Truth (Chaucer poem) Quizzes

Truth (Chaucer poem) "Truth"

By Claire Adler · Edited by James Cooper · Last reviewed July 28, 2022

1 Which work is Geoffrey Chaucer best known for?

On the Consolation of Philosophy

The Revelations of Divine Love

The Canterbury Tales

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

It is sincere and religious

It is written in verse

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

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"?

French

Middle English

German

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

Urgent, almost panicked

Frustrated, even angry

Cynical, ironic

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

Alliteration

Allusion

Figurative language

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

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
8 Which of the following BEST expresses the meaning of "the crooked" in line 8?

Wealthy people

People with crooked spines

Misled people

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

A fat woman

The heavens

Philip's lover

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

Having a great deal to do

Work for the sake of work

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?

To change the world, you must also take on risk

The world will not affect you, nor you it

The world is delicate and you must not be violent with it

The world will injure you if you try to fight against it
12 Which literary device does NOT appear in the second stanza?

Apostrophe

Alliteration

Metaphor

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

Both necessary

Mutually dependent

Both impossible

Mutually exclusive
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 use parallel sentence structure

Both employ a similar tone

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

Friends on equal terms

Enemies seeking to destroy each other

King and counsellor

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 forget English customs and values on your travels

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

Remember that your real home is heaven
18 What does the speaker mean when he tells the addressee to "hold the high way"

Retain control of the actions of those in your realm

Conform your actions to Christian religious law

Don't get lost on your travels

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

Increasingly influential idea

Fringe concept

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

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

Here’s not your home, here is but wilderness

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

abcabca

ababaaa

ababbcc

abababb
23 What is the "envoy"?

An addendum added by another poet to summarize the poem

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
24 Which line of the final stanza is slightly at odds with the preceding stanzas?

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

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

The poem increasingly emphasizes God's power over Philip

The poem urges an increasingly intimate relationship with God

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

God is equally important throughout

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