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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Book 1, The Tavern : Chapter 3, Union through Rough Metaphor.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The purpose of Coleman Barks' preambles to Rumi's poems is to:
(a) Get the reader to come up with his or her own judgments.
(b) Expand upon Barks' discomfort with each.
(c) Add a new twist to the message of each poem.
(d) Help the reader interpret each poem.

2. In many of Rumi's poems, not only in Book 1, Chapter 2, but throughout the whole book, his distinction between "me" and "you" is what?
(a) Clear.
(b) Humorous.
(c) Solid.
(d) Vague.

3. The poem "On Being A Lover" is written in what format?
(a) Song of lament by a woman who has lost her lover.
(b) Recollection by an old man of his younger years.
(c) Question and answer session between a man and a woman.
(d) Diary entry of a man who has lost his lover.

4. What region in Afghanistan did Rumi come from?
(a) Kaldar.
(b) Zari.
(c) Balkh.
(d) Chimtal.

5. Before responding to the king's command in a poem in Book 1, Chapter 3, what does Ayaz do?
(a) Reads at least forty books to learn how others handled the situation.
(b) Prays to God for guidance.
(c) Notices how at least thirty other men respond to the command.
(d) Consults with the King's daughter.

Short Answer Questions

1. After reading Rumi's poems, Coleman Barks feels he has been:

2. In a poem in Book 1, Chapter 3 involving a complicated love triangle consisting of a man and two women, Rumi explores what subjects?

3. When did Coleman Barks first become interested in Rumi's poetry?

4. When Coleman Barks first started reading Rumi's works, what types of words turned him away?

5. In a poem in Book 1, Chapter 3, Rumi writes about a deer dying in the paws of a:

(see the answer key)

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