Truth (Chaucer poem) Quizzes

Truth (Chaucer poem) "Truth"

1 Which work is Geoffrey Chaucer best known for?
Truth

The Canterbury Tales

On the Consolation of Philosophy

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 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

Therefore, La Vache, cease your old wretchedness

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

Old English

Middle English
5 What is the tone of the first stanza?
Cynical, ironic

Frustrated, even angry

Measured and rational

Urgent, almost panicked
6 Which literary device does Chaucer most extensively employ in the first stanza?
Allusion

Figurative language

Alliteration

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

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

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

Misled people

Dishonest people

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

Philip's lover

A fat woman

The heavens
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?
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

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

Alliteration

Apostrophe

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

Both impossible

Both necessary

Mutually dependent
14 What does the crockery represent in line 22?
The speaker

Wealth

Sir Philip

The world
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 figurative language

Both use parallel sentence structure
16 Which of the following is most similar to the relationship between the speaker and the addressee?
King and counsellor

Enemies seeking to destroy each other

Lover and beloved

Friends on equal terms
17 What does the speaker mean when he tells his addressee to "know your country"?
Don't forget English customs and values on your travels

Remember that your real home is heaven

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

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"
Retain control of the actions of those in your realm

Don't get lost on your travels

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

Conform your actions to Christian religious law
19 Which of the following did NOT influence "Truth"?
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

On the Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius
20 Which of the following BEST describes the role of "contemptus mundi" in late medieval culture
Universally accepted dogma

Widely held belief

Fringe concept

Increasingly influential idea
21 Which of the following contains a pun on the name "la Vache"?
Beware therefore of kicking at an awl

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!
22 What is the rhyme scheme of "Truth"?
ababbcc

ababaaa

abababb

abcabca
23 What is the "envoy"?
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

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?
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

For yourself, and others, for heavenly cheer
25 How does the depiction of God change over the course of the poem?
God becomes less and less important as Philip moves away from the true path

God is equally important throughout

The poem urges an increasingly intimate relationship with God

The poem increasingly emphasizes God's power over Philip

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