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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. At the end of letter eight, what does Rilke remind the young poet of?
(a) His fear of judgment.
(b) His first poems.
(c) His parents' love.
(d) How he once longed to emerge from his youth and realize himself.

2. In letter seven, what does Rilke say that love should be?
(a) A balance of mental and physical.
(b) A motivation for each person to become wholly him or herself.
(c) A selfless act.
(d) A union of one with another.

3. To what does Rilke compare "dangerous" sadness?
(a) Drunkeness.
(b) Sicknesses.
(c) Egoism.
(d) Pride.

4. At the close of letter seven, what love does Rilke tell the young poet to remember?
(a) The love of his first experience of solitude.
(b) The love of Rilke.
(c) The love of nature.
(d) The love of his parents.

5. What does Rilke claim a sadness indicates about a person's life or self?
(a) A transition.
(b) A fear.
(c) A loss.
(d) A realization.

6. What type of poem does Rilke enclose with the seventh letter?
(a) An ode.
(b) An elegy.
(c) An epic.
(d) A sonnet.

7. How does Rilke say individuals can help prepare for God's coming?
(a) Through religious rituals.
(b) Through art.
(c) Through acts of love.
(d) Through prayer.

8. Who does Rilke say in the seventh letter cannot understand love?
(a) Children.
(b) Anyone who is not an artist.
(c) Young people.
(d) Military officers.

9. To what does Rilke compare humans' misunderstanding of destiny in letter eight?
(a) Humans' misunderstanding of love.
(b) Humans' previous misunderstanding of the motion of the sun.
(c) Humans' misunderstanding of God.
(d) Humans' misunderstanding of human nature.

10. What holiday is Rilke marking with his sixth letter?
(a) Christmas.
(b) Easter.
(c) The New Year.
(d) All Saints Day.

11. In the sixth letter, in what manner does Rilke advise the young poet to be solitary?
(a) The way a horse is solitary.
(b) The way a child among adults is solitary.
(c) The way a bird is solitary.
(d) The way a rose is solitary.

12. At the close of letter eight, what does Rilke tell the poet about people who give him advice?
(a) The young poet should avoid people who give him advice.
(b) People who give the young poet advice have had troubled times in their lives, as well.
(c) The young poet should be skeptical of people who give him advice.
(d) People who give the young poet advice should look to their own troubles.

13. In what year is Rilke's sixth letter written?
(a) 1904.
(b) 1912.
(c) 1908.
(d) 1903.

14. How long has Rilke been in the city from which he writes the fifth letter?
(a) Six days.
(b) Six weeks.
(c) Two weeks.
(d) Two months.

15. What is the primary topic of the eighth letter?
(a) Nature.
(b) Creativity.
(c) Solitude.
(d) Sadness.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Rilke advise the young poet to do if he cannot connect with people?

2. In what year is the seventh letter written?

3. From where is the seventh letter written?

4. What is the young poet's military rank?

5. From where is Rilke's sixth letter written?

(see the answer keys)

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