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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. What does Rilke say the young poet should do if he determines he should not be a poet?
(a) He should pursue the visual arts.
(b) He should join the military.
(c) He should quit writing completely.
(d) He should pursue the musical arts.

2. In the first letter, in what manner does Rilke suggest the young poet can tend to his personal growth?
(a) Quietly and seriously.
(b) Patiently.
(c) Aggressively.
(d) Publicly.

3. 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) Works of art.
(c) Human frailty.
(d) Human suffering.

4. 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 academy in Paris.
(c) A military acdemy in Oslo.
(d) A military academy in Prague.

5. What is the name of the young poet who is the recipient of the letters contained in this volume?
(a) Franz Horacek.
(b) Franz Xaver Kappus.
(c) Xaver Rilke.
(d) Franz Rilke.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Rilke send to the young poet in reply to the poet's first letter?

2. What does Rilke advise the young poet to seek in regard to his sexuality?

3. Besides works by that writer, what other book does Rilke always have accessible to him?

4. In the second letter, who does Rilke cite as his artistic influences?

5. In the first letter, what does Rilke cite as the most disruptive hindrance to the young poet's progress?

Short Essay Questions

1. Rilke says that artists remains unaware of their best qualities. Why is this?

2. What does Rilke mean when, in the fourth letter, he tells the young poet to "live" his unanswered questions?

3. Rilke tells the young poet in the first letter that the only way for the poet to improve his writing is to "go into yourself". What does this mean?

4. At the end of letter four, Rilke mentions the young poet's new profession. What is this profession?

5. What does Rilke mean when in letter three he says his books "no longer belong to me"?

6. What reason does Rilke give for advising the young poet against writing love poems?

7. What does Rilke mean when, in letter four, he says that physical pleasure is not bad, but that physical pleasure is often "misuse[d] and squander[ed]"?

8. What can we infer from the fact that in the first letter, Rilke's closing salutation is with "with sympathy?"

9. Rilke places emphasis on the importance of solitude. Why is solitude so important?

10. What does Rilke mean when, in letter four, he says that the intellect "lags marveling behind" the consciousness?

(see the answer keys)

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