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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. Many of Rumi's poems reveal that life is not two-dimensional; on the contrary, it is very:
(a) Unfair.
(b) Boring.
(c) Flat.
(d) Complex.

2. How did Rumi's father teach him?
(a) Through music, math, and memorization.
(b) By example.
(c) Through hands-on, real-life experiences.
(d) By leaving him many notes.

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

4. What is the "animal soul" that Rumi writes about?
(a) A concept that only young children comprehend.
(b) The wilder, more instinctive part of a person.
(c) The guardian of the animal kingdom.
(d) The spirit found within animals.

5. According to Rumi, people who choose from their own free will come from:
(a) Love.
(b) Confusion.
(c) Fear.
(d) Immorality.

Short Answer Questions

1. When speaking of sugar and vinegar, Rumi notes that a spoonful of vinegar:

2. In a poem in Book 1, Chapter 2, several men invade a city because they are driven by what?

3. Who were Rumi's three main friends who inspired much of his poetry?

4. In the poem "Meadowsounds," Rumi devotes two lines to:

5. Rumi speaks of two distinct types of intelligence. One is cultivated from books and the other is what?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the underlying themes in Rumi's poem about sexual passion where a city is invaded and one of the invaders falls in love with a woman there?

2. What makes Rumi's poems emotionally well integrated?

3. What are some of the challenges of translating Rumi's poems?

4. How would one describe the tavern poems?

5. What does the poem about a mouse and a camel convey about friendship and honesty?

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

7. Explain how Rumi uses the metaphor of a string when discussing the bonds of friendship in his writings about a frog and a mouse.

8. Summarize the poet's message about the importance of balance with respect to the "animal soul."

9. Summarize the poem about a man getting a tattoo. What message is delivered through this poem?

10. Describe Husam Chelebi's role as scribe.

(see the answer keys)

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