Print
Word
PDF
|
| Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. How long ago has Rilke departed from the city he has left before arriving at the place where he composes the fourth letter?
2. On what holiday does the young poet write his third letter to Rilke?
3. How does Rilke say that humans should approach physical pleasure?
4. In the second letter, who does Rilke cite as his artistic influences?
5. To what does Rilke compare artistic experience?
Short Essay Questions
1. What does Rilke mean when, in letter four, he says that physical pleasure is not bad, but that physical pleasure is often "misuse[d] and squander[ed]"?
2. What does Rilke mean when he says in letter three that sex "is not sufficiently human, [but] is only male"?
3. What are Rilke's views on aesthetic criticism?
4. What does Rilke say about the reading and re-reading of works by Jens Peter Jacobsen?
5. What reason does Rilke give for advising the young poet against writing love poems?
6. At the end of letter four, Rilke mentions the young poet's new profession. What is this profession?
7. What does Rilke imply about the nature of good art when he tells the young poet that if poetry is inspired by the young poet's soul-searching, he does not need to ask anyone else if the poetry is good?
8. 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?
9. Rilke tells the young poet in the first letter that the only way for the poet to improve his writing is to "go into yourself". What does this mean?
10. What can be inferred about Rilke's health from letters two and three?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
In letter eight, Rilke compares the sense of security to which individuals cling to the horrors that exist in the homes of the characters of Edgar Allan Poe's stories. Analyze one of Poe's stories or longer poems using the life philosophies of Rilke as a lens through which to view the horrors of Poe's work as personal delusions and securities.
Essay Topic 2
In the first letter, Rilke tells the young poet that "a work of art is good if it has sprung from necessity." From this statement, discuss what Rilke's philosophy of art is, and comment on that philosophy.
Essay Topic 3
What is Rilke's view of the ideal sexual relationship? The ideal romantic relationship? The ideal parent-child relationship?
|
This section contains 837 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
|
