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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the annexation of Bohemia compared to in the introduction?

2. Which poem most portrays the power of classical theme in poetry?

3. What does the author express in "Requiem for a Friend"?

4. Who might find the introduction before the poems most informative?

5. What name is used in Rilke's poetry that has been passed down through Greek tragedies?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is it significant for Rilke to write about the sun in "Archaic Torso of Apollo"?

2. Why is the "City of Time" a complex translation?

3. How is the panther portrayed in the poem in which it is the subject?

4. Why is the first line in the poem about Alcestis significant?

5. What does Rilke proclaim in "I am the Anxious One"?

6. Describe Rainer Marie Rilke's background.

7. What is the significance of the name Creon as it is used in "Alcestis"?

8. Describe the differences between the poems in Book 1, Chapter 2 and the poems in Book 1, Chapter 1.

9. How does Rilke describe the gazelle in the poem in which it is the subject?

10. What is the significance of the women standing in their doorways in "Requiem for a Friend"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the significance behind the organization of the poems? How are they organized and why? Does this contribute to the quality of the reading or the message of the poems?

Essay Topic 2

How does Rilke use tone to convey a message? What literary techniques does he use to contribute to tone and message?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the panther, gazelle, and swan poems to each other. What are the differences in message, literary devices, and rhyming techniques? Why are these devices important to the poems? What do they say about Rilke?

(see the answer keys)

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