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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does Rilke suggest one knows if one should not be a poet?
(a) If one can live without writing.
(b) If one is bored by one's own writing.
(c) If one cannot get published after 100 tries.
(d) If one does not like to read others' poetry.

2. What city has Rilke departed from to come to the place where he composes the fourth letter?
(a) Berlin, Germany.
(b) Worpswede, near Bremen, Germany.
(c) Paris, France.
(d) Viareggio, near Pisa, Italy.

3. In the first letter, Rilke says he cannot offer critical commentary on the young poet's work. Why?
(a) Rilke believes the young poet's work is flawless.
(b) Rilke is ill and does not have the physical stamina to read the young poet's work.
(c) Rilke says that critical commentary is insufficient for understanding a work of art.
(d) Rilke cannot read the young poet's work because he is blind.

4. In what year does Rilke write the fourth letter?
(a) 1912.
(b) 1908.
(c) 1903.
(d) 1905.

5. What does Rilke send to the young poet in reply to the poet's first letter?
(a) A list of potential publishers.
(b) A letter and the poet's poems.
(c) A volume of Rilke's poetry.
(d) Money.

6. 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 from artists.
(c) Seek answers in solitude.
(d) Love the questions.

7. Who does Rilke tell the young poet to be considerate of because of their fear of solitude?
(a) The elderly.
(b) Children.
(c) Artists who have not yet found their way.
(d) Parents.

8. What does Rilke advise the young poet to take comfort in if he feels uneasy in his new profession?
(a) Prayer.
(b) Reading.
(c) Solitude.
(d) Writing.

9. What novel does Rilke discuss in letter three?
(a) Pifer.
(b) Across the World.
(c) Jude the Obscure.
(d) Niels Lyhne.

10. Where is the young poet who is the recipient of the letters studying when he begins to receive correspondence from Rilke?
(a) A military academy in Germany.
(b) A military acdemy in Oslo.
(c) A military academy in Prague.
(d) A military academy in Paris.

11. In the first letter the young poet sent to Rilke along with his poems, what does he ask of Rilke?
(a) If Rilke can help the poet get published.
(b) If Rilke can send the poet a poem Rilke has written.
(c) If Rilke can come visit him.
(d) If his poems are good.

12. How does Rilke advise the young poet to view sex?
(a) To distance sex from art.
(b) To rejoice in it but not lose oneself in it.
(c) To fear it.
(d) To see it as a temptation to be avoided.

13. From where is the first letter from Rilke to the young poet postmarked?
(a) Munich.
(b) Prague.
(c) Paris.
(d) Berlin.

14. Rilke indicates that in the future, men and women will approach each other differently than they do at the time of his writing. How will they approach each other?
(a) Not as opposites, but as human beings.
(b) Not as enemies, but as friends.
(c) Not as lovers, but as friends.
(d) Not as sexual objects, but as human beings.

15. What does Rilke advise the young poet to seek in regard to his sexuality?
(a) A sexuality that is based on creativity.
(b) A sexuality that is moderate.
(c) A sexuality that is the young poet's own, individualized sexuality.
(d) A sexuality that is passionate and fierce.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Rilke believe is wrong with sex?

2. What does Rilke tell the young poet to rejoice in?

3. In what year is the first letter from Rilke to the young poet written?

4. Why does it take Rilke so long to respond to the young poet's second letter?

5. In the fourth letter, where does Rilke instruct the young poet to look for answers to his deepest questions?

(see the answer keys)

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