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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. According to Rumi, how should one treat his or her baser nature?

2. Relative to Rumi, who was Shams Tabriz?

3. When the animal soul Rumi writes about is in proper balance, it:

4. In this book, the term "nafs" refers to what?

5. How did Rumi's father teach him?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the role of gender come into play in many of Rumi's poems?

2. How does Rumi refer to his friends in the poems within Book 1, Chapter 3?

3. Briefly explain Rumi's metaphor of sugar and vinegar.

4. Explain Rumi's thoughts on love in comparison to jealousy and fear.

5. Describe Husam Chelebi's role as scribe.

6. With regards to beauty, what important connection does Rumi infer when he references a beautiful woman in the poem about a city being invaded by men driven by sexual desire?

7. How is Coleman Barks associated with Rumi?

8. How would one describe the tavern poems?

9. Describe the "short story" model Rumi uses for many of his poems.

10. How does Ayaz learn from his predecessors in order to reach a decision that finds favor with the king?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What important lessons come through in the poem "Town and Country"? Describe the friendship between the two friends in this story. When the tables are turned and the shopkeeper gets to walk in the countryside man's shoes, how are his eyes opened? What does he finally see, after so many years, about the suffering his friend experienced when he first arrived in town?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast Rumi's poems involving a mouse and a frog. What key points is Rumi trying to make through these poems? What lessons can a person learn from these poems and apply to his or her life?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast Rumi's description of candles and sunlight as guiding systems to the external and internal guidance to which people turn.

(see the answer keys)

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