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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 2.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. From where does Rilke instruct the young poet to derive inspiration?
(a) Nature, common human experiences, and memories.
(b) Music.
(c) The political climate of the times.
(d) The words of other poets.

2. What does Rilke advise the young poet to buy in letter three?
(a) A collection of the complete works of Sophocles.
(b) A collection of the complete works of William Shakespeare.
(c) A collection of the complete works of Homer.
(d) A collection of the complete works of Jens Peter Jacobsen.

3. What type of poetry does Rilke advise the poet not to write?
(a) Lyric poems.
(b) Narrative poems.
(c) Love poems and other common forms.
(d) Epics.

4. In what season does Rilke write the second letter?
(a) Fall.
(b) Spring.
(c) Summer.
(d) Winter.

5. Rilke writes that "most events are inexpressible," and says that one category of things is more inexpressible than all the rest. What is this category?
(a) Human communication.
(b) Human suffering.
(c) Works of art.
(d) Human frailty.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where is the young poet who is the recipient of the letters studying when he begins to receive correspondence from Rilke?

2. During what decade does the correspondence contained in this volume take place?

3. How does Professor Horacek know Rilke?

4. What is Rilke's primary criticism of the young poet's writing in the first letter?

5. How does Rilke suggest one knows if one should not be a poet?

(see the answer key)

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