

Universally accepted dogma

Fringe concept

Increasingly influential idea

Widely held belief
21 Which of the following contains a pun on the name "la Vache"?

Beware therefore of kicking at an awl

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

Let your thing suffice, though it be small

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

abcabca

abababb

ababaaa

ababbcc
23 What is the "envoy"?

A satirical conclusion that undermines the preceding stanzas

An addendum added by another poet to summarize the poem

A messenger who arrives and interrupts the speaker

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

The poem increasingly emphasizes God's power over Philip

God is equally important throughout

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

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