Truth (Chaucer poem) Quizzes

Truth (Chaucer poem) "Truth"

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 does not employ any wordplay or figurative language

It is written in verse

It is written for a courtly audience
3 Which line most specifically suggests the specific audience of "Truth"?
Therefore, La Vache, cease your old wretchedness

Let your thing suffice, though it be small

Here’s not your home, here is but wilderness

Rule well yourself, who others advise here
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

Measured and rational

Frustrated, even angry

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

Parallel sentence structure

Alliteration

Figurative language
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 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

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

Misled people

Wealthy people

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

The earth

Philip's lover

A fat woman
10 Which of the following BEST expresses the meaning of "busyness" in line 10?
Domestic work

Having a great deal to do

Difficult but necessary labor

Work for the sake of work
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

The world will not affect you, nor you it

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

Alliteration

Simile

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

Both necessary

Both impossible

Mutually exclusive
14 What does the crockery represent in line 22?
Wealth

The speaker

The world

Sir Philip
15 Which of the following is NOT a similarity between stanza one and stanza two?
Both use parallel sentence structure

Both employ a similar tone

Both use figurative language

Both discuss similar things
16 Which of the following is most similar to the relationship between the speaker and the addressee?
King and counsellor

Lover and beloved

Enemies seeking to destroy each other

Friends on equal terms
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 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 get lost on your travels

Retain control of the actions of those in your realm

Conform your actions to Christian religious law

Don't try to change the world, just go along with everyone else
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 Misery of the Human Condition by Pope Innocent III

On the Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius
20 Which of the following BEST describes the role of "contemptus mundi" in late medieval culture
Widely held belief

Increasingly influential idea

Universally accepted dogma

Fringe concept
21 Which of the following contains a pun on the name "la Vache"?
Forth, pilgrim, forth! Forth, beast, out of your stall!

Here’s not your home, here is but wilderness

Let your thing suffice, though it be small

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 satirical conclusion that undermines the preceding stanzas

A concluding stanza that summarizes the poem and identifies its addressee

A messenger who arrives and interrupts the speaker
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?
God is equally important throughout

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

The poem increasingly emphasizes God's power over Philip

The poem urges an increasingly intimate relationship with God

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