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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What writer does Rilke revere most?
(a) Ovid.
(b) Jens Peter Jacobsen.
(c) Thomas Hardy.
(d) Alfred Lord Tennyson.

2. What does Rilke call himself in relation to the young poet at the end of the first letter?
(a) A master.
(b) A stranger.
(c) A sage.
(d) An expert.

3. Which letter from the young poet is Rilke responding to with his fourth letter?
(a) The young poet's letter of May 2, 1908.
(b) The young poet's letter of Easter, 1903.
(c) The young poet's letter of May 2, 1903.
(d) The young poet's letter of Easter, 1907.

4. What does Rilke enclose with his third letter to the young poet?
(a) Copies of some of his poems.
(b) A list of his most recent books.
(c) A note to Professor Horacek.
(d) Names of publishers to whom the young poet can send his work.

5. What does Rilke say the young poet should do if he determines he should not be a poet?
(a) He should quit writing completely.
(b) He should pursue the musical arts.
(c) He should join the military.
(d) He should pursue the visual arts.

Short Answer Questions

1. What type of poetry does Rilke advise the poet not to write?

2. In what year is the first letter from Rilke to the young poet written?

3. What does Rilke suggest that all humans share in, both women and men?

4. Who does Rilke tell the young poet to be considerate of because of their fear of solitude?

5. What does Rilke tell the young poet about irony?

Short Essay Questions

1. Rilke advises the young poet to be cautious about the way sex can change behavior. In what way does he suggest that sex changes people?

2. What does Rilke imply about irony?

3. What does Rilke mean when, in the first letter, he suggests that critical commentary on art results in "happy misunderstandings"?

4. What can be inferred about Rilke's health from letters two and three?

5. How does Rilke advise the young poet to approach works of art?

6. What does Rilke say about the reading and re-reading of works by Jens Peter Jacobsen?

7. What can the reader infer about the content of the first letter the young poet wrote to Rilke from reading Rilke's response?

8. What does Rilke mean when, in letter four, he says that the intellect "lags marveling behind" the consciousness?

9. What are Rilke's views on aesthetic criticism?

10. Rilke places considerable emphasis on the necessary nature of art. What does he mean when he says that a poet is only a poet if he would die if he didn't write?

(see the answer keys)

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