View a FREE sample

This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 4.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where is Rilke when he writes the second letter?
(a) Berlin, Germany.
(b) Viareggio, near Pisa, Italy.
(c) Florence, Italy.
(d) Athens, Greece.

2. In the third letter, what does Rilke say he wishes he could do for the young poet but is unable to do?
(a) Present the poet's work to Rilke's publishers.
(b) Publish the poet's work.
(c) Give the poet some of his own books.
(d) Visit the young poet.

3. What does Rilke tell the young poet to ask himself regarding his religious beliefs?
(a) Whether the young poet has ever truly found God.
(b) Whether the young poet's beliefs are merely conventions.
(c) Whether the young poet truly wants to believe.
(d) Whether the young poet's beliefs are his own.

4. In the fourth letter, what does Rilke instruct the young poet to do regarding the poet's unanswered questions?
(a) Seek answers from poetry.
(b) Seek answers in solitude.
(c) Seek answers from artists.
(d) Love the questions.

5. How long ago has Rilke departed from the city he has left before arriving at the place where he composes the fourth letter?
(a) A month.
(b) Two days.
(c) Two weeks.
(d) 10 days.

Short Answer Questions

1. Rilke says that there is only one thing that "can grasp and hold and be just toward" art. What is that thing?

2. What does Rilke say about everything that is serious?

3. In the third letter, Rilke requests that the young poet avoid something. What is it that he asks the poet to avoid?

4. At the close of the sixth letter, how does Rilke tell the young poet to be?

5. What does Rilke thank the young poet for at the end of the first letter?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 326 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample